Tuesday marked one of the most bountiful nights in the pool for Team USA as American swimmers added four medals to the nation’s leading tally on Night 4 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff took home silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s 100m backstroke, while Bobby Finke secured silver in the men’s 800m freestyle and the U.S. men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team took home a set of bronze medals in their event.
Americans round out podium in blockbuster 100m backstroke
In one of the most anticipated events of the Paris swimming program, the four fastest women in the history of the 100m backstroke squared off when Smith and Berkoff battled Kaylee McKeown of Australia and Kylie Masse of Canada in Tuesday’s final.
Ultimately, McKeown, the Tokyo gold medalist, touched first to become just the second woman ever to repeat as Olympic champion in the event (Natalie Coughlin, 2004-08).
While Smith was unable to reproduce the speed that earned her the event’s world record at June’s U.S. Trials, she did manage to improve upon her bronze-medal finish from Tokyo, where she clocked in behind McKeown and Masse.
“I knew it was going to be such a fight. Kaylee is an exceptional competitor,” Smith said. “I wanted to leave it all in the pool for this amazing crowd and that’s what I did. It’s really special."
Berkoff’s bronze made her an Olympic medalist for the first time in her career.
Finke nearly repeats as 800m freestyle champ
For a moment, it looked as if Finke was about to replicate the incredible comeback surge in the final 50 meters that earned him the 800m freestyle gold medal in Tokyo.
While he, once again, managed to overtake Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri in the final length of the pool, Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen would not be caught. Wiffen touched in 7:38.19 to win his nation’s first gold medal of the Paris Games and its first-ever men’s swimming Olympic medal.
Finke took silver, just over a half-second behind.
“I’d be lying If I said I wasn’t disappointed, I was the first loser,” he said. “It always stings to not be able to defend your title. But Daniel is a little younger than me, and I have really big hopes for his future in the sport. I was doing what I could to try and catch him.
Team USA returns to podium in 4x200m relay
Tokyo marked the first time in history the United States missed the podium in the men’s 4x200m freestyle at the Olympics. History was not about to repeat itself in Paris.
The U.S. quartet of Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler and Kieran Smith combined to finish in 7:00.78 to nab silver, just over a second behind Great Britain.
The veteran-laden Brits successfully defended their Tokyo gold, winning the event for the third time ever.