Chasing Gold: Day 3 of Olympics produced epic swimming rivalry, shooting stars, teen phenoms

Team USA is definitely feeling better after Day 3, adding more medals to their total count to put the United States second overall in both gold and total medals.

Still, not everything is going the way Team USA wants it. The men’s gymnastics team competed in the team finals bright and early this morning (evening in Japan), and they finished fifth for the third straight Olympics. Women’s gymnastics is gearing up for their team finals after qualifying second behind Russia, and Simone Biles admits that the expectations for Tokyo can be hard to handle.

In the pool, Katie Ledecky was out-touched by Ariarne Titmus in the 400-meter freestyle. Despite the loss, it doesn’t seem like there are any hard feelings between Ledecky and Titmus, who is four years younger. Don’t worry, the men’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay team delivered Caeleb Dressel his first gold medal in a quest for six at this year’s Olympics with a win over Italy and Australia.

Feel old yet: Women’s skateboarding made its Olympic debut last night, and if you don’t want to feel old, I’d advise against reading about the medalists for women’s street. Alexis Sablone of Team USA finished fourth, but the almost 35-year-old skater was no match for the eventual medalists. Two 13-year-olds – Japan’s Momiji Nishiya and Brazil’s Rayssa Leal – took gold and silver, respectively, followed by 16-year-old Funa Nakayama from Japan who won bronze.

Ledecky looking to learn from loss: Normally, winning a silver medal would still be a mini victory. But maybe not for Katie Ledecky, who was bested by Australian rival Ariarne Titmus. Did we mention that was the first individual Olympic loss of her career?

Maybe the loss had something to do with Ledecky swimming a total of 2,100 competitive meters in the Olympic pool on Day 3. But the five-time gold medalist will need to bounce back quickly – she’s due to compete in events over the next four days. Check out her full schedule here and get to know one of the world’s most dominant swimmers.

Expect the unexpected: The U.S. women’s gymnastics team is switching up the lineup ahead of Tuesday night’s team final. Grace McCallum will compete on both uneven bars and balance beam rather than Jordan Chiles, despite Chiles scoring higher in both events all year. But Chiles struggled in qualifying, and it looks like Team USA is more confident in McCallum’s abilities right now.

Skeet, skeet: Amber English and Vincent Hancock both won gold in skeet shooting, giving Team USA a clean sweep in the women’s and men’s events. Before they were winning Olympic medals, the pair grew up together, meeting when they were both 16. Since then, English and Hancock have leaned on each other for advice and inspiration as their shooting careers evolved.

English picked up an Olympic trifecta: winning gold in her first Games and setting an Olympic record in the process with 56 hits. She also outshot the reigning champ Diana Bacosi on her way to the top of the podium.

Hancock, on the other hand, is a veteran of the Games and he continued to dominate the competition. He became the first skeet shooter to win three Olympic gold medals, and he did it in the same Games as one of his best friends.

Not all about winning and losing: Medals are everything in the Olympics, but the Games are also about the stories, of what athletes must overcome to compete against the best in the world. Kevin McDowell is one of those athletes. The American triathlete finished sixth in Tokyo, the highest ever finish for a U.S. man in Olympic triathlon. He didn’t win a medal – despite briefly leading the pack – but he did have the best run of his career 10 years after beating cancer.

This is only a taste of what’s happening in Tokyo right now. Want to know more? Text our reporters abroad.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chasing Gold: Olympics Day 3 saw epic swimming rivalry, shooting stars