In the first finals heat of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./University of Virginia) touched the wall in 55.38, claiming an Olympic record in the women's 100-meter butterfly. In the next heat, American teammate Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club) posted a 56.00, securing the top two seeds heading into tomorrow's final. Team captains Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator Swim Club) and Nic Fink (Morristown, N.J./New York Athletic Club) led by example as Ledecky earned her eleventh Olympic medal with a bronze in the women's 400m freestyle and Fink qualified fourth overall to secure a spot in the men's 100m breaststroke final.

The night continued with the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay as the team of Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./ New York Athletic Club), Walsh, Huske, and Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas/Sun Devil Swimming) claimed a new American record with a silver medal performance. To finish the session, teammates Jack Alexy (Mendham, N.J./California Aquatics), Chris Guiliano (Douglassville, Pa./University of Notre Dame), Hunter Armstrong (Dover, Ohio/New York Athletic Club), and Caeleb Dressel (Green Cove Springs, Fla./Gator Swim Club) secured the first Team USA gold medal of the Paris Games.

 Tonight, Alexy, Guiliano, Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./New York Athletic Club), Aaron Shackell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel Swim Club), Charlie Swanson (Richmond, Va./NOVA of Virginia), and Walsh made their Olympic final debuts. 

 Women’s 100m Butterfly – Semifinal

1 – Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./University of Virginia), 55.38*

2 – Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club), 56.00

*Olympic record

Men’s 400m Freestyle – FINAL

8 – Aaron Shackell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel Swim Club), 3:47.00

Shackell on his swim: “Honestly, I kind of surprised myself (by getting into the final). I wasn’t feeling great this week, and I battled through that. (Coach) Chris (Plumb) and I had some talks, and we showed up this morning. Tonight, my legs were hurting a little bit, and it kind of didn’t happen. It is good experience for future races…I should have just trusted myself but I’m happy with how I did.”

Women’s 400m Freestyle – FINAL

Bronze – Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator Swim Club), 4:00.86

6 – Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./New York Athletic Club), 4:02.26

Ledecky on her swim: “It was such a good field, there was a chance I could have not gotten a medal. I’m grateful for the effort I put in, happy with the medal, and looking forward to my next races.”

Men’s 100m Breaststroke – Semifinal

4 – Nic Fink (Morristown, N.J./New York Athletic Club), 59.16

14 – Charlie Swanson (Richmond, Va./NOVA of Virginia), 1:00.16

Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay – FINAL

Silver, 3:30.20*
               Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./ New York Athletic Club)
                Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./University of Virginia)
                Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club)
                Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas/Sun Devil Swimming)
*American record
**Erika Connolly (Modesto, Calif./Tennessee Aquatics) and Abbey Weitzel (Santa Clarita, Calif./California Aquatics) will receive medals for their prelim swims.

Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay – FINAL

Gold, 3:09.28
                Jack Alexy (Mendham, N.J./California Aquatics)
                Chris Guiliano (Douglassville, Pa./University of Notre Dame)
                Hunter Armstrong (Dover, Ohio/New York Athletic Club)
                Caeleb Dressel (Green Cove Springs, Fla./Gator Swim Club)
*Ryan Held (Springfield, Ill./New York Athletic Club) and Matt King (Snohomish, Wash./Texas Ford Dealer Aquatics) will receive medals for their prelim swims.

Alexy on the relay: “I was really excited to lead off the relay and get things going. It wasn’t a perfect swim for me, but we got the job done and it was really fun watching the rest of my teammates execute their races. That was really exciting and pretty surreal, I was pretty hyped in the moment.”

Men’s 400m Freestyle – Prelim

11 – Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield Aquatic Club), 3:46.47

Competition continues through Sunday, August 4 at Paris La Defense Arena. Tomorrow’s finals feature the men’s 400m IM final, women’s 100m butterfly final, men’s 200m freestyle semifinal, women’s 100m breaststroke semifinal, men’s 100m backstroke semifinal, men’s 100m breaststroke final, and the women’s 200m freestyle semifinal. Prelims will begin at 11 a.m. CET/1:30 a.m. ET, while finals start at 8:30 p.m. CET/2:30 p.m. ET. Meet information and the complete competition schedule can be found here.

Live results will be posted to @USASwimmingNews on X.