Kate Douglass, a native of Pelham, NY roughly 22 miles from New York City, took home her first-ever gold medal at the Olympics, edging South Africa’s Tatjana Smith by 0.36 seconds in the 200m breaststroke on Thursday afternoon.
The monumental win for the 22-year-old is her third-ever Olympic medal after taking bronze three years ago at the Tokyo Games in the 200m individual medley and silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay on Saturday.
“I feel like this was a long time coming,” Douglass told NBC. “I felt like I was physically ready for this race… I knew if I executed that race well, I would win it.”
Douglass led wire to wire, using explosive turns to keep Smith at bay. Heading into the final turn, she led by just 0.19 seconds before ultimately winning by a half-body’s length. Her time of 2:19.24 set a new American record — well worth the wait of five days between finals.
“I was antsy just sitting around but I knew there were good things coming,” Douglass aid. “So I just tried to relax and cheer on my teammates.”
Tes Schouten of the Netherlands finished in third for the bronze nearly two seconds behind Douglass.
This was the New Yorker’s penultimate event at the Olympics this summer. She will look to win a second gold in the 200m individual medley, which comes on Aug. 2.
Regardless of those results, Douglass’ resume continues to grow as one of the most elite swimmers on the planet. She was one of the most dominant college swimmers ever at the University of Virginia, winning seven gold medals at each of the 2022 and 2023 NCAA Championships.
