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How to watch Delaware athletes in rugby and swimming

VaselineJuly 23, 2024

1 4 minutes read

How to watch Delaware athletes in rugby and swimming

Athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in 329 events across 32 sports when the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris open on July 26.

Among them are three Delawareans who made the U.S. team in swimming, artistic swimming and rugby. Here’s what you need to know about each athlete and how to watch them over the next two weeks.

Malacchi Esdale, rugby

Esdale, a 2013 Appoquinimink graduate, has been a professional rugby player since 2018, first in Major League Rugby and more recently for Team USA. The Paris Games will be Esdale’s first Olympic Games — he traveled to the 2021 Tokyo Games as a reserve.

The 29-year-old grew up in the Newark area before moving to Florida for high school. He returned to Delaware and completed his senior year at Appoquinimink before playing football at ASA College in New York and Miami, Fla. Esdale transferred from Miami to Central Florida after a coaching change, but did not play football there. He eventually joined the school’s club rugby team and wound up with the Houston Sabercats of Major League Rugby when it started in 2018.

Esdale lives in Orlando with his wife Paula Vallero.

ABOUT THE SPORT: Rugby at the Olympics is a faster seven-a-side format that differs from the traditional 15-player game. In rugby sevens, a game lasts 14 minutes and is divided into two halves. The gold medal game lasts 20 minutes. The US is seeking its first medal in rugby sevens. Fiji won gold in 2016 and 2021.

HOW TO WATCH: Pool play begins on July 24. Every match will be streamed live on Peacock. Coverage will also be available on various cable channels.

American Men’s Rugby Schedule

All times are in Eastern Standard Time. All games are available live on Peacock.

Wednesday July 24

USA vs. France in Pool C 10:30 in the morning USA Network coverage begins at 11 o ‘clock in the morning

USA vs. Fiji in Pool C 2.30 pm USA Network coverage begins at 1 o’clock in the afternoon

Thursday July 25

USA vs. Uruguay in Pool C 9:00am USA Network coverage begins at 8:00am

Placement matches for teams ranked 9th through 12th 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Quarterfinals start at 3:00 p.m.

Saturday July 27

The tournament continues, ending with a bronze medal match at 1 p.m. (CNBC) and a gold medal match at 1:45 p.m. (NBC)

Megumi Field, artistic swimming

Field first tried artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming, as a 5-year-old at the Greater Philadelphia YMCA in Phoenixville, northwest of Philadelphia. She soon began a 13-year quest for the Olympics that took her from the suburbs north of Wilmington to her current home in Cerritos, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Her multi-sport education included early training at First State Gymnastics in Newark, competitive swimming at the Wilmington Aquatics Club, and ballet lessons.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: Olympian ‘fell in love’ with artistic swimming as a 5-year-old living in Delaware

ABOUT THE SPORT: The U.S. qualified for the Olympics in artistic swimming for the first time since 2008 with a team bronze medal at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar. Field will compete in an Olympic double, also duetting with Jamie Czarkowski, her competitive teammate for just a few months. The U.S. last won medals in the sport at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

HOW TO WATCH: Team competition, featuring eight swimmers, is August 5-7. The duet competition is August 9-10. Duet is a two-part competition with technical and free routines. The team aspect includes technical, free and acrobatic segments. Each event is streamed live on Peacock. Coverage is also available on various cable channels.

American Artistic Swimming Schedule

All times are in Eastern Standard Time. All events are available live on Peacock.

Monday August 5th

Team technical routine 1:30 pm The coverage on E! begins at 14.00 hours

Tuesday August 6th

Team free routine 1:30 pm Coverage on Paris Extra 1, a temporary channel for broadcasting the Olympic Games, begins at 12 o ‘clock in the afternoon

Wednesday August 7th

Team acrobatic routine 1:30 pm The coverage on E! begins at 1:40 PM An encore will be played on NBC at 5:00 p.m.

Friday August 9th

Duet Technical Routine 1:30pm Coverage on E! begins at 3:45pm

Saturday August 10th

Duet Free Routine 1:30pm Coverage on E! begins at 3:45pm

Erin Gemmell, swimming

Gemmell was born in Delaware, but moved to Potomac, Maryland before age 10 after his father, Bruce, was hired as a coach at the Nation’s Capital Swim Club. Bruce Gemmell served as the senior national coach of the Delaware Swim Team for seven years, including when his son Andrew, a Charter of Wilmington graduate, qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. In D.C., he coached Katie Ledecky during her historic Olympic run in Rio in 2016.

Gemmell was a young admirer of the teenage Ledecky at the time, once dressing up as her for Halloween, according to multiple media reports. She is now scheduled to swim with Ledecky in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay after finishing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Trials. Gemmell may also swim in the open 200 meters since Ledecky, who won the 200 meters at the trials, will not swim that event in Paris while she focuses on the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events.

Gemmell, 19, just finished her freshman year at Texas. She was a Big 12 champion in the 100- and 500-meter freestyle.

ABOUT THE SPORT: Forty-eight American swimmers are scheduled to go to Paris. The U.S. is looking to maintain its swimming dominance as the Australian squad strengthens and phenomena emerge in countries like Canada and China. The Aussies surpassed the Americans in gold medals at the 2023 world championships. The U.S. has won the most gold medals at the Olympics every year since 1988.

HOW TO WATCH: One of the main sports of the Summer Olympics, pool swimming, takes place from July 27 to August 4. A full swimming schedule is available on the Team USA website. NBC will cover most of the events, and every event will be streamed live on Peacock.

Gemmell is scheduled to swim in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay on Aug. 1. The final is scheduled for 3:49 p.m. ET. The heats and semifinals of the women’s 200-meter freestyle are scheduled for July 28 (semifinals at 3:50 p.m.). The final is scheduled for 3:41 p.m. on July 29.

VaselineJuly 23, 2024

1 4 minutes read