The United States led all countries with five medals on the first official day of competition during the 2024 Paris Olympics. They won one gold, two silver, and two bronze.
Three medals were earned in swimming events, one in cycling and the other in diving.
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Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon opened the Games with a silver medal in the women’s three-meter synchronized diving springboard final. As soon as they popped out of the pool after their fifth and final dive on Saturday morning, the two best friends embraced knowing they had done enough to secure the country’s first medal of the Olympic Games.
Cook and Bacon secured silver with a solid score of 70.20 points with their forward 2.5 somersaults, and 1 twist dive. The American duo held off Great Britain’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen who settled for bronze, 12 points behind the American duo.
The second-place secured America’s first medal in women’s synchronized springboard diving since 2012.
The second medal of the day was won by cyclist Chloe Dygert.
Dygert earned the bronze after recovering from a crash early on her bicycle in the women’s individual time trial. The race takes cyclists 32.4 kilometers, roughly 20 miles, and she finished with a time of 41:10.70.
This marked her third Olympic medal but her first in road cycling. She missed the silver medal by less than a second.
Finishing on the podium represented so much for Dygert. She has overcome a few challenges over the past four years including a terrifying crash in Sept. 2020, heart surgery, and foot and Achilles injuries.
The final three medals on Saturday all came in the pool.
Katie Ledecky won a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle to inch closer to becoming the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history. She needs one more medal to tie the record of 12, and two to break it.
Both the women’s and men’s 4×100 free relay teams earned medals.
Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy, Hunter Armstrong, and Caeleb Dressel combined to win Team USA its first gold medal of the 2024 Olympics in the last race of swimming’s opening night. Dressel won his eighth career gold medal while the other three entered the event with only one medal of any color.
Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Simone Manuel won silver behind a strong anchor leg from Manuel. Their time of 3:30.20 set a new American record.
More news: Where to Find Every Team USA Athlete on Social Media
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.