2024 Paris Summer Olympics
Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay Line-up
Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay – Final
- World Record: 3:08.24 — USA: M. Phelps, G. Weber-Gale, C. Jones, J. Lezak (2008)
- World Junior Record: 3:15.49 — USA: D. Diehl, M. Williamson, H. Williams, J. Zhao (2023)
- Olympic Record: 3:08.24 — USA: M. Phelps, G. Weber-Gale, C. Jones, J. Lezak (2008)
- 2021 Winning time: 3:08.97 — USA: C. Dressel, B. Pieroni, B. Becker, Z. Apple
- 2021 Bronze Medal Winning Time: 3:10.22
Last:
- Gold Medal: USA (Alexy, Giuliano, Armstrong, Dressel), 3:09.28
- Silver: Australia (Cartwright, Southam, Taylor, Chalmers), 3:10.35
- Bronze: Italy (Milesi, Ceccon, Conte, Frigo), 3:10.70
- China, 3:11.28
- Great Britain, 3:11.61
- Canada, 3:12.18
- Germany, 3:12.29
- Hungary, 3:13.11
Tonight, as cowbells ring throughout the Olympic Village, the U.S. is celebrating its third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event. The times were slower than in 2021, and the margin of victory was smaller, but the win is what counts: the U.S. finished behind Australia and Italy last summer, and now they’ve got revenge on both of them.
Let’s take a closer look at each leg of the race and then look at the big picture at the end.
Leadoff leg (flat start)
- Pan JianleChina – 46.92 (1)
- Jack AlexieUSA – 47.67 (2)
- Nandor NemethHungary – 47.76 (3)
- Matthew Richards, Great Britain – 47.83 (4)
- Josh LiendoCanada – 47.93 (5)
- Jack CartwrightAustralia – 48.03 (6)
- Alessandro MilesiItaly – 48.04 (7)
- Joshua Salchow, Germany – 48.28 (8)
Pan Jianle Pan jumped from the anchor leg to the lead-off leg, and the move seemed to pay off, as her 46.98 in the relay exchanges gave her 46.92 for the night, giving China a comfortable open water and three-quarters of a second lead. Jack Alexie While it was slower than his semifinal time, it was still fast enough to propel the U.S. into second place. Nandor Nemeth The result was more than 0.25 seconds off this morning’s time, moving Hungary ahead of medal favourites Great Britain and Australia.
Matthew Richards It was only 0.01 seconds faster than the trial. Jack Cartwright That was 0.37 seconds faster than the trial, but still far short of last summer’s lead time of 47.84 seconds. Alessandro MilesiThe time of 48.04 seconds was half a second slower than his time at the Fukuoka tournament.
2nd leg (flying start)
- Chris JulianoUSA – 47.33 (1)
- Thomas CecconItaly – 47.44 (2)
- Rafael Miroslaw, Germany – 47.66 (4)
- Flynn Southam, Australia – 48.00 (5)
- Yuri Kisir, Canada – 48.18 (6)
- Jacob Whittle, Great Britain – 48.43 (8)
- Sebastian Szabo, Hungary – 48.46 (7)
- Ji Xinjie, China – 48.58 (3)
Chris JulianoLike Alexi above, in his first Olympic swim, he was just off his best time, clocking 47.33 seconds. Ji XinjieThe Americans took the lead in 48.58 seconds and never looked back. Ji’s slowest time, not just in the second race but in all the races, dropped the team from first to third. If he had been able to repeat his qualifying time of 47.93 seconds, China would have won the bronze medal. Flynn Southam His 48.00 was faster than his individual flat start at the Trials (48.11) but, like Cartwright, was slightly slower than his split time last summer (47.85).
Jacob Whittle is Alexander Colquhoun They won this morning’s relay by 0.01 seconds to qualify for tonight’s race, but were unable to repeat this morning’s performance of 47.90 seconds, finishing in 48.43 seconds and dropping the British team from 4th to 8th place.
3rd Leg (flying start)
- Hunter ArmstrongUSA – 46.75 (1)
- Tom DeanUnited Kingdom – 47.72 (5)
- Kai TaylorAustralia – 47.73 (4)
- Chen JunnaChina – 48.10 (2)
- Paolo Conte BoninItaly – 48.16 (3)
- Finlay Knox, Canada – 48.26 (=6)
- Adam Yazo, Hungary – 48.38 (=6)
- Luca Armbruster, Germany – 48.43 (8)
Now I see it, now I don’t see it, Hunter Armstrong‘s magic trick. Armstrong, better known as a backstroker, had the fastest split time of any American this morning, 47.50, and showed off his long arms in tonight’s relay. A self-described cowbell lover, Armstrong really pushed the momentum. The U.S. was leading the Italians by 0.48 seconds when Armstrong dove in, but the University of California swimmer swam the first 50 meters in a respectable split time of 22.35. (For reference, Giuliano started in 21.70 and was the only 21-year-old in the field.) But he finished in 24.40 to put the U.S. ahead by nearly two seconds over the Chinese swimmer who overtook the Italians. His split time of 46.75 seconds is considered the 28th fastest time ever (excluding Chalmers), making him the 4th fastest American swimmer in history and the fastest active swimmer.
Kai Taylor Australia has climbed back up from fifth to fourth place, just 0.16 points behind second place. Kyle Chalmers A chance to get on the podium. Tom Dean He recorded the second-fastest time of the three finishers, 47.72, which was faster than his morning time of 48.07 but still left the British team in fifth place.
4th leg (flying start)
- Kyle ChalmersAustralia – 46.59 (2)
- Manuel FrigoItaly – 47.06 (3)
- Duncan ScottUnited Kingdom – 47.52 (5)
- Caleb DresselUSA – 47.53 (1)
- Wang Haoyu, China – 47.68 (4)
- Javier AcevedoCanada – 47.81 (6)
- Peter Varjasi, Germany – 47.92 (7)
- Hubert KossHungary – 48.51 (8)
Chalmers gave it his all, clocking 46.59 seconds, but it wasn’t enough to break the lead the Americans had at this point. The result was the eighth fastest ever for an Australian athlete, who had a best time of 46.44 seconds. Caleb Dressel Australia lost out by nearly a second and finished more than a second out of the medals. Manuel Frigo Italy’s bronze medal was secured by a score of 47.06, down 0.74 points from the same time this morning. Duncan Scottalso improved their times significantly from the morning, finishing in 47.52 at the anchor compared to 48.61 at the leadoff, but the British struggled and still managed to finish in 5th place.
Dressel posted the fourth-fastest split time among the anchors, stopping the clock in 47.53, the exact same as his flat start time at the U.S. Qualifiers. It was an improvement over this morning’s 48.19, but not spectacular and doesn’t necessarily mean the rest of the week will be any easier, but winning the gold medal and putting any first-day nerves or jitters to rest might be just what he needed.
Note
- The British men may have had a higher ceiling than the women, but each struggled to find their footing. Duncan Scott He anchored in 47.52 seconds, but as the owner of the second-fastest split in history (46.14), we can expect more from him. Tom Deanimproved from heats to the final, but his time of 47.72 was still a second slower than his previous best of 46.72. Tonight, three-quarters of the swimmers expected to compete in the 4x200m freestyle were disappointing, so the pressure to defend the gold medal has increased tenfold.
- Pan JianleHis 46.92 is the fifth-fastest time in history and should prepare him well for the individual 100m against competitors like: David Popovich.
- As with the women’s event, the mixed and men’s medley relay rosters are already in flux. The U.S. has two athletes, Alexi and Giuliano, competing in the individual events, but Armstrong’s roster could work in his favor if the pair falter in their individual events.
- Perhaps supporting the idea that this pool is a slower one, all three medal winners’ times were slower than in 2021, but they were all faster than the 2023 World Championships, so the jury is still out.