Records continued to fall on night six of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./New York Athletic Club) held off the field in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, finishing in 2:19.24 to win gold and lower her American record. Earlier in the session, Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Longhorn Aquatics) went 2:03.84 in the women's 200m butterfly to claim silver, her second medal in Paris. Smith also lowered her American record and swam the 200m backstroke approximately one hour later, qualifying for tomorrow's final.

Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator Swim Club) furthered her legacy in the sport as she and teammates Claire Weinstein (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./New York Athletic Club), and Erin Gemmell (Potomac, Md./NCAP) secured a silver medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. The medal establishes Ledecky as the most decorated American female Olympian in history.

Athletes heading to tomorrow’s finals include Caeleb Dressel (Green Cove Springs, Fla./Gator Swim Club) in the men’s 50m freestyle, Phoebe Bacon (Chevy Chase, Md./Wisconsin Aquatics) and Smith in the women’s 200m backstroke, and Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays) in the men’s 200m individual medley.

Shaine Casas (McAllen, Texas/Longhorn Aquatics) and Anna Peplowski (Germantown Hills, Ill./Indiana Swim Club) made their Olympic debuts today.

Women’s 200m Butterfly– FINAL

Silver – Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Longhorn Aquatics), 2:03.84*

6 – Alex Shackell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel Swim Club), 2:07.73

*American record

Smith on her time: “I didn’t know if I was capable of a 2:03 tonight, so I’m thrilled with it. A best time is amazing, and I knew I would be in the conversation for gold, but I literally cannot ask any more of myself in that race. That was literally all I could do, so I’m incredibly thrilled and very happy for Summer (McIntosh), that’s a great time for her.

Shackell on her swim: “Well, it was really fun and a great experience, but I’m obviously not very happy with my time, knowing I have been faster than that in almost every race this season. I’m just taking it as a learning experience and motivation for four years…honestly, I never really got into my stroke in that race. I think I was too focused on the other people around me, and I should have just swum my own race like I did yesterday (in semifinals).”

Men’s 200m Backstroke– FINAL

5 – Keaton Jones (Gilbert, Ariz./Swim Neptune), 1:55.39

Jones on his swim: “I think that is the second fastest time I’ve ever been, minus the 1:54 from Trials. Obviously, I was trying to get on the podium, but I can’t be mad about that (race). I put together a pretty clean race.”

Jones on learning from his fifth-place finish: “I think going through training, and the ups and downs of (a double taper). When you are hitting it hard again, and the times and the effort aren’t showing, (it’s hard) to not check out a little bit. Having more confidence in myself. I just got fifth in the world, so I’m a pretty darn good backstroker. I just need to remember that.”

Men’s 50m Freestyle– Semifinal

2 – Caeleb Dressel (Green Cove Springs, Fla./Gator Swim Club), 21.58

Dressel on his confidence: “A lot better than it was this morning, to be honest. I was really happy to see 21.5, I was thinking 21.6, and to keep (dropping).”

Women’s 200m Breaststroke – FINAL

Gold – Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./ New York Athletic Club), 2:19.24*

8 – Lilly King (Evansville, Ind./Indiana Swim Club), 2:25.91

*American record

Douglass on her gold medal finish: “I’m really excited, I feel like for a while I wasn’t sure if Olympic Champion was going to be a possibility for me to say. It’s just really exciting to finally see it happen…I’m really excited to call myself an individual Olympic Champion and to get a gold for Team USA.”

Women’s 200m Backstroke – Semifinal

1 – Phoebe Bacon (Chevy Chase, Md./Wisconsin Aquatics), 2:07.32

6 – Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Longhorn Aquatics), 2:08.14

Smith on preparing for two events in approximately one hour: “We do a lot of that throughout the year at in season competitions. I have a lot of sessions where I have two races within a span of 30 minutes. Thankfully, it’s something that I’ve trained for, and granted at the Olympics it is different because it’s a much higher stress environment, but again, it’s something I’m used to. It’s not my first rodeo.”

Men’s 200m Individual Medley – Semifinal

2 – Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays), 1:56.37

9 – Shaine Casas (McAllen, Texas/Longhorn Aquatics), 1:57.82

Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay – FINAL 

Silver, 7:40.86

Claire Weinstein (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada)
Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./New York Athletic Club)
Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator Swim Club)
Erin Gemmell (Potomac, Md./NCAP)

*Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas/Sun Devil Swimming), Anna Peplowski (Germantown Hills, Ill./Indiana Swim Club), and Alex Shackell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel Swim Club) will receive medals for their prelim swims

Gemmell on being the anchor: “It’s a lot of pressure to anchor a relay like that, and it can be kind of nerve-racking to sit there for six minutes before you race, but I always know I can trust my teammates to put us in a good spot and I just have to bring us home…tonight I just really focused on swimming my own race and it was fun out there.”

Weinstein on helping Ledecky claim her 13th Olympic medal: “It’s just an honor to even be on the same team as Katie (Ledecky). She is the most humble person I know, she’s such an inspiration, even before I was on high level team with her. I’ve always looked up to her ever since I was a little kid, so it’s really crazy being on the same relay as her and on the same team as her and having her as a mentor.”

Gemmell on looking up to Ledecky: “Everyone knows how long I’ve looked up to Katie (Ledecky), but it’s kind of easy to forget sometimes that she is as good as she is, because like Claire (Weinstein) said, she’s so humble and is such a great teammate. She just goes out there and crushes it over and over again.”

Men’s 50m Freestyle– Prelim

17 – Chris Guiliano (Douglassville, Pa./University of Notre Dame), 21.97

Competition continues through Sunday, August 4 at Paris La Defense Arena. Tomorrow’s finals feature the men’s 50m freestyle final, women’s 200m backstroke final, men’s 200m individual medley final, men’s 100m butterfly semifinal, and women’s 200m individual medley semifinal. Prelims 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.