Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Water Polo
Rio Recap, Day 15: Cabral Takes Eighth in Steeple Final; Johnson Leads USA To Water Polo Final
August 17, 2016 | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track and Field, Women's Water Polo
Follow All Princetonians In Rio At Our Olympics Central Page
Donn Cabral '12 finished eighth in his second consecutive Olympic steeplechase final, as he ran 8:25.81. His time was .10 seconds faster than his 2012 time in London when he finished eighth at 8:25.91. His finish was updated twice on Wednesday afternoon as two runners were later disqualified, the most stunning of which was Kenya's Ezekiel Kemboi being stripped of the bronze as it was found that he ran "inside the curve of the water jump at least once." The bronze has now been awarded to France's Mahiedine Mekhissi. It was the French team that filed the protest.
Hours later, rising senior Ashleigh Johnson clinched Princeton's second medal of the Rio Games, as she led the USA women's water polo team past Hungary 14-10 in the semifinal round.
Cabral qualified for the final after running the third fastest time in the first round on Monday at 8:21.96. He clocked 8:26.37 in the US Olympic Trials back in June to take the third qualifying spot behind Evan Jager and Hilary Bor, both of which made the final. Jager won the silver medal - the first American to medal since 1984 with a time of 8:04.28, while Bor finished right in front of Cabral in eighth place.
As the race began Cabral was in the back of the pack with Kenya's Conselus Kipruto leading Jager. Ugwanda's Jacob Araptany who was running in third tripped before a barrier and took it square to the face and would not finish. WIth four laps remaining, Jager took the lead with Kipruto and Kemboi right behind as the top three started to gap from the pack, which included Cabral. Cabral started to make his move at the same time as Jager and moved into 11th with Bor in fourth place. At 2000 meters, Morraco's Hamid Ezzine dropped out and Tunisia's Amor Ben Yahia went down and was later disqualified up as Cabral grabbed ninth place. At the bell, the two Kenyans moved in front of Jager and at the final turn Kipruto threw his arm in the air in early celebration, before the final barrier, and won the race with an Olympic record of 8:03.28. Jager outkicked Kemboi, who announced his retirement after the race, for the silver in what also surpassed the previous Olympic record. Results
Interestingly, Princeton track & field alum and Nike executive Craig Masback '77 called the race on NBC.
Hours later, Johnson made eight saves to lead the unbeaten Team USA to a 14-10 victory over Hungary to clinch a return trip to the Olympic gold medal final. Johnson made eight saves in a game that was much closer than the majority of the USA games so far, though the Americans never let Hungary even the score during the second half. The American side held an 8-6 lead midway through the third period, but a 4-1 run over the next four minutes gave the reigning Olympic champion full control of the semifinal.
Johnson has now made 39 saves and allowed only 24 goals throughout the Olympics. Her team will meet Italy Friday at 2:30 pm on NBC for the gold medal.
Prior to Friday's gold medal final, check out Ashleigh on the Today Show, which aired Wednesday morning.
Donn Cabral '12 finished eighth in his second consecutive Olympic steeplechase final, as he ran 8:25.81. His time was .10 seconds faster than his 2012 time in London when he finished eighth at 8:25.91. His finish was updated twice on Wednesday afternoon as two runners were later disqualified, the most stunning of which was Kenya's Ezekiel Kemboi being stripped of the bronze as it was found that he ran "inside the curve of the water jump at least once." The bronze has now been awarded to France's Mahiedine Mekhissi. It was the French team that filed the protest.
Hours later, rising senior Ashleigh Johnson clinched Princeton's second medal of the Rio Games, as she led the USA women's water polo team past Hungary 14-10 in the semifinal round.
Cabral qualified for the final after running the third fastest time in the first round on Monday at 8:21.96. He clocked 8:26.37 in the US Olympic Trials back in June to take the third qualifying spot behind Evan Jager and Hilary Bor, both of which made the final. Jager won the silver medal - the first American to medal since 1984 with a time of 8:04.28, while Bor finished right in front of Cabral in eighth place.
As the race began Cabral was in the back of the pack with Kenya's Conselus Kipruto leading Jager. Ugwanda's Jacob Araptany who was running in third tripped before a barrier and took it square to the face and would not finish. WIth four laps remaining, Jager took the lead with Kipruto and Kemboi right behind as the top three started to gap from the pack, which included Cabral. Cabral started to make his move at the same time as Jager and moved into 11th with Bor in fourth place. At 2000 meters, Morraco's Hamid Ezzine dropped out and Tunisia's Amor Ben Yahia went down and was later disqualified up as Cabral grabbed ninth place. At the bell, the two Kenyans moved in front of Jager and at the final turn Kipruto threw his arm in the air in early celebration, before the final barrier, and won the race with an Olympic record of 8:03.28. Jager outkicked Kemboi, who announced his retirement after the race, for the silver in what also surpassed the previous Olympic record. Results
Interestingly, Princeton track & field alum and Nike executive Craig Masback '77 called the race on NBC.
Hours later, Johnson made eight saves to lead the unbeaten Team USA to a 14-10 victory over Hungary to clinch a return trip to the Olympic gold medal final. Johnson made eight saves in a game that was much closer than the majority of the USA games so far, though the Americans never let Hungary even the score during the second half. The American side held an 8-6 lead midway through the third period, but a 4-1 run over the next four minutes gave the reigning Olympic champion full control of the semifinal.
Johnson has now made 39 saves and allowed only 24 goals throughout the Olympics. Her team will meet Italy Friday at 2:30 pm on NBC for the gold medal.
Prior to Friday's gold medal final, check out Ashleigh on the Today Show, which aired Wednesday morning.
Princeton Athletics 2023-24 Highlights
Tuesday, June 04
Highlights from 2022 Gary Walters ’67 PVC Awards Banquet
Wednesday, June 22
Princeton Athletics 2021-22 Highlights
Monday, June 06
Thank You for Roaring Forward on TAGD 2021
Wednesday, December 01