Wednesday was yet another big day for local swimmers and divers in Rio.
With three Midwest athletes vying for medals, the water events had viewers on the edge of their seats.
Here are five things to watch on Day 5 of the Rio Games:
1. Ryan Murphy Continues Quest for Second Olympic Medal, Lilly King Falls Short, Kevin Cordes Finishes Olympic Debut
Ryan Murphy, of Palos Heights, set an Olympic record and won the United States' third swimming gold medal in Rio by taking the 100-meter backstroke on Monday night in 51.97 seconds.
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On Wednesday, he competed in the men’s 200m backstroke heats, where he came in fourth with a time of 1:56.29. He finished fourth in the semifinals with a time of 1:55.15, qualifying for Thursday’s final event.
After a stunning victory that brought her a gold medal Monday night, Indiana swimmer Lilly King fell short in her chase for a second medal.
King of Evansville, Indiana, swam in Wednesday's women's 200m breaststroke heats, barely qualifying for the semifinals with a time of 2:25.89. She finished 13th in the semifinal, failing to qualify for Thursday's final.
She grabbed gold Monday night in the women's 100m breaststroke final. The 19-year-old student at Indiana University is in her first Olympics.
Meanwhile, Naperville’s Kevin Cordes faced his last chance at a medal after falling just short of bronze on Sunday.
The young swimmer making his Olympic debut competed in the 100m breaststroke events over the weekend, taking fourth in the finals with a time of 59.22. American Cody Miller took home the bronze with a time of 58.87.
Cordes competed in the men’s 200m breaststroke finals Wednesday, finishing eighth with a time of 2:08.34. USA's Josh Prenot took silver with a time of 2:07.53.
Watch the swimming events live here.
2. Michael Hixon, Sam Dorman Win Silver in Olympic Diving Debuts
Indiana University’s Michael Hixon and partner Sam Dorman took home the silver medal Wednesday in the highly competitive men’s 3m synchronized final.
Dorman and Hixon have only been working together for a few months, and while both have competed around the world, neither had finished in the top 15 in their trials appearance four years ago. That all changed this year.
Great Britain took home the gold medal and China took the bronze.
Hixon began diving at the age of 7, with his mother Mandy, the diving coach at the University of Massachusetts, as his coach. She remained his coach through high school before Hixon left for the University of Texas and later transferred to Indiana University.
Hixon, 22, joined fellow Indiana divers David Boudia and Steele Johnson as an Olympic medalist. Boudia and Johnson turned in a strong performance Monday, securing a silver medal in the men’s synchronized 10m platform event.
Catch full coverage on NBC late-night beginning at 11:30 p.m. CT or watch a recap online here.
3. Madison Keys Competes in Women's Tennis Quarterfinals After Shocking Upsets
After winning her third-round match against Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, Rock Island's Madison Keys will compete in the women's singles quarterfinals.
Keys' win Tuesday came on the same No. 1-seeded American Serena Williams lost in a stunning upset against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Keys was set to take on Russia's Daria Kasatkina in the women's singles quarterfinals Wednesday morning but her match was postponed due to weather. It was later rescheduled for Thursday morning.
4. Women’s Beach Volleyball: Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross Hold Off Switzerland After Losing Set
Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross of the United States lost their first set of the Olympics, but won the decisive third set Wednesday to beat Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre of Switzerland.
The Swiss pair won 24-22 in the second set after failing to convert on its first three set points, evening the match. But the U.S. prevailed in the third.
It was just the second set Walsh Jennings has ever lost at the Summer Games. She won three gold medals with Misty May-Treanor, sweeping Athens and Beijing before losing a single set in London.
5. Men’s Basketball: Carmelo Anthony Leads Team USA to Victory
The U.S men took on perhaps their toughest opponent of the Olympics so far in their third game against Australia. The Aussies sport an NBA-studded lineup, featuring players from the last three NBA championship-winning teams: Matthew Dellavedova (2016), Andrew Bogut (2015) and Patty Mills (2014).
But Carmelo Anthony led the U.S. to victory Wednesday, scoring 31 points as Team USA beat Australia 98-88.
During the game, Anthony became the most prolific scorer in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history.
The first American male basketball player to appear in four Olympics, Anthony opened the game by making three 3-pointers and then moved past close friend Lebron James with another 3 from the left wing with 1:08 left in the first quarter.
“I don’t think we played our best game, but we buckled down when we needed to," he said after Wednesday's win. "Guys came up with big shots [and] we pulled it out."
Kyrie Irving had 19 points for the U.S., while Patty Mills led Australia with 30 points and Andrew Bogut had 15.
The powerhouse U.S women’s team topped Serbia after two previous dominating wins. Diana Taurasi had a career game scoring 22 of her Olympic-best 25 points in the first half to help the Americans to a 110-84 victory Wednesday.
