Fall 2021
The Auburn Plainsman: Welcome Back
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SPORTS MIKE LEWIS | USA SWIMMING MIKE LEWIS | USA SWIMMING.
JOHN CHENG | USA GYMNASTICS
TEAM DEUTSCHLAND | PAUL HÜTTEMANN
AKIHIRO SUGIMOTO | AFLO/ATP
RECAP: 15 Tigers compete at Tokyo Olympics By JAKE WEESE Sports Editor
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have wrapped up, and for Auburn’s 15 athletes, it was a chance for them to compete on the world’s biggest stage. From medals to national records, here’s how Auburn’s Olympians did in this year’s games. GYMNASTICS Sunisa Lee walked away with three medals in her Olympic debut. The incoming freshman was Auburn’s first-ever Olympic gymnast and won gold in the all-around, bronze in the bars final and won silver with her Team USA teammates in the team final. The 18-year-old also competed in the balance beam final and finished fifth in the event. SOFTBALL Emily Carosone made history in this year’s games as she was Auburn’s first-ever Olympic softball player. She played for Team Italy during the 2020 Olympics and appeared in all five games. In the five games, Carosone finished with an on-base percentage of .231, which was the fourth-highest on Team Italy. TENNIS Tim Puetz represented Germany in men’s doubles competition and was Auburn’s first-ever men’s tennis alum to compete at the Olympics. Puetz and his doubles partner advanced to the second round of competition
before falling to Great Britain’s Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury. TRACK & FIELD Nathon Allen and Team Jamaica finished sixth in the men’s 4x400m relay final. Allen ran as the Team’s anchor and finished his leg in 44.41. As an individual, Allen competed in the men’s 400m and finished fourth in his heat with a time of 46.12 but did not advance. Rachel Dincoff competed for Team USA in the discus and was also Auburn’s first-ever female track and field athlete to represent Team USA. Once arriving in Tokyo, the firsttime Olympian finished 12th in qualifying with a best throw of 56.22 meters but did not advance. Auburn’s third track and field athlete was Donald Thomas, who competed for the Bahamas in the high jump. Thomas finished with a jump of 2.21 to finish 13th overall in his qualifying group. Kai Selvon was Auburn’s fourth and final track and field athlete in Tokyo. Selvon competed for Trinidad and Tobago in the women’s 4x100m relay. Selvon and her teammates finished eighth in qualifying with a time of 43.62. SWIMMING Making her Olympic debut, Team USA’s Annie Lazor took home a bronze medal in the women’s 200m breaststroke. In her only event in Tokyo, the 26-year-old finished with a time of 2:20.84 to take home the bronze medal.
Zach Apple and his Team USA teammates walked away with two gold medals and a world record at this year’s games. The former Auburn swimmer swam in three relays and one individual event in Tokyo. The first-time Olympian won his first gold medal as the anchor for the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. He swam his 100 meters in 46.69. The 24-year-old won his second medal and helped set a world record as a member of Team USA’s 4x100m medley relay team. In the 4x100m medley relay, Apple once again served as the anchor and swam his 100 meters freestyle in 46.95. Team USA finished with a time of 3:26.78 in the event to set the world record. The previous record had been set in 2009 with a time of 3:27.28. Apple also swam as a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay team. Team USA’s 4x200m freestyle relay team finished fourth in the event. As an individual, he swam in the 100m freestyle but did not advance past the semifinals. Luis Martinez set a national record swimming for Guatemala in this year’s games. The 25-year-old advanced to the men’s 100m butterfly final and finished seventh in the event. Martinez swam his 100 meters in 51.09, which set a national record for Guatemala. Marcelo Chierighini swam for Brazil in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and served as the Team’s anchor. Chierighini and Brazil made it to the finals of the event and finished
eighth. As the anchor, he swam his 100 meters in 47.72. Santiago Grassi represented Argentina in this year’s games and swam in two events. The 24-year-old swam in the men’s 50m freestyle and then the 100m butterfly. In both events, Grassi did not advance past the heats as he finished sixth in the 50m freestyle with a time of 22.67. He finished first in his 100m butterfly heat in 52.07 but did not advance past the heat stage. Peter Holoda swam as a member of Hungary’s 4x100m medley relay men’s team. Holoda and Hungary did not advance past the heats, and he swam his 100 meters as the anchor in 48.89. Julie Meynen swam in two events for Luxembourg. She swam in the women’s 50m freestyle and then the 100m freestyle but did not advance past the heats in either event. In her 100m freestyle heat, she finished seventh with a time of 55.69. She then finished third in her 50m freestyle heat with a time of 25.36. Along with Sunisa Lee, Adriel Sanes was the only other current Auburn athlete to compete in the 2020 Olympics. Sanes swam for the U.S. Virgin Islands in the men’s 100m breaststroke and the 200m breaststroke. Sanes did not advance past the heats in both events. He finished third in his heat in the men’s 100 meters in 1:02.43 and then finished eighth in the 200 meters with a time of 2:16.87.
