Not even an all-star American lineup could dethrone Australia in the women's 4x100m freestyle, as the Aussies won their third consecutive gold in the event Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
Australia led wire-to-wire to win with an Olympic record of 3:28.92. The Americans touched at 3:30.20, good for silver and an American record.
The U.S. women have won the most gold medals in this event (14) with the last coming in Sydney. The American women have also captured a medal in every Games in which they have participated.
Kate Douglass started the relay for the Americans and touched with a time of 52.98 seconds. Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske swam the middle legs before Simone Manuel anchored the race. When Manuel took off, she was behind both China’s Wu Qingfeng and Australia’s Meg Harris. The sprinter was able to make up ground on Wu, but Australia’s lead was too much to overcome.
Manuel remarked after the race, "I didn't really know where the Chinese were, the only person I could see was Meg Harris, so it was really just about trying to put together the best possible race that I could. These three women set me up well, and it's been a while since I've been in the anchor position, so I was a bit more nervous for that race than I would have liked to be."
With the win, Emma McKeon is now tied for the most career swimming medals (12) by a woman.
Silver was a bit of a photo finish between Manuel and Wu, but Manuel touched one tenth of a second faster at 3:30.20. China’s bronze medal marks the nation's third Olympic medal in the race.
Americans Abbey Weitzeil and Erika Connolly will also receive medals as they swam the in the prelims of the event.
After the race, Manuel said an American record was a goal for the team. "[Todd DeDorbo] put that in our minds at the beginning of training camp and actually really coming off 2021 for those of us who were there. So it was a goal of ours to break the American record and get as close to the Australians as we could, and so we're really happy with that performance."
The three-time Olympian is trying to enjoy the 2024 Games after dealing with overtraining syndrome in Tokyo. "It feels good to be back here. I didn't know if I would ever be performing at this level again. So just to kind of have the full-circle moment of being on this relay again from 2021 to now, but just in a happier and healthier place, I think is really special."