SCV native wins bronze at Olympics

Saugus alumna Abbey Weitzeil swims the 100 backstroke. Dan Watson/The Signal
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Olympic swimmer and Saugus High School graduate Abbey Weitzeil took home a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Saturday.

Weitzeil swam the second leg for the U.S. women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, clocking the fastest time of the four American swimmers at 52.68 seconds for her 100-meter leg.

The U.S. finished the race in 3:32.81, just .03 of a second behind Canada, which took home silver with a time of 3:32.78, while Australia won gold with their 3:29.69 time, which broke their previous world record of 3:30.65.

Weitzeil became the first Southern Californian to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, her third medal overall, after winning a gold medal in the 4×100 medley in the 2016 Rio Olympics as well as a silver medal in the 4×100 freestyle.

The 24-year-old Weitzeil is next scheduled to compete Wednesday in a heat of the 100 freestyle, which she won at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Weitzeil was born in Valencia and set national high school records during her time at Saugus High School. After she graduated in 2015, she deferred her enrollment to University of California, Berkeley, for a year to train for the Olympics.

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