Some of the loudest, most raucous crowds at the Tokyo Olympics can be found inside the Tokyo Aquatics Centre — and Saturday has been no exception.
While fans aren’t allowed inside, fellow athletes are. They’ve been cheering on their compatriots from two tiers of seating on one edge of the pool in the absence of spectators. Some are socially distanced, others are not.
The loudest have got to be Team USA. They’ve brought along sticks and are putting them to good use. Chants of “USA” and “Caeleb Dressel” rang out as the American swimmer took to the pool and delivered a world record time of 49.45 seconds to take gold in the 100 meter butterfly.
Dressel’s sportsmanship was on display, too, at the end of that race, as he raised the arm of Hungary’s Kristof Milak, who finished second, into the air.
There was another chance for the US supporters to celebrate shortly afterward. Katie Ledecky took gold in the 800 meter freestyle following a great battle with her Australian rival, Ariarne Titmus, who claimed silver.
