Olympic Swimming recap: the Finale

The swim meet in Paris for the 2024 Olympics concluded with four finals and one last race to decide the gold medal race between the United States and Australia.

Women’s 50m Freestyle

1. Sarah Sjöström- Sweden 23.71

2. Meg Harris- Australia 23.97

3. Zhang Yufei- China 24.20

Sjöström completed her sweep of the sprint freestyle events with a commanding win in the splash and dash. This swim was Sjöström’s sixth fastest swim of her career, which also gives her the six fastest times in history in this event.

Men’s 1500m Freestyle

1. Bobby Finke- United States 14:30.67 WR

2. Gregorio Paltrinieri- Italy 14:34.55

3. Daniel Wiffen- Ireland 14:39.63

Bobby Finke didn’t need the magic of his last 50 like he’s used in the past as he led for the entire race. He won his second straight gold medal in this event, this time in dominant fashion.

Finke’s win was the first individual gold medal won by an American man at these Olympics, and it was just the second individual world record to be broken.

Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay

1. China

2. United States

3. France

China’s relay of Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle snapped the United States’s undefeated streak in this event at the Olympics. The United States had won the men’s medley relay every time they contested it (the only exception was the 1980 Olympics in Moscow which were boycotted by the United States).

The three medaling teams were tight going into the last leg, but Pan, the world record holder in the 100m freestyle, split a 45.91, the fastest split in history to win the relay for China.

Women’s 4x100 Medley Relay

1. United States 3:49.63 WR

2. Australia 3:53.11

3. China 3:53.23

Regan Smith led off for the United States with an Olympic record in the 100m backstroke with a time of 57.28 seconds. The Americans’ lead would only grow, and the team of Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske dominated to wrap up the swim meet.

The win for the United States in the women’s medley relay also pushed them ahead of Australia in the gold medal count.

The United States would finish with eight gold medals, 13 silver and seven bronze, the most in all three for a total of 28 medals.

Australia finished second with seven golds and 18 total medals. France finished third in gold medals with four, all of which were won by Léon Marchand, and China finished third in overall medals with 12.

Jacob Rudy is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jar7371@psu.edu.