USA swimming ends Olympics with most gold medals after women’s relay world record

The United States entered the last session of Olympic swimming as it had throughout the meet, playing from behind.

When the dust settled, though, the U.S. had scored a pair of world records to go ahead of Australia, 8-7, in the gold medal count — capping a madcap final evening in the pool.

The meet featured a pair of devastating losses for the U.S., as China beat out the United States in the men’s 4×100 medley relay — the first time ever the Americans lost in the event — and Gretchen Walsh lost a bronze medal by .01 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle.

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But those were overshadowed by a pair of wins from Bobby Finke in the 1,500-meter freestyle and Team USA in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay, both of which set world records.

In addition to leading the gold medal count, the U.S. also finished with 28 medals overall to lead Australia, which finished with 18.

The gold medal count was tied heading into the last race of the evening, but the foursome of Torri Huske, Lilly King, Regan Smith and Walsh led wire to wire in the medley relay, unchallenged for the duration with a time of 3:49.63.

“Just an awesome way to cap off the meet,” King told reporters.

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Despite the U.S. performing below expectations for much of the swim competition — particularly with Caeleb Dressel failing to medal in his individual events — its combined star power and depth proved enough at the last moment.

Finke scored the first victory of the night for Team USA, setting a world-record 14:30.67 time in the 1,500 and leading every stroke of the race to finish ahead of Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri.

“I saw Greg the whole time,” Finke told NBC’s Melissa Stark after the race. “I could peak at the board and see the world-record line. I was just like, ‘Ah, s–t, here we go.’ Just happy to get the gold.”

The Chinese victory in the men’s 4×100 medley, where the U.S. finished silver in a tight race with France (bronze) and Great Britain (fourth), instantly came under fire because of the inclusion of Qin Haiyang and Sun Jiajun on the Chinese team.

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Both were among the 23 swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance at the Tokyo Games, but were allowed to compete after the World Antidoping Agency signed off on a Chinese investigation that chalked the results up to bad food.

The story was one of the undercurrents of the swim meet throughout the Olympics, but charged to the fore as British swimmer Adam Peaty blasted the system shortly after the relay.

“If you touch and you know you’re cheating, you’re not winning, right?” Peaty told reporters. “As an honorable person, I mean, you should be out of the sport, but we know sport isn’t that simple.

“… I think we’ve got our faith in the system, but also we don’t,” Peaty said. “Whoever’s in the race, I expect in my head that it has to be fair for them to be there. We did our best job as a team to do that, and it may have been [worthy of] a bronze. Who knows?”

Dressel, who swam the butterfly in the relay for the U.S., declined to go to the mat in quite the same manner.

“I don’t work for WADA,” he told reporters. “There’s nothing I can do.”

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