The United States closed out the swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a historic bang on Sunday, setting two world records and securing three additional medals. Bobby Finke dazzled with a world record in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle, successfully defending his gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Games. Shortly after, the U.S. women’s 4×100-meter medley relay team set another world record in the final race of the Games.
These remarkable performances allowed the U.S. to edge out Australia in the gold medal count, finishing with 8 compared to Australia’s 7.
Finke, a 24-year-old from Florida, dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle from the outset, finishing in 14:30.67—over three seconds ahead of Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri. This time shattered the previous world record of 14:31.02 set in 2012 and was nearly nine seconds faster than Finke’s winning time from Tokyo. His victory also ensured the U.S. continued its streak of winning individual men’s swimming gold medals at every Olympics since 1904, excluding the 1980 Moscow Games. This extends the record to 124 years and sets a high bar for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
In the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay, Regan Smith, Gretchen Walsh, Lilly King, and Torri Huske clocked in at 3:49.63, setting a new world record.Their time exceeded the previous mark of 3:50.40 set in 2019, with Australia and China finishing in second and third place, respectively. The U.S. swim team’s impressive performances at the 2024 Paris Olympics have reinforced their legacy and set the stage for future successes.
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