USA Swimming News
USA Swimming Surpasses 600 Olympic Medals
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USA Swimming athletes claimed four medals in three events on night four of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Longhorn Aquatics) and Katharine Berkoff (Missoula, Mont./NC State) took silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s 100-meter backstroke. Berkoff’s medal was Team USA’s 3,000th Olympic medal and USA Swimming’s 600th. The next event featured silver medalist Bobby Finke (Clearwater, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics), finishing with a 7:38.75 in the men’s 800m freestyle. The men’s 4x200m freestyle relay earned a silver medal after narrowly missing the podium in Tokyo to cap off another impressive evening for the Americans. Finals relay swimmers included Luke Hobson (Reno, Nev./Longhorn Aquatics), Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays), Drew Kibler (Carmel, Ind./New York Athletic Club), and Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield Aquatic Club).
USA Swimming continues to lead the total medal table with 15 (2g, 7s, 6b) through four days of competition. Swimmers advancing to tomorrow’s finals include Jack Alexy (Mendham, N.J./California Aquatics) and Chris Guiliano (Douglassville, Pa./University of Notre Dame) in the men’s 100m freestyle, Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club) and Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./University of Virginia) in the women’s 100m freestyle, and Josh Matheny (Pittsburgh, Pa./Indiana Swim Club) in the men’s 200m breaststroke.
Thomas Heilman (Crozet, Va./Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA), Matthew Fallon (Waren, N.J./University of Pennsylvania), Matheny, and Luca Urlando (Sacramento, Calif./DART Swimming) made their Olympic debuts today.
Men’s 100m Freestyle – Semifinal
6 – Jack Alexy (Mendham, N.J./California Aquatics), 47.68
7 – Chris Guiliano (Douglassville, Pa./University of Notre Dame), 47.72
Men’s 200m Butterfly – Semifinal
10 – Thomas Heilman (Crozet, Va./Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA), 1:54.87
Women’s 100m Backstroke – FINAL
Silver – Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Longhorn Aquatics), 57.66
Bronze – Katharine Berkoff (Missoula, Mont./NC State), 57.98
Smith on her silver medal: “I’ve been saying it the entire time I’ve been here – good, better, or best – and that’s exactly what I did. Ultimately, I think other people’s performances are completely out of my control. Kaylee (McKeown), I said it in another interview, she is one of one. She is an absolutely incredible racer, and she knows what to do when it matters. I’m really proud of myself. I’m proud I was able to drop from semis, that’s something I’ve struggled with a lot in the past, and I stayed in my own lane, I executed my race plan, and I left it all in the pool.”
Berkoff on her swim: “It’s just super special. I’ve been dreaming about being at the Olympics my whole life, and definitely have more goals and not quite satisfied yet, but seriously so grateful to be here and just get another medal for Team USA. It’s just been such an amazing experience, and I’m so grateful to be here.”
Berkoff on advice from her Olympic gold medalist Dad: “He’s been very supportive. Just trying to remind me to stay in my own lane, remember why I’m doing what I’m doing, and just to do it for myself and no one else.”
Men’s 800m Freestyle – FINAL
Silver – Bobby Finke (Clearwater, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics), 7:38.75
Finke on his silver medal “I really did the best I could, and I need to be proud of that, even if it’s not gold. A silver is nothing to be disappointed in, I just need to take that as motivation onto the mile.”
Women’s 100m Freestyle – Semifinal
7 – Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club, 52.99
8 – Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./University of Virginia), 53.18
Huske on qualifying seventh in semifinals: “As long as there’s a lane, that’s all you can ask for. I just wanted to make it back (to finals), and I did that. Hopefully I will have more to give tomorrow.”
Men’s 200m Breaststroke – Semifinal
6 – Josh Matheny (Pittsburgh, Pa./Indiana Swim Club), 2:09.70
10 – Matthew Fallon (Waren, N.J./University of Pennsylvania), 2:09.96
Matheny on making it to finals: “I was standing on the pool deck watching (the scoreboard), and it came down to a couple tenths. Just to see my name up there, is literally the peak of my dream.”
Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay – FINAL
Silver, 7:00.78
Luke Hobson (Reno, Nev./Longhorn Aquatics)
Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays)
Drew Kibler (Carmel, Ind./New York Athletic Club)
Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield Aquatic Club)
*Brooks Curry (Dunwoody, Ga./California Aquatics), Chris Guiliano (Douglassville, Pa./University of Notre Dame), and Blake Pieroni (Valparaiso, Ind./Indiana Swim Club) will receive medals for their prelim swims.
Foster on the relay team: “We’ve all swam together for a couple years now, so it’s not much talking about the race, it’s more hanging out and having a good time and having good energy before the race. This is a group we love to race with and there’s no better group to share the podium with.”
Kibler on the silver medal: “I think we are always shooting for gold, that’s the American standard, but it is a really special thing to be on that podium, and it was really tough a few years ago missing that podium. It’s a step forward, but we are always shooting for gold.”
Smith on being anchor: “I typically feel very confident jumping into the water, knowing I’m going to produce a swim that’s probably outside of my preparation level. I usually overperform on that leg, so I’m proud to bring these guys home a silver medal.”
Women’s 1500m Freestyle– Prelim
10 – Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), 16:12.11
Men’s 200m Butterfly – Prelim
17 – Luca Urlando (Sacramento, Calif./DART Swimming), 1:56.18
Competition continues through Sunday, August 4 at Paris La Defense Arena. Tomorrow’s finals feature the women’s 100m freestyle final, men’s 200m butterfly final, women’s 200m butterfly semifinal, women’s 1500m freestyle final, men’s 200m backstroke semifinal, women’s 200m breaststroke semifinal, men’s 200m breaststroke final, and men’s 100m freestyle final. 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.
Click here to see the full broadcast schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Live results will be posted to @USASwimmingNews on X.