NANTERRE, France — Bobby Finke and the U.S. women’s team set world records in the 1,500-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley on Sunday, capping off a successful swim meet for the United States, which, despite a decline in gold medals, still led all nations in total medal count.
The U.S. swimmers made 28 appearances on the podium at the Paris La Défense Arena, securing eight gold medals. While this statistic surpasses that of any other country, it represents a slight dip from previous high standards set by American swimming.
In recent Olympics, American swimmers had impressive totals: 30 medals and 11 golds in Tokyo 2020; 33 and 16 in Rio 2016; 30 and 16 in London 2012; 31 and 12 in Beijing 2008; 28 and 12 in Athens 2004; and 33 and 14 in Sydney 2000.
Until Finke’s world record victory, no American man had won an individual gold this meet. The Florida native, who previously won the 1,500-meter event at the Tokyo Games, extended a remarkable streak: at least one American man has claimed an individual swimming gold in every Olympics since 1904, except for the 1980 Moscow boycott.
Finke’s record time of 14:30.67 was achieved in the final individual race of the competition. “The whole ‘the men’s team hasn’t won an individual gold medal’ narrative was in the back of my mind,” he shared with reporters. “I was putting pressure on myself to try to get it done again.”
The American women’s team of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske concluded the swim meet triumphantly, winning the 4×100 medley relay with a time of 3:49.62.
This victory came shortly after a thrilling race where the Chinese men secured the gold in the 4×100 medley relay, a title the U.S. had held in 15 out of the previous 16 finals. The U.S. team, consisting of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Caeleb Dressel, and Hunter Armstrong, finished with a silver medal, while France claimed bronze.
Though the U.S. and Australia remain dominant forces in swimming, Dressel expressed admiration for emerging talents from Italy, France, and China, who are competing closely with American swimmers. “The wealth is just getting spread around, we’re not getting any worse,” said Dressel, who earned two golds and a silver at these Games. “It’s good for the sport to have the whole world involved.”