Emma Weyant Aims for Gold in Women’s 400IM Finals

Emma Weyant Aims for Gold in Women’s 400IM Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest

The first swimming medals of the 2020 Tokyo Games will be awarded Saturday night as the members of the U.S. Olympic swimming team hit the pool for the womens 400m individual medley final.

An American woman has won a medal in the 400 IM at every Olympics since 2004 and 19-year-old Emma Weyant could be next up after earning the finals top seed with a personal best of 4:33.55 seconds in the fourth heat.

Weyant beat defending Olympic and world champion Katinka Hosszu of Hungary. Hosszu had not lost an Olympic or World Championship race since the 2012 London Games and finished fourth in the heat and seventh overall with a 4:36.01 time.

If Weyant can win gold tonight, she will be Team USAs first gold medalist in the 400IM since Janet Evans victory at the 1988 Seoul Games. Previous winners include Tracy Caulkins (1984), Claudia Kolb (1968) and Donna de Varona (1964).

Can the young phenom add her name to the list of Olympic champions?

Find out when the Womens 400 IM Final begins at 10:12 PM ET.