Team USA celebrated a bronze medal win with the help of Abbey Weitzeil, Olympic veteran and Santa Clarita native, following the 400 meter free relay on Saturday.

Weitzeil took part in the 400 meter free relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, taking home a bronze medal for Team USA.

Team USA took home the bronze medal following their 3:33.70 relay, while Australia took home gold after finishing at a world record time of 3:29.69. 

As the first woman to ever swim the 50-yard freestyle in under 21 seconds, Weitzeil proved to be a top contender for the relay and contributes her consistent speed to her dedication to her country. 

“When you have your flag on your cap, there’s something else that comes out of you,” Weitzeil said in an interview with Team USA.

Weitzel competed as one of the only teenagers in the U.S. swim team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where she played a part in winning silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay and gold in the 4×100 medley relay for Team USA, according to Team USA.

With three world championships and the 2016 Olympic Games under her belt, the Santa Clarita native has been serving as an example for the 11 teen swimmers who are competing at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

“It’s weird,” Weitzeil said in an interview with Team USA officials two days before the Tokyo Games officially began. “I thought about that. I am a veteran on this team. It’s pretty crazy to think because ‘16 doesn’t feel like five years ago. It feels like last year. So it’s crazy to think that five years have gone by, and there are people who are the age I was back then.”

See Related: ​Four Santa Clarita Olympians Competing In Tokyo Games

During the 2016 Olympic Games, Weitzeil was a recent high school graduate from Saugus High School in Santa Clarita where she was born and raised. 

By the 2020 Tokyo Games, Weitzeil has become a 2020 college graduate with a degree in public health from the University of California Berkeley.

“I feel so much more mentally relaxed and prepared this year than I did in ‘16 simply just because I’ve gone through it, and I feel like I have gained a lot more experience since then,” Weitzeil said.  

In Tokyo, Weitzeil had the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races on her agenda, just like her 2016 schedule.

In Rio, Weitzeil finished twelfth in the 50-meter and seventeenth in the 100-meter, according to Team USA.

Her medals, including the recent bronze metal win at the Tokyo Olympic Games, all come in the form of relays. 

During the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Weitzeil swam “the fastest leg for the U.S. team.”  

“Racing individually is so different than racing on a relay,” she explained. “It’s a lot more about your confidence in yourself rather than just relying on your teammates or doing it for your teammates that are up there with you. You get up for a relay and you’re like, ‘I can’t mess this up, everyone here is rooting for me and needs me.’”

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are far from over for Weitzeil as she awaits her 50-meter and 100-meter races next week.

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