Australia nearly surpassed the United States in the swimming medal tally for the first time in 68 years at the Paris Olympics.
This marked the narrowest margin between the two nations in Olympic swimming history.
In Tokyo, the USA was led by two gold medals, but in Paris, the competition was even tighter, with the USA winning eight gold medals to Australia’s seven.
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In the final event, the women’s 4x100m medley relay, both nations tied at seven gold medals each.
The USA clinched the last gold with a spectacular world-record performance, securing their position at the top of the medal tally.
The American team has broken their previous world record by nearly a second, surpassing the Olympic record set by Australia in Tokyo.
They finished with 28 total medals at these Games. However, it was the lowest victory total for the Americans since the 1988 Seoul Games.
Australia secured the silver medal, finishing 3.48 seconds behind despite Mollie O’Callaghan‘s strong effort in the freestyle leg, while China claimed the bronze.
On the penultimate day, Australia led with seven golds to the USA’s six, but Bobby Finke‘s record-breaking win in the men’s 1500m freestyle put the USA back in contention.
American swimmer Lily King commented on the decisive moment, saying, “I knew Bobby had tied it up.”
“Bobby’s swim was electric. That was amazing. He definitely got my energy going for the relay. I was pumped to hopefully assert that lead and get the gold.”
“Bobby’s swim was electric. That was amazing. He definitely got my energy going for the relay. I was pumped to hopefully assert that lead and get the gold.”
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