Australian dominatrix Kaylee McKeown crushed Regan Smith to extend her 100m backstroke reign before Irish pioneer Daniel Wiffen on Tuesday became the first man from his country to win an Olympic swimming medal with gold in the 800m freestyle .
Great Britain closed the night session of day four by defending their men’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay crown in a packed La Défense Arena.
Britain’s late triumph was its first gold medal at the Paris swimming competition and condemned the United States to a second consecutive day without a title.
Instead, the Americans had to settle for minor medals in all three events as Australia increased its lead at the top of the standings with four titles to Team USA’s two.
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Three years after leading Australia to a record nine gold medals in Tokyo, the country’s brilliant women have once again done the heavy lifting.
Backstroke queen McKeown could well finish the best of the lot, having taken on her American rival Regan Smith, the potential challenger who snatched her world record just weeks before the Games.
McKeown’s strong pace made the difference again as she mowed down eventual silver medalist Smith and American bronze medalist Katharine Berkoff to retain her own 100m title in an Olympic record time of 57.33 seconds.
She joins teammate Titmus and swimming icons Ian Thorpe and Dawn Fraser among Australians with three individual gold medals.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s great to be part of history. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going for the rest of the week,” said the 23-year-old, the first woman from her country to win a backstroke title.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen poses for a photo with his national flag on the podium after winning the gold medal in the men’s 800 meter freestyle final in Nanterre on Wednesday. | Photo credit: AP
Paris 2024 Olympics: Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen poses for a photo with his national flag on the podium after winning the gold medal in the men’s 800 meter freestyle final in Nanterre on Wednesday. | Photo credit: AP
Team Ireland has been buzzing since Mona McSharry won a surprise bronze medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke on Monday, and the lanky Wiffen took the party up several notches with an emphatic victory for the 800m freestyle title .
The 23-year-old clocked an Olympic record seven minutes 38.19 seconds to dethrone American champion Bobby Finke, who took silver.
Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri won bronze three years after being runner-up in Tokyo.
Already Ireland’s first medalist at the world swimming championships, Wiffen wiped away tears on the podium after breaking new ground in the Olympic pool and winning the country’s first gold medal in Paris.
“I’m not going to lie, I told everyone I was going to do it before,” Wiffen told reporters.
“So it’s good to see it on paper.”
From left: Britain’s Duncan Scott, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards and James Guy after winning gold in the men’s 4×200 meter freestyle team relay in Nanterre at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday. | Photo credit: AP
From left: Britain’s Duncan Scott, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards and James Guy after winning gold in the men’s 4×200 meter freestyle team relay in Nanterre at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday. | Photo credit: AP
In the 4x200m freestyle relay, the quartet of James Guy, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards and Duncan Scott then kept the gold medal in British hands, beating the Americans by 1.35 seconds, with Australia winning the bronze medal.
It came three years after the same British quartet beat a Russian team and Australia to the title in Tokyo.
Scott’s gold was a record seventh Olympic medal – two gold and five silver – for a British swimmer and there was no catching him on the final leg.
Scott and Guy also won silver in this event at Rio 2016.
“There are so many great individual athletes on this team,” Scott said.
“When we get together, it’s always very special.”
