Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Teaming Up: U.S. Women's Relay Teams That Produced Medals, Smiles and Legacies
This March, USA Swimming is celebrating Women's History Month by recognizing a few amazing women's relay teams that made waves around the world. There have been many successful women's relay teams in American swimming history, but these teams left legacies, stories, records and smiles that will forever be held by swimming fans nationwide.
The Last Gold
Who could forget the 1976 Games when Americans Shirley Babashoff, Jill Sterkel, Kim Peyton and Wendy Boglioli overpowered the East Germans to win an improbable gold in the 400 Free Relay? The East Germans, made famous by their Cold War-era doping regime, unfairly and illegally dominated every race at the Games, except this relay when our American women prevailed, giving the world the biggest upset in the history of the sport. Their victory inspired many, and their story is now a movie, titled, “The Last Gold.”
American Women Tally Gold Medal No. 1,000 for Team USA
Fast forward to the 2016 Olympic Games. Fun fact: Simone Manuel, Kathleen Baker, Lilly King and Dana Vollmer made history when their triumphant 4 x 100 Medley Relay marked the 1,000th Olympic gold medal for Team USA. The race was fought hard with a narrow edge over Australia and Denmark. This gold-medal win was 120 years in the making.
Two World Records in One Race
At the 2019 FINA World Championships, the American team of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Kelsi Dahlia and Simone Manuel absolutely dominated the 4 x 100 Medley Relay from the start. Smith set a world record in her backstroke leg with a 57.27, and Dahlia’s 56.16 in her butterfly was the fastest split she has ever swum in a relay. Along with King and Manuel’s solid contributions, the gold-medalists posted a 3:50.40, earning them a world record and winning the 2019 Golden Goggles Award for Relay Performance of the Year.
Anderson, Twichell Build on Open Water Resumes
The U.S. gave us plenty of amazing relay performances in South Korea in 2019, but one that should not go unnoticed is the 5k mixed relay from the Open Water World Championships. Haley Anderson, Ashley Twichell, Jordan Wilimovsky and Michael Brinegar were simply outstanding. They all deserve credit for bringing home the hardware, but both Anderson and Twichell showcased their open water dominance and built on their legacy in American swimming through their performance in this relay. Anderson was one of the only women to lead off the relay that featured 21 countries and finish her leg ahead of almost every male swimmer she raced against. Thanks to the talents of Anderson and Twichell, the relay earned bronze, the third open water medal of Team USA's time in South Korea.
The third-place finish gave Anderson and Twichell their fifth Open Water Worlds medals, tying them (with each other) for the most ever won by a female American swimmer.
“As a distance swimmer, we don’t get to do relays, so this entailed more thought-process and a different strategy,” says Anderson. “My goal was to go as fast as I could, stay with the guys and use my speed. The finish was so intense. We were very close, it was just so exciting!”
Along with the relay medal, the two used the competition to punch their tickets to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in the open water 10k. While they have both seen successes at the national and world-championships levels, this summer will be the first time that they share an Olympic roster together.
"Victory Lap" Creates Memories for National Champion Stanford Team
While many teams deserve recognition for memorable relay swims, we finish with some humor: The Women’s 800-- or should we say 850-- Free Relay. At the 2019 NCAA Division 1 Championships, sophomore standout Brooke Forde was set to anchor the 800 Free Relay for her Stanford teammates, Katie Drabot, Ella Eastin, and Taylor Ruck. The three women dominated the race splitting 1:43.99, 1:41.03 and 1:39.83, respectively, giving Forde a sizable lead. She just needed to hold on to cinch the win. The distance ace kept the lead, anchoring with a 1:42.37 and giving Stanford a new pool record. But that record is overshadowed by the memories of laughter and joy when these amazing women realized their victory was secured Forde’s foot touch.
She had lost count by her third 50, and tried listening for announcements that she was on her final lap, but heard nothing. And since she held the lead, she couldn’t check if anyone was already stopped at the wall. So she flipped and swam an extra 50, now dubbed as her ‘“victory” lap.
“Luckily I was far enough ahead from the pack that my foot touch didn’t lose the race,” says Forde. “My two biggest fears were losing and getting DQ'd.” But in true team-spirit fashion, her teammates and coaches embraced her with hugs and laughter. “They were all still there, smiling at me. I think they knew I was overwhelmed and they just gave me what I needed at that moment.”
Forde has miscounted before in the 200 breast, but luckily she saw others stop at the wall. She also stopped a 50 short in the 500, thanks to a mistake from her lapcounter and the official ringing the bell early. “I have a track record, and it gets brought up frequently in practice. Ledecky won’t even let me lap count for her,” Forde laughs.
“The nice thing about that relay is that it was a good ice-breaker for the first night of NCAA’s. We all had a good laugh, which was great when people there are so stressed. That relay was very special. Those women are so inspiring and I was excited to be working on a tangible team goal with some very cool people,” says Forde. “Our sport gets so individual at times that relays are just fun. I'm not a sprinter so the 800 relay is my one chance for a team event. But now they’re scared I might miscount and someone might jump in on me, so I anchor a lot!”
The Last Gold
Who could forget the 1976 Games when Americans Shirley Babashoff, Jill Sterkel, Kim Peyton and Wendy Boglioli overpowered the East Germans to win an improbable gold in the 400 Free Relay? The East Germans, made famous by their Cold War-era doping regime, unfairly and illegally dominated every race at the Games, except this relay when our American women prevailed, giving the world the biggest upset in the history of the sport. Their victory inspired many, and their story is now a movie, titled, “The Last Gold.”
American Women Tally Gold Medal No. 1,000 for Team USA
Fast forward to the 2016 Olympic Games. Fun fact: Simone Manuel, Kathleen Baker, Lilly King and Dana Vollmer made history when their triumphant 4 x 100 Medley Relay marked the 1,000th Olympic gold medal for Team USA. The race was fought hard with a narrow edge over Australia and Denmark. This gold-medal win was 120 years in the making.
Two World Records in One Race
At the 2019 FINA World Championships, the American team of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Kelsi Dahlia and Simone Manuel absolutely dominated the 4 x 100 Medley Relay from the start. Smith set a world record in her backstroke leg with a 57.27, and Dahlia’s 56.16 in her butterfly was the fastest split she has ever swum in a relay. Along with King and Manuel’s solid contributions, the gold-medalists posted a 3:50.40, earning them a world record and winning the 2019 Golden Goggles Award for Relay Performance of the Year.
Anderson, Twichell Build on Open Water Resumes
The U.S. gave us plenty of amazing relay performances in South Korea in 2019, but one that should not go unnoticed is the 5k mixed relay from the Open Water World Championships. Haley Anderson, Ashley Twichell, Jordan Wilimovsky and Michael Brinegar were simply outstanding. They all deserve credit for bringing home the hardware, but both Anderson and Twichell showcased their open water dominance and built on their legacy in American swimming through their performance in this relay. Anderson was one of the only women to lead off the relay that featured 21 countries and finish her leg ahead of almost every male swimmer she raced against. Thanks to the talents of Anderson and Twichell, the relay earned bronze, the third open water medal of Team USA's time in South Korea.
The third-place finish gave Anderson and Twichell their fifth Open Water Worlds medals, tying them (with each other) for the most ever won by a female American swimmer.
“As a distance swimmer, we don’t get to do relays, so this entailed more thought-process and a different strategy,” says Anderson. “My goal was to go as fast as I could, stay with the guys and use my speed. The finish was so intense. We were very close, it was just so exciting!”
Along with the relay medal, the two used the competition to punch their tickets to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in the open water 10k. While they have both seen successes at the national and world-championships levels, this summer will be the first time that they share an Olympic roster together.
"Victory Lap" Creates Memories for National Champion Stanford Team
While many teams deserve recognition for memorable relay swims, we finish with some humor: The Women’s 800-- or should we say 850-- Free Relay. At the 2019 NCAA Division 1 Championships, sophomore standout Brooke Forde was set to anchor the 800 Free Relay for her Stanford teammates, Katie Drabot, Ella Eastin, and Taylor Ruck. The three women dominated the race splitting 1:43.99, 1:41.03 and 1:39.83, respectively, giving Forde a sizable lead. She just needed to hold on to cinch the win. The distance ace kept the lead, anchoring with a 1:42.37 and giving Stanford a new pool record. But that record is overshadowed by the memories of laughter and joy when these amazing women realized their victory was secured Forde’s foot touch.
She had lost count by her third 50, and tried listening for announcements that she was on her final lap, but heard nothing. And since she held the lead, she couldn’t check if anyone was already stopped at the wall. So she flipped and swam an extra 50, now dubbed as her ‘“victory” lap.
“Luckily I was far enough ahead from the pack that my foot touch didn’t lose the race,” says Forde. “My two biggest fears were losing and getting DQ'd.” But in true team-spirit fashion, her teammates and coaches embraced her with hugs and laughter. “They were all still there, smiling at me. I think they knew I was overwhelmed and they just gave me what I needed at that moment.”
Forde has miscounted before in the 200 breast, but luckily she saw others stop at the wall. She also stopped a 50 short in the 500, thanks to a mistake from her lapcounter and the official ringing the bell early. “I have a track record, and it gets brought up frequently in practice. Ledecky won’t even let me lap count for her,” Forde laughs.
“The nice thing about that relay is that it was a good ice-breaker for the first night of NCAA’s. We all had a good laugh, which was great when people there are so stressed. That relay was very special. Those women are so inspiring and I was excited to be working on a tangible team goal with some very cool people,” says Forde. “Our sport gets so individual at times that relays are just fun. I'm not a sprinter so the 800 relay is my one chance for a team event. But now they’re scared I might miscount and someone might jump in on me, so I anchor a lot!”