A welcoming ceremony for Olympic gold medalist and Arlington native Torri Huske will be held Sunday at the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center.
Returning to her hometown after a record-breaking performance at the Paris Olympics – where she won three gold medals and two silver medals in swimming events – Huske will give a short speech and offer autographs and photos for swimming fans under 18.
The event at 333 Long Bridge Drive begins at 3 p.m., but the public can arrive as early as 2:30 p.m. They “are asked to welcome Torri Huske with signs and banners upon her arrival,” a county news release said.
The event will also feature remarks from Libby Garvey, chair of the Arlington County Board, and Evan Stiles, head coach of the Arlington Aquatic Club, a local elite swim club of which Huske has been a member for most of his life.
Free parking for the event is available a nine-minute walk away at Long Bridge Park or on Long Bridge Drive. Huske asks guests to donate non-perishable food items to support the Arlington Food Assistance Center.
Huske, who was born and raised in Arlington, began swimming at the Arlington Aquatic Club at age 6. She graduated from Yorktown High School and set an American record in the preliminaries for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
In Tokyo, she missed an Olympic medal in the 100-meter butterfly by 0.01 seconds, but took silver in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay.
In Paris, the 21-year-old won her first gold medal when she beat fellow American Gretchen Walsh by 0.04 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly. She then set world records in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay and the mixed 4×100-meter medley relay.
Huske won silver in the 100-meter freestyle and in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.