Utah Athletes Fall Short Of Medaling At Tokyo Olympics
Jul 26, 2021, 5:13 PM
Kathleen Noble of Uganda on her way to finishing in 2nd place in the Women's Single Sculls semi-final at the Sea Forest Waterway during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
(Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
TOKYO – While many Utah athletes remain in the running for Olympics glory, others fell short over the weekend and dropped out of medal contention.
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Kathleen Nobel – Rowing
Ugandan rower and Salt Lake City resident Kathleen Noble gave it her best, but missed the medal round.
She rowed three times, but didn’t finish high enough to join other rowers in the quarterfinals.
However, she was looking forward to one more row in a semi-final heat Friday.
Noble told KSL-TV she planned to enjoy every second of it and relish the experience as the first Ugandan rower in Olympic history.
Just met with Kathleen Noble at the rowing venue in Tokyo. She starts in one hour. Noble lives in Salt Lake City but represents Uganda. She is the first Ugandan rower in Olympic history. Our story with her runs in about 20 minutes on @KSL5TV. @kslsports pic.twitter.com/iE1Kn29wC0
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) July 22, 2021
She was grateful for all of the support from Utah, where she’s lived and trained for a few years, and Uganda, her home. She said that support has made this journey worth it.
“I would say thank you everyone for watching. I have got so many messages from people and people are organizing viewing parties,” she said. “I have people all over the world which has been very special to feel supported from so many different places.”
Alexis Lagan – Shooting
Alexis Lagan, who attended the University of Utah and is now on the US Shooting Team, competed in the women’s 10-meter pistol competition, but finished in 38th place.
She said she knew better, but had a little bit of first-time Olympics jitters.
“Just a lot of stress,” she said. “Definitely not what I wanted to be, but it’s a learning mechanism for next time.”
Here is our @KSL5TV story with former @UUtah pistol shooter @Lagan1515 just before her event. Her dream of competing in the Olympics came true today! She came in 38th in the women's 10m air pistol event and still has two more events to compete in. https://t.co/qUojOuERqe pic.twitter.com/9CPohZeyRJ
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) July 25, 2021
The next event for her takes place on Monday, July 26 at 6 p.m. (MDT). She will team up with Nickolaus Mowrer, who is from Montana, in the mixed team 10-meter pistol.
Lagan will also compete in the 25-meter rifle event Thursday.
MaKayla Skinner – Gymnastics
Utah Red Rock gymnast MyKayla Skinner failed to qualify for any event final in Sunday’s competitions.
She competed in all events and finished the all-around in 10th place..
Skinner will not be able to compete for a medal later this week in the top 24 individual final because of a two-athletes-per-country rule.
She talked to KSL-TV about her first Olympic experience and the support she received.
One of us can flip around like it’s nothing, hop on a balance beam with ease, and do amazing vaults blindfolded. The other one ordered extra french fries for lunch. @mykaylaskinner made Utah proud in these Toyko Olympics. Go Utes! @KSL5TV @kslsports @UUtah pic.twitter.com/Eqry9qDSRX
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) July 26, 2021
“It definitely brought me to tears, seeing their messages. Just really sweet of them,” she said.
Skinner said before the Tokyo Olympics that this would be her last time competing as an elite gymnast.
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