PARIS, France — In the pool, on the court and down the River Seine, Indiana Olympians were in action Thursday.
Our Samantha Johnson spoke with one Hoosier in a hard-fought race on the river and a Boilermaker going for back-to-back golds.
(Note: The video above is a previous 13News interview with gold medal winner Cole Hocker.)
We start with diving, and IU's Carson Tyler in the final of the men's 3-meter springboard. He ended the day just shy of the podium, finishing fourth. But he's not done yet. He'll be back for the prelims of the 10-meter platform on Friday.
Over at the River Seine, it was marathon swimming, and the 10k open swim has been a big talker. IU's Mariah Denigan made the two-hour swim to the finish line. She did not land a spot on the podium, but told me afterward this was the toughest race of the life.
"I'm just proud of myself for finally being an Olympian, and I'm just proud of how I stuck through and had some mental fortitude during that," Denigan said.
Denigan finished 16th of the 24 women in the event, just behind fellow American Katie Grimes.
And in women's volleyball, the reigning Olympic champions are headed back to the gold medal match. Team USA defeated Brazil in the semifinals Thursday. Purdue grad Annie Drews clocked 18 points in the five-set victory. I talked to her about the pressure of going back-to-back on the world's biggest stage.
"It's so incredibly difficult in a team sport to repeat golds," she said. "I don't know the percentage, but it's very, very small. To earn our way to have an opportunity to try is really a dream come true."
The ladies play Sunday afternoon in that gold medal match, just hours before the closing ceremony.
There's only three more days of competition here in Paris and we've still got Hoosier athletes competing for gold in diving, wrestling, and the list goes on.