U.S. Swim Team Leaves Paris Olympic Games With a total of 28 medals — eight gold, 13 silver and seven bronze — an impressive result for the Americans after a slow start to the Games.
The last swimming event saw Team USAThe United States women’s 4x100m medley relay team of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske break a world record and win gold.
“It was incredible,” Smith said. “It was really special to finish on such a high note and put us in the lead going into the final. number of medals” . ”
On the men’s side, the American team concluded its stay at the La Défense Arena with a silver medal in the men’s 4×100 medley relay with the team composed of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Caeleb Dressel and Hunter Armstrong.
“There’s not a lot of people who leave the Olympics 100 percent satisfied and I would say Team USA definitely falls into that category,” Murphy said. “But I think it’s one of those scenarios where, in a few weeks, we can look back and be really proud of the effort we put in to get these results and, ultimately, what happened.”
One thing the American team is proud of, after some pre-Olympic banter, is that they beat Australia not only in total medals (18 for the Aussies) but also in total gold medals, winning one more than their rivals.
“It’s hard to call it a rivalry because a lot of us are really good friends and respect each other’s ability to compete,” said Kieran Smith, the team’s self-proclaimed leader. But he added: “I think we’ve cemented our place again this summer as the strongest team in the world.”
The title of strongest team was on the line at the start of the Games, with Australia, Canada and France winning the majority of the gold medals in the opening days of swimming. But when asked what the future looks like for U.S. swimming, especially as the team eyes a chance to be the first host country of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los AngelesDressel says the slow start isn’t slowing down the competition.
“It may not have been our best Games, but that doesn’t mean I think we’re any less attractive to be the ones to beat,” Dressel said. “The rest of the world is getting faster in the water. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It makes the sport more exciting.”
In addition to being exciting, Dressel admits that swimming can be very emotional. He had a viral moment at these Games with The cameras caught him crying after failing to qualify for the butterfly final. It’s a moment he hopes others will learn from.
“I hope I humanized the Olympic experience a little bit,” Dressel said. “It’s just something that’s part of the sport. It’s not broadcast as much and it shouldn’t be, it should be the excitement and the joy around it. So yeah, I’m okay with it being brought out. I’m not very good at hiding my emotions. And I was upset. It’s as simple as that.”
