Suburban swimmer Ryan Murphy won his second medal of the Rio Games Thursday.
Murphy, who was born in Palos Heights, set an Olympic record and won the United States' third swimming gold medal in Rio by taking the 100-meter backstroke Monday in 51.97 seconds.
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.
He clocked a time of 1:53.62 in the finals, finishing more than a full second ahead of the silver medalist to claim his second gold medal in Rio, his Olympic debut.
Murphy beat out defending 2012 Olympic champion Matt Grever in the 100m backstroke to earn his ticket to Rio in the 2016 Trials.
He has won the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke titles at the NCAA Championships three years in a row for the University of California-Berkeley.
