We miss racing, so let's reminisce!

Over the next couple weeks, we're taking you back to last summer to celebrate the success of the 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 U.S. Team at the at 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.

Today, we wrap up Team USA’s time in Gwangju with a five-medal performance on the final night:

The 2019 FINA World Championships came to wraps on July 28, 2019, when American swimmers stood the podium on five different occasions. The final night in Gwangju, South Korea included individual and relay world records, world champion titles and jaw-dropping comeback efforts.

The first medal earned by an American swimmer on the night was a gold in the 50-meter breaststroke, won by Lilly King. Her time of 29.84 was the only sub-30 second swim in the field and gave her the honor of back-to-back world champion in the event.

“It was good, it felt a little flat, honestly, but I had a great race from the girls in the heat,” King said after the race. “They swam really well. I’m just glad I got my hand on the wall first.”

Shortly after King’s gold was another 50m event claimed by an American, as Simone Manuel took to the blocks in the 50m freestyle. The talent in the event made for a must-watch swim, as Manuel was up against a field that had cumulated 75 world championships medals over their careers, including with the current world-record holder (Sarah Sjostrom) and 2016 Olympic gold medalist (Pernille Blum) in the event.

With all the talent in the pool, the race came down to seven-hundredths of a second separating the gold medal and fourth place, but it was Manuel who touched the wall first in 24.05. The win gave Manuel her sixth medal of the competition and her second gold in as many individual events in Gwangju.

The next event was the men’s 400m individual medley, when Jay Litherland entered as the only American in the event. The race was Litherland’s lone event of the eight-day competition in Gwangju, and he dove in right next to the 200m individual medley champion, Daiya Seto of Japan.

Litherland’s first three legs of the swim put him over three seconds behind Seto as they entered the final 100 meters. Despite the gap between him and Seto, the favorite going into the event, Litherland surged forward, closing the gap with each stroke. When the race was over, he touched the wall in 4:09.22, just three-tenths behind the Seto, to claim silver to earn his first individual world championships medal.

“I’m so tired,” Litherland said after his comeback performance. “I’ve been waiting around all week so I guess I shouldn’t be too tired, but that was a fun race. It’s just awesome racing against these guys. I know some of them were pretty busy with their events all week, so for them to be able to race is pretty cool so I’m glad to be able to race against them.”

The night closed with the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley relays. The American men’s relay team of Ryan Murphy, Andrew Wilson, Caeleb Dressel and Nathan Adrian opened the relay efforts with a silver medal, touching in 3:28.45. The medal gave Dressel his eighth of the event, making him the only swimmer to ever win eight medals at a single LCM world championships event.

The women’s team closed the night with a resounding gold medal, set in a world-record time of 3:50.40. Regan Smith kicked off the relay with a world record of her own, going 57.57 to set a new top mark in the 100m backstroke by nearly a half second. The trio of King, Kelsi Dahlia and Manuel followed Smith’s blistering pace to claim gold in a world-record time of 3:50.40, over a second ahead of the previous record.

“Honestly, when I touched the wall, I didn’t know we broke the world record,” Manuel said. “To start it off with a world record from Regan, I think that really pumped us all up. We definitely wanted to finish off the meet on a good note. Props to her and props to I think all of us on the relay, we’re really happy with that swim.”

The world-record relay performance capped off the competition for Team USA, who ended its time in Gwangju with 30 medals (14 gold, nine silver and seven bronze) across pool and open water events. Inside those 30 medals were five world records, nine American records and historic performances by Dressel and Manuel. Team USA came away from the competition with the 2019 World Championships team title and American performances that will stand out in the minds of swimmers and fans for years to come.