Hudson Valley Woman Wins Olympic Bronze For Team USA

PELHAM, NY — Pelham resident Kate Douglass won the bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley at the Tokyo Aquatic Center.

Halfway through the nine-day competition, the American women have claimed two golds among 11 total swimming medals. Their male counterparts have won two golds and five medals overall.

“We all feed off each others’ successes,” Douglass told the Associated Press. “It’s just showing that there’s a great future for U.S. swimming out there.”

Alex Walsh and Douglass earned silver and bronze in the 200-meter individual medley on Wednesday. Emma Weyant and Hali Flickinger earlier took silver and bronze in the 400 IM.

They're getting on the podium with a new generation of Olympians.

The team includes 18 first-timers. Regan Smith, a 19-year-old from Minnesota, earned a bronze in the 100 backstroke. Rookies Erika Brown and Natalie Hinds helped the U.S. to a bronze in the 4x100 free relay. Torri Huske, an 19-year-old from Virginia, just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 100 butterfly.

“It's a huge learning opportunity for us,” Walsh said. “We're kind of making a statement.”

The youngsters broke out while Ledecky got off to a silver-medal start in the 400 free, her first event in Tokyo. The three-time Olympian then missed the podium in the 200 free, finishing fifth as the defending champion.

She'll be the favorite to win her third consecutive gold in the 800 free on Saturday, when Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus of Australia go head-to-head for the third time in these Games. Before that, Ledecky will swim on the 4x200 free relay, with the U.S. a strong contender for gold.

Earlier in the games, Douglass had recorded best times in the women's 200 individual medley, preliminary and semifinal races.

Douglass graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and is now at the University of Virginia. Her parents Allison and William Douglass told News12 Westchester they are extremely proud.

Here's a bit of her swimmer bio, from Team USA:

Olympic Experience

• One-time Olympian (2020)
• Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Youth Olympic Games Experience

• Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, 6th (200 LCM, individual medley, 50 LCM freestyle)

Other Career Highlights

• One-time NCAA champion
• 2017 World Junior Championship, 2nd (4x100 freestyle relay), 10th (50 freestyle)
• 2018 ISCA TYR Summer Senior Championship, 1st (50 freestyle)

Qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 50 free, 100 and 200 breast, and 200 IM.

See the full Olympics schedule here on NBC.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.