Monday, July 26, 2021
U.S. Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay Team Caps Off Day Two Finals with Gold
A gripping second finals session at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was headlined by a gold in a signature U.S. relay event, a historic freestyle battle that produced two of the top-five swims ever in the event, nail-biting finishes and six U.S. swimmers who advanced to the next finals session.
The lone gold on the night for the U.S. swimmers came via the always-enticing men’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay. The relay opened with a pair of Olympic veterans diving in for the U.S., as Caeleb Dressel (Green Cove Springs, Fla./Gator Swim Club) hit the water first before handing it off to Blake Pieroni (Valparaiso, Ind./Sandpipers of Nevada). With Dressel’s 47.26 and Pieroni’s 47.58 splits, the U.S. carried a lead over Italy by three tenths going into the back half.
A pair of Olympic rookies, Bowe Becker (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada/Minnesota) and Zach Apple (Trenton, Ohio/Mission Viejo Nadadores), were tasked with carrying the lead home. Becker, who went 47.59 in the prelims of the relay event, went 47.44 in the final. Apple, who helped lead the U.S. to gold in the event at the 2019 FINA World Championships, put up a scorching 46.69 anchor split, making him one of only two swimmers in the final to post a :46 performance.
The medal defends the U.S.’ Olympic title and gives the team its 10th Olympic gold in the event. Brooks Curry (Dunwoody, Ga./Louisiana State University/Dynamo) also earns gold in the event via his prelim swim.
Also earning hardware on the night was Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Nation’s Capital/Alto Swim Club), whose much-anticipated matchup with Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 400m freestyle lived up to the excitement.
With a single lane line and a few tenths separating them throughout the majority of the race, it was Ledecky who held strong in first for the opening 300 meters of the race. In the final 100, Titmus inched more and more off Ledecky’s lead before ultimately taking over first place right before the final flip turn. Titmus would go on to win gold in 3:56.69 followed by Ledecky for silver in 3:57.36 – it was the second and fourth fastest swims, respectively, in history.
“It was certainly a tough race and I think we delivered,” Ledecky said. “I mean it can’t get much better than that. Tremendous racing, a lot of fun and can’t be too disappointed with that. It was my second-best swim ever. Felt like I fought–fought tooth and nail–and that’s all I can ask for.”
The only other women’s final of the night was in the 100m butterfly, when 18-year-old Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club) entered the pool in lane two. The Virginia native made the turn at 25.84, which was good for second heading into the last 50 meters. The race came down to the final few strokes, and ultimately saw Huske touch fourth in 55.73, just a hundredth of a second out of a medal position.
“I hit the wall and I kind of didn’t know what was happening until I looked up at the scoreboard and saw it,” Huske said. “But I’m very thankful to have had this opportunity to swim at the Olympics.”
Huske remains the fastest American of all time, and her 55.73 in the final is tied for the 10th-fastest swim in the history of the event. With her swim tonight, she becomes the tenth teenager to ever represent the U.S. in the event on the Olympic stage since the event debuted in 1956.
Michael Andrew (Encinitas, Calif./MA Swim Academy) and Andrew Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) wore the American flag caps in the lone individual men’s final of the session. Legendary breaststroke swimmer Adam Peaty (GBR) added another gold to his collection in 53.37, followed by Arno Kamminga (Netherlands) in 58.00 and Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy) in 58.33 to round out the podium. Andrew (58.84) and Wilson (58.99) finished in fourth and a tie for sixth, respectively.
Four events had semifinals tonight: the men’s 200m freestyle, women’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100m backstroke. After the action concluded, the U.S. will send six to tomorrow’s finals:
• M 200 freestyle: Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Conn./University of Florida), second seed with a 1:45.07
• W 100 breaststroke: Lilly King (Evansville, Ind./Indiana Swim Club), second seed with a 1:05.40
• W 100 breaststroke: Lydia Jacoby (Seward, Alaska/Seward Tsunami Swim Club), third seed with a 1:05.72
• M 100 backstroke: Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics/Bolles), first seed with a 52.24
• W 100 backstroke: Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Riptide), first seed with a 57.86 (new Olympic record)
• W 100 backstroke: Rhyan White (Herriman, Utah/University of Alabama/WFFM), fourth seed with a 58.46
Competition resumes later today for those in Japan and early tomorrow morning for stateside viewers with preliminary sessions. Fans will get to watch Ledecky and U.S. Olympic Swim Team captain Allison Schmitt tackle the 200m freestyle, followed by Zach Harting and Gunnar Bentz in the 200m fly, Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass in the 200m I.M. and rounded out by Ledecky and Erica Sullivan in the 1500m freestyle.
The lone gold on the night for the U.S. swimmers came via the always-enticing men’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay. The relay opened with a pair of Olympic veterans diving in for the U.S., as Caeleb Dressel (Green Cove Springs, Fla./Gator Swim Club) hit the water first before handing it off to Blake Pieroni (Valparaiso, Ind./Sandpipers of Nevada). With Dressel’s 47.26 and Pieroni’s 47.58 splits, the U.S. carried a lead over Italy by three tenths going into the back half.
A pair of Olympic rookies, Bowe Becker (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada/Minnesota) and Zach Apple (Trenton, Ohio/Mission Viejo Nadadores), were tasked with carrying the lead home. Becker, who went 47.59 in the prelims of the relay event, went 47.44 in the final. Apple, who helped lead the U.S. to gold in the event at the 2019 FINA World Championships, put up a scorching 46.69 anchor split, making him one of only two swimmers in the final to post a :46 performance.
The medal defends the U.S.’ Olympic title and gives the team its 10th Olympic gold in the event. Brooks Curry (Dunwoody, Ga./Louisiana State University/Dynamo) also earns gold in the event via his prelim swim.
Also earning hardware on the night was Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Nation’s Capital/Alto Swim Club), whose much-anticipated matchup with Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 400m freestyle lived up to the excitement.
With a single lane line and a few tenths separating them throughout the majority of the race, it was Ledecky who held strong in first for the opening 300 meters of the race. In the final 100, Titmus inched more and more off Ledecky’s lead before ultimately taking over first place right before the final flip turn. Titmus would go on to win gold in 3:56.69 followed by Ledecky for silver in 3:57.36 – it was the second and fourth fastest swims, respectively, in history.
“It was certainly a tough race and I think we delivered,” Ledecky said. “I mean it can’t get much better than that. Tremendous racing, a lot of fun and can’t be too disappointed with that. It was my second-best swim ever. Felt like I fought–fought tooth and nail–and that’s all I can ask for.”
The only other women’s final of the night was in the 100m butterfly, when 18-year-old Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club) entered the pool in lane two. The Virginia native made the turn at 25.84, which was good for second heading into the last 50 meters. The race came down to the final few strokes, and ultimately saw Huske touch fourth in 55.73, just a hundredth of a second out of a medal position.
“I hit the wall and I kind of didn’t know what was happening until I looked up at the scoreboard and saw it,” Huske said. “But I’m very thankful to have had this opportunity to swim at the Olympics.”
Huske remains the fastest American of all time, and her 55.73 in the final is tied for the 10th-fastest swim in the history of the event. With her swim tonight, she becomes the tenth teenager to ever represent the U.S. in the event on the Olympic stage since the event debuted in 1956.
Michael Andrew (Encinitas, Calif./MA Swim Academy) and Andrew Wilson (Bethesda, Md./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) wore the American flag caps in the lone individual men’s final of the session. Legendary breaststroke swimmer Adam Peaty (GBR) added another gold to his collection in 53.37, followed by Arno Kamminga (Netherlands) in 58.00 and Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy) in 58.33 to round out the podium. Andrew (58.84) and Wilson (58.99) finished in fourth and a tie for sixth, respectively.
Four events had semifinals tonight: the men’s 200m freestyle, women’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100m backstroke. After the action concluded, the U.S. will send six to tomorrow’s finals:
• M 200 freestyle: Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Conn./University of Florida), second seed with a 1:45.07
• W 100 breaststroke: Lilly King (Evansville, Ind./Indiana Swim Club), second seed with a 1:05.40
• W 100 breaststroke: Lydia Jacoby (Seward, Alaska/Seward Tsunami Swim Club), third seed with a 1:05.72
• M 100 backstroke: Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics/Bolles), first seed with a 52.24
• W 100 backstroke: Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Riptide), first seed with a 57.86 (new Olympic record)
• W 100 backstroke: Rhyan White (Herriman, Utah/University of Alabama/WFFM), fourth seed with a 58.46
Competition resumes later today for those in Japan and early tomorrow morning for stateside viewers with preliminary sessions. Fans will get to watch Ledecky and U.S. Olympic Swim Team captain Allison Schmitt tackle the 200m freestyle, followed by Zach Harting and Gunnar Bentz in the 200m fly, Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass in the 200m I.M. and rounded out by Ledecky and Erica Sullivan in the 1500m freestyle.