It hasn't exactly been a gold rush for ASU athletes competing in the Olympics.
Senior swimmer Agnes Kovacs was denied medals in the 200m individual medley and the 200m breaststroke, and junior track sprinter Lewis Banda narrowly missed advancing to the finals in the 400m dash.
Kovacs, who made her third Olympic appearance for Hungary, finished fourth in the 200m individual medley, just .86 seconds away from a bronze medal. She took fifth in the 200m breaststroke, 2.75 seconds off the pace, and 10th in the 100m breaststroke.
Banda, a native of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, missed the 400m dash finals by .22 seconds. He finished his qualifying heat in 45.23 seconds, getting edged by Frenchman Leslie Djhone, who claimed third at 45.01.
In other Olympic action, swimming senior Florencia Szigeti, competing for Argentina, finished 25th in the 200m freestyle and junior David Kolozar, of Hungary, took 25th in the 200m butterfly.
Former Sun Devil Petra Banovic, swimming for Croatia, finished 25th in the 100m individual medley and 32nd in the 200m freestyle. Former Sun Devil Ahmed Hussein, of Egypt, took 31st in the 100m backstroke.
Former Sun Devil Gavin Meadows, who holds the seventh-fastest time in school history in the 200m freestyle and the 500m freestyle, helped Great Britain finish fourth in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Meadows' relay team missed a bronze medal by .77 seconds.
ATP pro Sargis Sargsian, of Armenia, suffered a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round of the men's singles tournament.
ASU head coach Linda Wells' Greek softball team was eliminated in pool play after a 3-2 loss against Australia. Former Sun Devil catcher Stacey Farnworth went 1-for-15 with four strikeouts and two walks in the tournament.
Junior Joona Puhakka, the reigning national champion on the 3-meter springboard, will begin competition today for Finland.
On Tuesday, Banda will run in the 4x400m relay, along with former Sun Devil Michael Campbell, who is representing Jamaica.
Considered the gold medal favorite in the long jump, former Sun Devil Dwight Phillips (USA) starts the qualification round Tuesday. The finals are slated for Thursday.
Others with ASU ties in the Olympics include swimming coach Mike Chasson (Egypt swimming coach), diving coach Mark Bradshaw (Finland diving coach) and former Sun Devil wrestlers Zeke Jones (U.S. men's freestyle wrestling coach) and Townsend Saunders (U.S. women's freestyle wrestling coach).
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu
