2024 Paris Olympics: USA Robust-Arms their Approach to Gold

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

Males’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay Lineups

MEN’S 4×100-Meter FREESTYLE RELAY – Closing

• World File: 3:08.24 — United States: M. Phelps, G. Weber-Gale, C. Jones, J. Lezak (2008)
• World Junior File: 3:15.49 — United States: D. Diehl, M. Williamson, H. Williams, J. Zhao (2023)
• Olympic File: 3:08.24 — United States: M. Phelps, G. Weber-Gale, C. Jones, J. Lezak (2008)
• 2021 Successful Time: 3:08.97 — United States: C. Dressel, B. Pieroni, B. Becker, Z. Apple
• 2021 Bronze Medal Successful Time: 3:10.22

Closing: 

1. GOLD: United States (Alexy, Guiliano, Armstrong, Dressel), 3:09.28
2. SILVER: Australia (Cartwright, Southam, Taylor, Chalmers), 3:10.35
3. BRONZE: Italy (Miressi, Ceccon, Conte, Frigo), 3:10.70
4. China, 3:11.28
5. Nice Britain, 3:11.61
6. Canada, 3:12.18
7. Germany, 3:12.29
8. Hungary, 3:13.11

There’ll be cowbells ringing all through the Olympic Village tonight as the US celebrates its third straight Olympic Gold medal within the occasion. Whereas the time was slower than it was in 2021, and the margin of victory was much less, it’s the victory that issues because the US took revenge on the Australians and Italians after ending behind each of them final summer time.

Let’s dive in and take a look at every leg of the race, after which, on the finish, we’ll take a look at the bigger image.

Leadoff Legs (Flat Begin)

1. Pan Zhanle, China – 46.92 (1)
2. Jack Alexy, USA – 47.67 (2)
3. Nandor Nemeth, Hungary – 47.76 (3)
4. Matthew Richards, Nice Britain – 47.83 (4)
5. Josh Liendo, Canada – 47.93 (5)
6. Jack Cartwright, Australia – 48.03 (6)
7. Alessandro Miressi, Italy – 48.04 (7)
8. Josha Salchow, Germany – 48.28 (8)

Pan Zhanle jumped from the anchor leg to the lead-off leg, and the transfer appeared to pay dividends, as Pan, who was 46.98 with a relay change, was 46.92 this night, giving the Chinese language loads of open water and a lead of three/4s of a second. Jack Alexy was slower than his time from the semifinals, however was nonetheless quick sufficient to place the USA into 2nd. Nandor Nemeth sliced over 1 / 4 of a second on his time this morning and moved Hungary forward of potential medalists Nice Britain and Australia.

Matthew Richards was simply .01 quicker than he was at trials, and Jack Cartwright was .37 quicker than he was at trials, however nonetheless a far cry from his 47.84 lead-opp final summer time. Maybe most worryingly, Alessandro Miressi‘s 48.04 was a full half-second slower than his time from Fukuoka.

2nd Legs (Flying Begin)

1. Chris Guiliano, USA – 47.33 (1)
2. Thomas Ceccon, Italy – 47.44 (2)
3. Rafael Miroslaw, Germany – 47.66 (4)
4. Flynn Southam, Australia – 48.00 (5)
5. Yuri Kisil, Canada – 48.18 (6)
6. Jacob Whittle, Nice Britain – 48.43 (8)
7. Szebasztian Szabo, Hungary – 48.46 (7)
8. Ji Xinjie, China – 48.58 (3)

Chris Guiliano, like Alexy above, was somewhat off his finest in his first ever Olympic swim, as he cut up 47.33. The cut up greater than a second quicker than Ji Xinjie‘s 48.58 noticed the Individuals bounce into the lead, and so they by no means appeared again. Ji, who had the slowest cut up of not solely the 2nd legs however of all of the legs, noticed his workforce fall from first to 3rd. Had he been in a position to replicate his prelims time of 47.93, China would have completed with the bronze medal. Flynn Southam‘s 48.00 was quicker than his particular person flat begin at trials (48.11), however like Cartwright was simply off his cut up from final summer time (47.85).

Jacob Whittle, who out-split Alexander Cohoon on the relay this morning by .01 and was thus awarded the spot tonight, was unable to duplicate his 47.90 from this morning. Splitting 48.43, Staff GB fell from 4th to eighth.

third Legs (Flying Begin)

1. Hunter Armstrong, USA – 46.75 (1)
2. Tom Dean, Nice Britain – 47.72 (5)
3. Kai Taylor, Australia – 47.73 (4)
4. Chen Juner, China – 48.10 (2)
5. Paolo Conte Bonin, Italy – 48.16 (3)
6. Finlay Knox, Canada – 48.26 (=6)
7. Adam Jaszo, Hungary – 48.38 (=6)
8. Luca Armbruster, Germany – 48.43 (8)

Now you see him, now you don’t, ought to be one in all Hunter Armstrong‘s magic tips. Extra referred to as a backstroker, Armstrong had the quickest cut up of the American this morning, 47.50, and located himself and his lengthy arms a spot on tonight’s relay. A self-proclaimed lover of cowbells, Armstrong burst open the floodgates. The US was main the workforce from Italy by .48 when Armstrong dove in and the Cal-trained swimmer cut up a decent 22.35 on the primary 50 (for reference, Guiliano was 21.70 going out, the one 21 within the discipline) however surged house in 24.40 to offer the US a lead of shut to 2 seconds over the Chinese language, who had handed the Italians. The cut up of 46.75 seems to be the twenty eighth quickest efficiency of all time (not together with Chalmers’) and has him ranked 4th amongst Individuals and the quickest energetic swimmer.

Kai Taylor introduced the Australians again from fifth to 4th and simply .16 exterior of second, giving Kyle Chalmers a shot at getting onto the rostrum. Tom Dean posted the second quickest cut up of any of the third swimmers, 47.72, and whereas it was quicker than his morning efficiency of 48.07, the Brits nonetheless discovered themselves in fifth.

4th Legs (Flying Begin)

1. Kyle Chalmers, Australia – 46.59 (2)
2. Manuel Frigo, Italy – 47.06 (3)
3. Duncan Scott, Nice Britain – 47.52 (5)
4. Caeleb Dressel, USA – 47.53 (1)
5. Wang Haoyu, China – 47.68 (4)
6. Javier Acevedo, Canada – 47.81 (6)
7. Peter Varjasi, Germany – 47.92 (7)
8. Hubert Kos, Hungary – 48.51 (8)

Chalmers gave it his all, splitting 46.59, however it was not sufficient to chop down the benefit the Individuals had constructed by this level. The Aussie, who has recorded a cut up as quick as 46.44, would have this outcome clock in because the eighth quickest ever, however even by outsitting Caeleb Dressel by near a second, the Australians nonetheless completed over a second again of the medal. Manuel Frigo anchored the Italians to a bronze, dropping .74 from this time this morning to file a mark of 47.06. Duncan Scott, too, dropped huge quantities of time from this morning, splitting 47.52 on anchor versus his 48.61 on lead-off, however the Brits had been in such a gap that they nonetheless completed in fifth.

Dressel would submit the 4th quickest cut up of the anchors, stopping the clock in 47.53, which precisely equals his flat begin time from the US trials. Whereas an enchancment on this morning’48.19 it’s not a powerful outcome and doesn’t essentially predict a simple the rest of the week, however claiming gold and getting the nerves/day 1 jitters out of the best way could have been what was wanted.

Notes

• Whereas the ceiling could have been larger for the British males than the ladies, every struggled to seek out their footing. Duncan Scott cut up 47.52 on the anchor however because the proprietor of the 2nd quickest cut up ever (46.14), far more ought to be anticipated of him. The identical could be mentioned of  Tom Dean, who improved from prelims to finals, however his 47.72 continues to be a full second slower than his quickest cut up of 46.72. With 3/4 of their anticipated 4×200 free line-up underperforming tonight, the strain to defend that gold has simply elevated tenfold.
• Pan Zhanle‘s 46.92 is the fifth-fastest efficiency ever and may put together him nicely for the person 100 in opposition to the likes of David Popovici.
• Very like with the ladies, medley relay rosters, each blended and males’s are already in flux. Whereas Alexy and Guiliano are the 2 particular person entrants for the US, Armstrong’s cut up could also be sufficient to tip the scales in his favor ought to the pair falter within the particular person occasion.
• Maybe supporting the concept of it being a gradual pool, all three medaling instances had been slower than they had been in 2021, however all had been quicker than at 2023 Worlds, so the jury continues to be out.