Katie Ledecky gets emotional after winning her 4th Gold Medal for the 800m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics on Friday (August 12) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 19-year-old swimmer not only scored another medal, but also smashed her own World Record!
Katie clocked in at the record-breaking time of 8:04.79, nearly two seconds faster than the previous record she set earlier this year and is the first woman since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles.
“I just wanted to push myself and see what I could do,” Katie shared. “It was my last Olympic race here in Rio. The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport and I have to wait four more years to have that moment again, so I wanted the last one to be special.”
In a new interview, the two gymnasts, 23 and 29, open up about the struggles they faced during the competition, rumors of retiring and more. Check it:
Chris on the all-around: “In the highest pressure situation possible … to go out there and hit sets and basically just show people that I deserve to be out on the floor. I’ve been an alternate for a long time and to get that opportunity is just pretty special to me. I’m glad I could come through it.”
Sam on having no regrets: “I wouldn’t change any way that I’ve prepared for this competition. I put my heart and soul into it every single day. I hit all of my routines. I have no regrets.”
Chris on what he would do over again: “Hitting high bar and sticking was a phenomenal feeling to say the least…Just a little disappointed I couldn’t have hit a little better pommel horse routine, but I stayed on, so that’s good.”
Sam on his routines: “This is the epitome of the sport, and when you can go and put on a solid performance that lives up to your expectations of what you should be capable of doing, you can be nothing but happy about it.”
While Chris has finished his Olympic competition, he won’t be retiring. We’ll see Sam again this weekend during the high bar and floor exercise individual finals.
The 22-year-old team captain of the Women’s team wrote the best reaction on Instagram last night: “REDEMPTION BABY. That is all. Good night.
Simone, 19, added on her own Instagram, “August 11, 2016 | Tonight my dream came true. There are no right words to describe the feeling right now. Can’t thank everyone enough for all the endless amount of love and support. much love, your 2016 Olympic Champion.”
“When you come back to find this on your bed :) so sweet. I have the best teammates. Gabby sent me the sweetest text. When we walked in the door Laurie, Madison & gabby swarmed us with lots of hugs ???????????? #FINALFIVE,” she captioned. Read the sweet note below!
“Hey @Simone_Biles! @imarleneking wants you & the #FinalFive to come to PLL set when you get back – are you in?” the PLL Twitter account sent the video to Simone, with showrunner I. Marlene King sending her the invite, as well as a vid from star Shay Mitchell.
Simone isn’t the only gymnast to be invited to film sets, or to guest star on them, though.
Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, who were on the 2008 Beijing Olympics team, went on to appear on Dancing With The Stars, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make It Or Break It. Aly also appeared on DWTS. Gabby made a guest appearance on Kickin’ It, while McKayla Maroney has starred on both Hart of Dixie and Bones; and while Jordyn Wieber hasn’t guest starred, she got to meet the cast of her favorite show, Teen Wolf.
The gymnasts both were outstanding throughout all of the events in the all around at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, but both of their floor routines were big standouts for sure.
Simone scored 15.933 points for her routine while Aly scored 15.433. They were the only two gymnasts to score in the 15-point range!
Jade Barbosa is feeling fine after suffering an injury during the Women’s Individual All Around Final at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics at Rio Olympic Arena on Thursday (August 11) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 25-year-old gymnast, who was competing for Brazil, was in the middle of her floor routine during the competition when she fell hard to the mat. She was escorted out of the arena by wheelchair before being taken to athlete’s village.
According to UOL, Jade is fine after the scary fall.
Jade underwent a series of tests including “an X-ray, ultrasound and MRI. In them, no injury was found.”
“It’s normal athlete feel pain or be sad. Now she has to rest, but the recovery will be quick,” chief doctor of Team Brazil, Roberto Nahon, shared. “She got ahead of herself in the rotation movement and ended up hyper extending her ankle. There was ankle twist. It was only an inflammatory reaction.”
