California Today: One of the Teams Dominating the Olympics? California

July 30, 2021

Katie Ledecky's road to Olympic gold took her through Stanford.Doug Mills/The New York Times

By Jill Cowan and Soumya Karlamangla

Good morning.

Surfing and skateboarding, sports with roots in California, have made their splashy debuts this year at the Olympics. And true to form, California athletes have also made quite a showing at the Games so far.

Of the 613 athletes competing from the United States, more than one in five are from California, according to the Census Bureau. That does not include the dozens more who did not grow up here but competed for California college teams, such as Stanford, which according to one expert has sent more athletes to the Olympics than any other university.

The California contingent in Tokyo — including people who live here or attended college here — has helped the United States win 13 of its 41 medals as of Thursday evening. Florida can so far claim 11 medals this year, while most states have only a couple to their name.

The Olympic Games are only halfway through, and there are still lots of events coming up where California athletes can shine. Here's a rundown of some of the notable wins as well upcoming competitions. All times, of course, are Pacific:

Californians who earned medals

For the first time in 13 years, softball returned to the Olympic stage. Ten of the 15 players on the U.S. team, which took home a silver medal, were from California. Pitcher Monica Abbott is from Salinas and catcher Aubree Munro is from Brea.
Kelsey Plum, from Poway in San Diego County, helped the U.S. earn a gold medal for women's three-on-three basketball, which made its Olympic debut this year.
A three-person dressage team won the U.S. a silver medal, its best finish since 1948. Sabine Schut-Kery is from Thousand Oaks, and Steffen Peters is from San Diego.
Swimming races feature plenty of California college stars, but perhaps no one is as well-known as Katie Ledecky, a Stanford grad who gained three Olympic medals this year for a total of nine over her career. Ryan Murphy, Katie McLaughlin and Abbey Weitzeil, all of whom swam for U.C. Berkeley, also won medals in Tokyo.

Upcoming events featuring Californians

Golf: Two Southern California golfers, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, are off to strong starts so far. The men's gold medal match starts on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.Danielle Kang, who attended Pepperdine University and went to high school in Thousand Oaks, is competing as one of the top-ranked golfers in the world. The women's gold medal match airs on Aug. 7 at 11:30 p.m.
Women's beach volleyball: April Ross, a three-time Olympian of Costa Mesa, and Alix Klineman, of Manhattan Beach, make a promising duo. The gold medal match airs on Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

By the time the Tokyo Games are over, Allyson Felix may be the most decorated track and field athlete in Olympic history.Alexandra Garcia/The New York Times

Track and field: Allyson Felix, a L.A. native, already has nine Olympic medals to her name. Just one more would give her more than any female Olympic track and field athlete in history.Felix has three chances for another medal this year, since she's running the 400-meter race and could also compete in two relays. The finals of the 400-meter dash air Aug. 6 at 5:35 p.m.
Water polo: Make sure you keep an eye on what is indisputably the most California-dominated sport. Twenty-six players make up the U.S. men's and women's water polo teams — 25 are from California or attended college here.The women's gold medal match is on Aug. 7 at 12:30 a.m. The men's is Aug. 8 at 12:30 a.m.

For more:

Read about how California became a dominant cultural and athletic force at the Olympics.
Track all of the Olympics results here.
As the Games approach their midpoint, some are questioning whether the Olympic Covid-19 bubble can hold while cases hit a record high in Tokyo.
Meet Sunisa Lee, the first Hmong American to represent the United States at the Olympics. This week, she became the fifth consecutive American woman to win the coveted title of best all-around gymnast in the world.

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California Today goes live at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here and read every edition online here.

Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter.

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