Paris 2024, North America Day 4: Three Finals And Three Silver Medals For Team USA

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
• La Défense Arena — Paris, France
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Full Swimming Schedule
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Pick ’em Contest
• How To Watch
• Entry Lists
• Live Results
• Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
• Finals Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Two days into the 2023 World Championships, we published a YouTube video titled “what’s going on with Team USA?” after the Americans finished day one of the meet without a gold medal for the first time since 1994. The common consensus then was that we were just overreacting. Even when Team USA had its worst gold medal count at an Olympics/World Championships since 1994, there were plenty of explanations behind their underperformance: the team went on a red-eye flight from Singapore to Fukuoka, there was only a three-week turnaround from trials to Worlds, and this meet could have just been another repeat of the notoriously 2015 World Championships. The expectation was that the Americans would rise to the occasion during the Olympic year.

But four days into the Paris Olympics, a similar pattern seems to be occurring. While the Americans did see the top of the podium already by virtue of Torri Huske‘s 100 fly gold and that of the men’s 4×100 free relay earlier in the meet, they are currently falling behind Australia on the medal table and are on track to not win it for the first time since 1988. But what exasperated the concern today was that the Americans had three winnable events today, but took silver in every single one of them.

Regan Smith and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown have always been neck-and-beck in terms of backstroke times, and Smith even broke McKeown’s world record in the 100 back this June. But on Tuesday, the same result as the 2021 Olympics and 2023 Worlds played out, with McKeown out-touching Smith for gold once more. That event, considered one of the most crucial ones for the medal table battle, put the Aussies at the advantage.

Then came the 800 free, where Bobby Finke was another potential gold medal contender as the reigning Olympic champion. He put on the afterburners on his final 50 like he always did but couldn’t catch up, falling behind Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen. Team USA also had a shot at gold in the men’s 4×200 free relay, but a 1:43.95 split from Great Britain’s Duncan Scott ensured that nobody would be catching them for a repeat Olympic title. The Americans ended up with silver.

But perhaps the actual lowlights of the session were the semifinals. Matt Fallon, who had broken the American record at Olympic trials and was a legitimate threat for gold, missed the 200 breast final. In the men’s 200 fly, Luca Urlando and Thomas Heilman both missed, marking it the first time since 1980 (when there were no Americans at the Olympics) that this happened. There was really only success in the women’s 100 free, where Gretchen Walsh and Huske both made it back.

The theme of 2023 has emerged once more: the Americans are picking up the minor medals, but no one is leading the charge on anything. This raises a lot of questions for USA Swimming: is this an isolated incident once again, caused by the spread of COVID-19 throughout the Olympic village affecting athletes like Luke Whitlock and David Johnston? Is the rest of the world catching up to the Americans, or were they just spoiled by the successes of generational talents like Michael Phelps, Caeleb Dressel, and Katie Ledecky? Do changes need to be made before the 2028 Olympics on home soil?

Team USA will have plenty more chances to win gold — particularly with Ledecky in the 800 and 1500 free, Kate Douglass in the 200 breast and 200 IM, Dressel in the 100 fly, Bobby Finke in the 1500 free, Ryan Murphy and both the men’s and women’s medley relays. But if those opportunities don’t come to fruition, conversations will have to be had about the state of international swimming, as well as America’s place in all of that.

Other Highlights:

• Unfortunately, Canada’s Josh Liendo was also a notable miss, as he placed 11th in the men’s 100 free and will be missing the final. So will the Cayman Islands’ Jordan Crooks, who was 13th.
• The United States’ Katharine Berkoff clinched Team USA’s 3000th Olympic medal and 600th medal in swimming with a 100 back bronze (57.98). She pulled this feat exactly 32 years after her father David had the same result at the 1992 Olympic Games. Canada’s Kylie Masse finished fourth, just missing a third consecutive Olympic podium finish in the event.

North American Medal Table: