Day Three Recap: Grit, Heartbreak, and Breakthroughs in Tokyo

TOKYO – Day Three on Tuesday: Grit Over Glory as the U.S. Keeps Pushin

USA Deaf Judo faced a tough team challenge against France. The U.S. came up short, with a loss. This wraps up America’s participation in Judo as their Deaflympics run has been cut short. The team will leave Japan with one Gold medal collectively, due to Nina Cutro-Kelly’s +78kg Women’s win. 

USA Deaf Golf began Deaflympic play with strong performances from both the women’s and men’s squads. On the women’s side, Ashlyn Johnson shot 78 to end the day tied for fifth, followed by Erica Pressley with 80 for a tie at eighth. Jamie Fisher recorded 87, good for a tie in 15th place. On the men’s side, Kevin Hall and James McGowin Miller each posted 73, good for a tie in third place, while Justin Tokioka followed with 79 to finish tied for 13th. All the USA golfers move on to the second round tomorrow. 

USA Deaf Bowling completed singles play yesterday. Kris Burford placed 26th, Ronnie Zuchegno Jr., 27th, and Corey Blackwell finished 36th overall. For the women’s side, official scores will be released tomorrow morning. 

At Ariake Tennis Park, the American women opened the day with control and poise. Emily Hangstefer delivered a standout performance in her singles match, defeating Italy in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Her consistency has been a key factor in her performance this week.

On the men’s side, Daniel Hangstefer battled Ecuador in a three set marathon. Daniel won the opening set 7-5, but his Ecuadorian opponent responded with a fast 6-1 second set. The final set went the distance before Ecuador got the win 7-6. It was a gritty showing from Daniel, who pushed himself to the maximum.

Over at the indoor volleyball courts, the USA Deaf Volleyball men’s team delivered their most dominant win of their Deaflympic journey thus far, defeating Bulgaria in straight sets 25-15, 25-10, 25-12. With powerful serving and tight defensive work, the Americans controlled every phase of the match.

On the next court, the American women battled Italy in a five set thriller in front of a packed house. Italy raced to a 2-0 lead, but the Red, White, and Blue roared back, taking the next two sets. The match came down to a tense final set, where Italy ultimately closed it out 15-13. Despite the loss, the United States showed depth and discipline, highlighting their potential for the rest of the tournament.

A hop, skip, and jump from the indoor volleyball courts, the track at the National Athletics Stadium welcomed the Deaflympic athletics delegation for the first day of Athletics. High jumper Darius Zarembka made his Deaflympics debut, but failed to advance to the High Jump finals as he did not advance beyond the 1.86m/6’1” jump.

Three American sprinters raced through the semifinal rounds, but none of them advanced to the finals. In the men’s 100m semifinals, Eric Gregory placed sixth with a time of 11.35 in his own heat. Gareth Ashton finished in seventh place in his heat with a time of 11.54. In the men’s 400 meter semifinal, Nicholas Starks was disqualified (DQ).

In long-distance action, Sevan Ikeda made his highly-anticipated Deaflympic debut, placing 5th in his 1500m run with a time of 4:14.59, By placing in the top 5, he advanced to the 1500m final happening tomorrow. In unfortunate news, Hannah Kohler ran the 10,000 and placed ninth, good for a personal record with a time of 39:57:16, but was disqualified for having no spikes on her sneakers. 

For more results from today, visit our results webpage.

As always, you can follow the U.S. Teams’ schedules, results, highlights, moments, and every story as the Games continue across Tokyo at our website: usdeafsports.org.