#USC2Paris Olympics Recap (Day 10): Three Women of Troy Advance to 400m Hurdles Semifinals; Women’s Water Polo Contingent Through to Quarterfinals

PARIS, FRANCE — USC women had another solid day in Paris, starting off with a set of Women of Troy securing semifinal spots on the track with speedy opening heats. In the 400m hurdles, Anna Cockrell (USA) and Jasmine Jones (USA) both won their heats, and will be joined by fellow USC alum Amalie Ieul (Norway) in tomorrow's semifinals. So, too, has Lanae-Tava Thomas (Jamaica) punched her ticket to tomorrow's semifinals in the 200m. In the pool, USC will have all seven Women of Troy moving on to the women's water polo quarterfinals, with today's action featuring a key penalty shot score by current Trojan Tilly Kearns to keep Australia unbeaten in group play. For Spain, USC alum Anni Espar scored three goals to make it perfect 4-0 run through group play for the Spaniards. Today's action was topped off by Trojan due Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes fending off their Italian opponents in beach volleyball, securing advancement for Cheng/Hughes to the quarterfinals. See below for full results and statistics for USC athletes in Paris today.

August 4 Recap
Women's Beach Volleyball
Round of 16 — Cheng/Hughes (USA) def. Gottardi/Menegatti (Italy) 2-1
   • Two Trojan NCAA champions — two-time Olympian Kelly Cheng and first-time Olympian Sara Hughes — fended off Italy's Gottardi/Menegatti 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-12) to advance to the quarterfinals.
   • Cheng tallied 16 kills, three aces, two blocks and one dig in the USA pair's win.
   • Hughes had 19 digs and 15 kills for Team USA.

Women's Swimming
50m Freestyle Final
   • A five-time Olympian, Kasia Wilk-Wasick (Poland) finished fifth in a time of 24.33.
4x100m Medley Relay Final
   • Three-time NCAA champion and three-time Olympian Louise Hansson (Sweden) swam the third leg of Sweden's relay, which finished seventh in a time of 3:56.92.

Women's Water Polo
Australia 14, Hungary 12 (shootout)
   • Playing in her second Olympic Games, current Trojan Tilly Kearns put away her penalty shot during the deciding shootout to help Australia finish at the top of the group with two wins and two shootout wins, advancing next to the quarterfinals on Aug. 6.
Spain 13, Italy 11
   • Playing in her fourth Olympic Games, two-time silver medalist Anni Espar scored three goals, won three sprints and had a steal to help Spain finish group play with a perfect 4-0 record with today's win over Italy, advancing next to the quarterfinals on Aug. 6.
Netherlands 20, Canada 11
   • First-time Olympian and NCAA champion Verica Bakoc scored three goals and had a steal for Canada in its loss to the Netherlands. Canada advances to the quarterfinals on Aug. 6.
   • Two-time Olympian and NCAA champion Hayley McKelvey started and recorded a field block for Canada, which advances to the Aug. 6 quarterfinals.

Women's Athletics
200m Round 1
   • A first-time Olympian, Lanae-Tava Thomas (Jamaica) finished second in her heat and 10th overall in a time of 22.70 to advance to the semifinals on Aug. 5
400m Hurdles Round 1
   • A two-time Olympian, Anna Cockrell (USA) won her heat in a time of 53.91 to advance to the semifinals on Aug. 6.
   • A three-time Olympian, Amalie Iuel (Norway) finished third in her heat with a time of 54.82 and advances to the semifinals on Aug. 6
   • A first-time Olympian, Jasmine Jones (USA) won her heat in a time of 53.60 to advance to the semifinals on Aug. 6.
   • A two-time Olympian, Gianna Woodruff (Panama) finished fifth in her heat in a time of 54.94 and advances to repechage on Aug. 5.

Men's Athletics
110m Hurdles Round 1
   • First-time Olympian Tade Ojora (Great Britain) finished fourth in his heat and eighth overall with a time of 13.35 to earn advancement to the semifinals on Aug. 7.
400m Round 1
   • Two-time Olympian and 2020 gold-medalist Michael Norman (USA) had the fastest qualifying time, winning his heat in a time of 44.10 to advance to the Aug. 6 semifinals.
100m Semifinals
   • Two-time Olympian, six-time medalist and two-time NCAA champion Andre De Grasse (Canada) finished fifth in his heat and 12th overall in a time of 9.98, missing advancement to the final.

Women's Basketball
Nigeria 79, Canada 70
   • Former Trojan and two-time Olympian Amy Okonkwo scored eight points and had two rebounds, two steals and an assist for Nigeria in its win over Canada, recording the Nigerians' second win in group play and advancement to the quarterfinals on Aug. 7.

NEXT UP:
Tomorrow (Monday, Aug. 5), Olympic competition continues for USC athletes in athletics, beach volleyball diving, swimming, men's water polo and men's indoor volleyball. Two-time Olympic medalist Rai Benjamin is slated for his first Paris event with a spot in Round 1 of the 200m. Knockout rounds are also underway for beach and indoor volleyball, with Tina Graudina (Latvia) and Andy Benesh (USA) competing in the beach volleyball Round of 16 on the women's and men's sides, respectively. Another USC volleyball alum, Micah Christenson, hits the court for Team USA in the men's indoor volleyball quarterfinals tomorrow.
Check the full list of participating Trojans along with schedule and results HERE.

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Jones

Tilly Kearns

Tade Ojora