This summer the world is watching Rio, and we at Maryland Sports are no different. 12 Marylanders are competing in the Olympics, 11 for Team USA and one for Team Jamaica. From the opening
ceremony we could see the presence of our Maryland Olympians when Michael Phelps (Baltimore) led Team USA in the parading of countries.
In the opening days of competition, our Maryland athletes started off with a bang. On Saturday, Toni Ann Williams competed for Team Jamaica (Randallstown) in gymnastics for her first ever Olympic games. Angel McCoughtry (Baltimore) led Team USA Basketball to a win in the first round against Senegal 121-56. Aaron Russell (Ellicott City) and USA Indoor Volleyball lost to Canada, but will look to comeback for a win on August 9 against Italy.
But it was our swimmers, who opened the Olympics with a wave of medals. Chase Kalisz (Bel Air) won a silver medal in the 400 meter IM. Katie Ledecky (Bethesda) brought home gold in the 400 meter freestyle and silver in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay. But she did so much more than win gold, she smashed her own world record by TWO seconds! And last, but certainly not least, Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic gold medal when he led his teammates to a first place finish in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay.
Congratulations to all our Maryland athletes, and we can’t wait to continue watching your successes in Rio!
