It took until the final race of the Olympic swimming competition for the United States to return home with a lead in the gold medal count – and a world record to boot.
The U.S. team edged Australia to win its eighth gold medal in the women’s 4×100-meter relay final, setting a world record with a time of 3:49.63 ahead of Australia in second and China in third.
The quartet of Torri Huske, Lilly King, Regan Smith and Gretchen Walsh led the game from start to finish and faced no difficulty throughout the match.
That gave the United States a decisive eighth gold medal after starting Sunday with six golds, one behind the Australians.
The U.S. team also leads the overall swimming medal standings, with 28 to Australia’s 18.
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The competition seemed to be heading in the wrong direction with a series of disappointments, including Caeleb Dressel’s failure to win an individual medal.
It was not an American who emerged as a swimming superstar, but Frenchman Leon Marchand in the men’s race and Canadian Summer McIntosh in the women’s race.
The combined power and depth of the American stars, however, proved enough to lead the gold medal count in the pool, even though Australia pushed the American team to the limit.
In the end, and just in time, it was the Americans who found their best
