Newport Beach’s Sam Mikulak and Team USA will compete for the United States’ first medal since 2008 in the men’s team final on Day 3 at the Tokyo Olympics.
This will Mikulak’s third and final appearance at the Olympics. He’d like to go out on a high by winning a medal, but that will be a tough task against the likes of Japan, China and the Russian Olympic Committee.
Japan, Russia and China were 1-2-3 in the men’s team event at the Rio Olympics.
Mikulak’s best individual Olympic finish is fourth. He’ll have another medal opportunity in the parallel bars final.
Other Day 3 highlights include Team USA’s matchup with Japan in softball, high-stakes swimming events and the Olympics debut of women’s skateboarding.
Gymnast Sam Mikulak Looks to Go Out on a High
Most of Southern California will be sleeping when the U.S. men’s gymnastics vaults into the team finals.
Team USA finished fourth in the all-around qualifying competition on Saturday and will be looking to upset Japan and China in the final Monday at 3 a.m. PT.
The team combined to post the highest score on floor exercise in qualification. Three-time Olymipan Sam Mikulak (parallel bars), Brody Malone (high bar), Yul Moldauer (floor exercise) and Alec Yoder (pommel horse) qualified for individual events.
Team USA is seeking its first medal in the event since 2008, while host nation Japan is looking to repeat as gold medal winners.
Stream the event at here and track the Team USA athletes here. Or catch the competition during NBC’s primetime coverage.
Undefeated Team USA Faces Japan in Softball
Arguably America’s strongest team through the first weekend of play, the U.S. softball team will look to remain undefeated against the host country at 6 p.m. PT Sunday.
Team USA has defeated Canada, Mexico, Italy and Australia so far. A win over Japan would put the team at a perfect 5-0. The only time Team USA has gone undefeated through the entire tournament was at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The team went undefeated in the group stage at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before falling to Japan in the gold medal game.
The offense has only posted seven runs so far in Tokyo, but it has been backed up by tremendous pitching. Monica Abbott gave up the first run of the Games to Australia on Saturday night.
U.S. softball players with Southern California connections include Aubree Munro (Brea), Bubba Nickles (UCLA), Dejah Mulipola (Garden Grove), Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga), Janie Reed (Placentia), Ally Carda (UCLA) and Rachel Garcia (Palmdale/UCLA).
Stream Sunday’s game live at 6 p.m. PT or watch at midnight on NBC Sports Network.
Women’s Skateboarding Makes Its Olympics Debut
The women’s street event takes place a night after the inaugural Olympic men’s street skateboarding competition was filled with falls. SoCal’s Jagger Eaton took bronze for the U.S., but Laguna Beach’s Nyjah Huston disappointed with a seventh-place finish.
There will be three Americans competing: Mariah Duran, Alexis Sablone and Alana Smith. Duran has won three X Games medals, including gold in the 2018 street event. Sablone has six X Games medals, highlighted by three street golds.
Smith only has one X Games medal, but it was a historic one. Back in 2013, Smith claimed silver in the park event at just 12 years old, becoming the youngest medalist in X Games history.
The three Americans will have to contend with favorites like Japan’s Aori Nishimura, Brazilians Pamela Rosa and Rayssa Leal and a competitive field in order to reach the podium.
The event begins with qualifying heats starting at 4:30 p.m. PT on Sunday and concludes with final runs starting at 8:25 p.m. PT.
You can also catch it in NBC’s Primetime Plus coverage at 9:05 p.m. PT.
Katie Ledecky, Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay Highlight Swim finals
Four more swimming medals will be awarded Sunday night, as finals get underway for the women’s 100m butterfly, men’s 100m breaststroke, women’s 400m freestyle and men’s 4x100m freestyle relay beginning at 6:30 p.m. PT.
Katie Ledecky will get her first chance at a medal in Tokyo in the women’s 400m freestyle. The six-time Olympic medalist set the world record in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics and had the fastest time in Sunday’s qualifying.
The U.S. men are also looking to repeat as gold medalists in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Two-time Olympic medalist Caeleb Dressel will make his Tokyo debut in the event.
Torri Huske will be in contention for a medal in the women’s 100m butterfly after finishing with the fourth-fastest time in qualifying on Saturday. Michael Andrew will also be in the mix in the men’s 100m breaststroke after posting an impressive third-place time in qualifying.
Sunday’s swimming slate also includes semifinals in the men’s 200m freestyle, women’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100m backstroke.
Watch live in NBC’s primetime coverage, or stream live.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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