Midwest swimmers brought the competition to the Olympic swimming pool Monday with several local athletes walking away with Olympic medals.
Winnetka's Conor Dwyer got his first individual Olympic medal when he earned the bronze during the men's 200m freestyle Monday night.
Dwyer finished behind Chad le Clos of South Africa, and 2012 silver medalist Sun Yang of China, who outsprinted le Clos in the final 50 meters to win gold in 1:44.65.
Dwyer finished 4th in the 400m freestyle finals Saturday night and perhaps that disappointment gave him the surge necessary for an impressive performance Sunday and Monday.
Lilly King of Evansville, Indiana, grabbed gold Monday night in the women's 100m breaststroke final. Rival Yulia Efimova was .57 seconds behind King, who finished in 1 minute, 4.93 seconds. American Katie Meili won bronze.
Asked if she thought the win made a statement, King said: "I hope I did — that we can still compete clean. … That's how it should be."
King, a 19-year-old student at Indiana University, is in her first Olympics.
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Before King and Efimova faced off, 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.
Murphy beat out defending Olympic champion Matt Grevers in the U.S. Olympic Trials for his slot on the team.
Olivia Smoliga from Glenview took 6th but did not medal in the women’s 100m backstroke final Monday night.
Smoliga competed in the 100m backstroke semifinals Sunday night, clocking a time of 59.35 to claim the 8th spot in the finals.
On Sunday, Valparaiso native Blake Pieroni won gold in the men's 4 x 100 freestyle relay after his time of 48.39 in the preliminary heats helped Team USA qualify for the final. Ryan Held, Michael Phelps, Caeleb Dressel and Nathan Adrian won the final for the event in 3:09.92.
