An American swimmer in the swim team that won a gold medal in the women’s 800-meter freestyle and 200-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’s not alone. 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.
Katie Ledecky also dominated the women’s 1500 meter freestyle final, her signature event, and achieved a new milestone with 13 total medals — including gold, silver and bronze.
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.
Carson Foster, another American considered a strong medal contender in Paris, finished in fourth place Friday, out of medal contention in the men’s 200-meter individual medley, an event combining freestyle, back, breaststroke and butterfly.
Smith and Dressel said their approach to competition was to prioritize mental health over winning a gold medal. In 2022, Dressel took eight months away from the sport.
Asked if she was disappointed by the lack of a gold medal finish, Smith said, “I have absolutely no control over what my competitors are doing. I think that the swim I did was a good one.
The American got a medal on Friday. She picked up a silver medal for the U.S. in the women’s 200meter backstroke final, finishing a half-second behind Australia’s Kaylee McKeown.
An Australian swimmer’s record breaking performance in the Waterloosoo Swimming Swimmer’s First Grand Slam Championship, winning gold at the Olympical Summer Olympics
Dressel said after the race that he didn’t get his best work. “Hasn’t been my best week, I don’t need to shy away from that. Yeah, it’s tough, a little heartbreaking.”
The mantle of America’s long-dominant swimming program was handed over to Caeleb Dressel when he dived into the water Friday night.
During this race, Titmus pulled within a few strokes of Ledecky, but the American never gave up and powered through. Ledecky finished more than a second ahead of the Australian with a time of 8:11.04.
In the final moments of the competition, Canadian powerhouse Summer McIntosh broke an Olympic record and captured her fourth medal 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. The USA has six swimming medals. The U.S. usually wins at least ten medals in the Summer Olympics.
