Sarah Henry earned the first gold medal for Team USA on the Fourth of July in Gwanju, South Korea. Although the World University Games team won’t be able to celebrate the fourth with the rest of the country, Henry did honor America by earning the first medal of the Games for Team USA.
There were three medal events on the first day of competition in Gwanju. Henry and Hali Flickinger finished first and third in the women’s 400IM and then both the men’s and women’s 4×100 freestyle relays won Gold as well. Team USA walked off the pool deck with the most hardware on day one, but a few other countries earned medals as well.
Japan finished second to Team USA in both of the relays, earning two silver medals on the day. Russia was third in both relays, earning bronze medals in both events.
The only other country to earn an individual medal was the Czech Republic. Barbora Zavadova finished second in the women’s 400 IM, earning a silver medal for her country.
The day 1 medal count can be found below:
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States of America | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Japan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Russian Federation | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Someone please tell Jack Conger all about Alex Popov and his history as a backstroker who then turned over onto his stomach and became the greatest sprinter in history. I am not saying that this could be Conger’s future, but it seems as if his talents are in free and fly. And yes, even with the steroids, Kristin Otto had the same “fate”. She started as a backstroker and ended up as the world record holder in the 100 free as well as Olympic champion in the 50 and 100. So, the history is there. Jack, please give it a try. Your 100 free in the relay was beautiful and fluid. It seemed effortless. Just think about it.
Haha I’m sure he knows…
Yes, I am aware of that. But it doesn’t hurt to sound a trumpet. Here is hoping his coaches are seriously ready to sit him down and have “the talk”. One year out from Rio. Better sooner than later.