On the final night of swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the United States set two world records, securing their gold medal count over rival Australia and softening the blow of their first-ever loss in the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay.
Bobby Finke set a new world record in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle with a time of 14:30.67, breaking the previous record of 14:31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang at the 2012 London Games. Finke was under world-record pace throughout the race and surged in the final stretch to claim victory. “I wanted to get on top of the podium again and hear the anthem all over again as I did for the first time in Tokyo,” Finke said, reflecting on his achievement.
Finke’s gold medal was the only individual gold won by an American male swimmer in Paris. Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri took silver with a time of 14:34.55, while Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, the favourite, finished third with a time of 14:39.63, narrowly holding off Hungary’s David Betlehem for the final podium spot. Finke became the first male swimmer to win back-to-back golds in the 1,500-meter freestyle since Australia’s Grant Hackett in 2000 and 2004 and the first American since Mike Burton in 1968 and 1972.
In the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay, Lilly King made a strong comeback after individual disappointments, powering the U.S. team into the lead during the breaststroke leg. Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske, two of the standout American swimmers of these Games, closed out the race with a new world record time of 3:49.63, surpassing the previous record of 3:50.40 set by the U.S. at the 2019 World Championships. Regan Smith led off the relay in the backstroke leg, earning her second relay gold of the Games after initially starting her Olympic career with five silvers and a bronze.
Australia, the defending Olympic champion, claimed silver in 3:53.11, while China took bronze with a time of 3:53.23.
The United States concluded the swimming events with eight gold medals, narrowly edging out Australia, which won seven golds. This marked the lowest gold medal count for the U.S. since the 1988 Seoul Games, where they were surpassed by a doping-tainted East German program. The Americans also finished with 28 total medals, two less than their total from Tokyo 2020.
By Agencies
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