The United States swim team bounced back in Paris after defeats in the 800m and the men’s swimming gold medal match
L.E. Dressel’s fourth gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter breaststroke and 800-meter individual medley
On Friday night before a roaring crowd, France’s swimming phenom Leon Marchand, who lives and trains in the U.S., captured his fourth gold medal at these Summer Games.
Dressel is not the only one. Throughout this Olympic tournament, star athletes have struggled; or in some races they’ve actually posted personal best times and still been outmatched by swimmers from other countries.
In a relay event, Dressel helped the U.S. team pick up one of their four wins. The women’s 100 meter butterfly was won by Torri Huske. Kate Douglass won gold in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke.
Finke came into the Paris Olympics the defending gold medal winner in the men’s 800-meter freestyle, after a breakout performance three years ago at the Tokyo Games.
The man considered the best American medal contender in Paris finished out of medal contention on Friday in the men’s 200-meter individual medley, where you swim freestyle, back, breaststroke and butterfly.
American swimmer Caeleb Dressel and his team, Kaylee McKeown, won gold in the 200-meter backstroke final on Oct. 14, 2019, at the Nickel Arena
Dressel and Smith both spoke of shifting their approach to competition, prioritizing mental health and enjoyment of sport over winning gold. Dressel took eight months off from the sport in the year 2022.
Smith said that she didn’t control what her competitors did, and that she was disappointed by not getting a gold medal. I think that was a damn good swim on my part.”
Smith was the gold medal winner on Friday. She finished a half-second behind Australia’s Kaylee McKeown in the women’s 200-meter backstroke final, picking up a silver medal for the U.S.
“Very obviously not my best work,” Dressel said after the race. I have not been my best this week, but I don’t need to shy away from that. It is tough and a little heartbreaking.
NANTERRE, France — When Caeleb Dressel sliced into the water Friday night at La Defense arena, he carried the mantle of America’s long-dominant swimming program.
During this race, Titmus pulled within a couple of strokes of Ledecky, but each time the American did not give up and powered through. In the end, Ledecky finished more than a second ahead of the Australian with a time of 8:11.04.
Summer McIntosh set an Olympic record and captured her fourth medals of the Paris Games, three of them gold.
Tonight’s haul of medals was a rebound for the U.S. after days of near-misses where athletes from other countries have fought to the wall first. Team USA now has six swimming medals. The US claims at least ten gold medals in the Summer Olympics.
