Simone Manuel swims tonight, other Texans medal contenders this weekend

Simone Manuel, of United States, swims in a women's 50-meter freestyle heat at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) (Gregory Bull, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

One of the Texans who became legendary at the 2016 Olympics is vying to prove she’s still at the top of her game TONIGHT! Sugar Land’s own Simone Manuel is swimming to secure a spot in the finals of the 50m free. While she was a late add to a bronze medal winning relay team, the 50m is how she punched her individual ticket to the Tokyo Games.

The field of swimmers in the 50m semifinals this evening is stacked with elite female swimmers, so it should be a thrilling event to watch!

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By now, you know the names of the biggest swimmers at the Games.... Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel, and Ariarne Titmus are among them. They’ll be in the water again tonight!

Dressel is looking to pick up two more golds in the men’s 100m butterfly and mixed 4x100m medley relay. Ledecky, who won gold in the women’s 1500m freestyle earlier this week, will race against Titmus in the 800m free.

A first-time Olympian with Texas ties made it to the semifinal this weekend in her event. Hailey Hernandez of Southlake is a future University of Texas Longhorn and she’s hoping to ultimately land on the medal stand in women’s springboard diving when it’s all said and done.

U.S. diver Hailey Hernandez sails through the air in Friday's Olympic springboard preliminaries

Athing Mu, who attended Texas A&M, and Houston-area phenom Raevyn Rogers showed their speed yesterday in the prelims of the women’s 800m track and field event. We’re hoping to see both of them shine again tomorrow in the semis!

It’s been a rollercoaster of a day for the U.S. mixed 4x400m team. They were disqualified after a prelim but then reinstated. You can read more about how that unfolded and see it for yourself, HERE.

We saw a couple of great outcomes in team sports today. The U.S. women’s soccer team topped Netherlands in the quarterfinals. They’re headed for a semifinal showdown against Canada on Monday. Australia and Sweden are in the other semifinal matchup.

Team USA baseball featuring THREE players from the Houston area got their first Olympic win against Israel. Shane Baz, Scott Kazmir, and Simeon Woods Richardson talked to our KPRC 2 Christine Noël after the team’s dominant 8-1 win.

(KPRC 2 / Click2Houston.com)

Next up for this baseball crew is South Korea at 5 a.m. Houston time Saturday. You can catch a livestream of the game using your cable credentials through this LINK.

Reminder - a lot of other events are available to watch ONLINE. You’ll find the links for viewing using your cable provider account, HERE.


ADDITIONAL OLYMPIC VIDEOS


Here’s a look ahead to events airing on KPRC 2 on Saturday

*Programming schedule is subject to change. All times below are Central time.

7 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Women’s Beach Volleyball – Claes/Sponcil (U.S.) vs. Ana Patricia/Rebecca (Brazil) (LIVESTREAM Available Friday at 7:00 p.m.)

Tennis – Women’s Singles Final (LIVESTREAM Available at 5:00 a.m.)

Diving – Women’s Springboard Semifinal

Men’s Water Polo – U.S. vs. Hungary

Gymnastics – Men’s Trampoline Final

Archery – Men’s Final

Rugby – Women’s Final

Cycling – BMX Freestyle Qualifying

1 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball – U.S. vs. Russian Olympic Committee

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Men’s Basketball – U.S. vs. Czech Republic (LIVESTREAM Available at 7:00 a.m.)

7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Swimming – Finals (LIVE)

  • Men’s 50m Freestyle
  • Women’s 50m Freestyle
  • Men’s 4x100m Medley
  • Women’s 4x100m Medley

Track & Field – Finals

  • Mixed 4x400m Relay Final
  • Women’s 100m Final

Women’s Beach Volleyball – Elimination Round (LIVE)

Track & Field – Qualifying Rounds

11 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Beach Volleyball – Men’s Elimination Round (LIVE)

Men’s Swimming – 1500m Freestyle Final

Cycling – BMX Freestyle Finals

For a complete list of events and results anytime, head to Click2Houston.com/Olympics.


About the Author

Sports mom, amateur nature photographer, and regional Emmy award-winning television producer

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