2012 Olympics: Pittsburgh Athletes Off to Good Start at London Games
By Matt Shetler
I wrote a piece a couple days ago taking a look at all of the athletes with Pittsburgh ties taking part in the 2012 London Games.
Some of those are off to very good starts.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights through the first two days of the London Games.
Allison Schmitt, Swimming: Schmitt, although she resides in Michigan, was born in Pittsburgh and has got herself a pair of medals through her first two events. She won a silver medal and set an American record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on Sunday night and brought home a bronze medal when she swam the anchor leg of the U.S. 400 freestyle relay team, which won a bronze medal in an American-record time on Saturday.
The 22-year-old will also swim in the 200 freestyle preliminaries on Monday and will also be part of the United States’ 800 freestyle relay. So far, she is doing very well in the 200 as Schmitt advanced to Monday’s semifinal heats in the women’s 200 race with the second-fastest qualifying time of the morning of 1 minute, 57.33 seconds. Frederica Pellegrini of Italy was first in 1:57.16. The semifinals are at 7:30 p.m. (London time) today. The final is Tuesday at 7:41 p.m.
Christa Harmotto, Volleyball: Playing in her first Olympics, Harmotto helped Team USA to victory in their Olympic opener, defeating Korea 25-19, 25-17, 20-25, 25-21. The Hopewell native had six kills on eight swings, three blocks and an ace for 10 points in the opening victory. Up next for Team USA is the highly anticipated matchup with Brazil on Monday.
Swin Cash, Basketball: Cash scored three points in five minutes of playing time as Team USA defeated Croatia 81-56 in their Olympic opener.
Keep checking back as City of Champions Sports will keep you updated throughout the Olympics on the progress of all Pittsburgh-based athletes and other Olympic events as well.