Tokyo — For the first time in more than a century, Britain won relay gold at the Olympic pool.
Surprisingly, the United States did not win the podium.
At the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay on Wednesday, a dynamic quartet led the British to an overwhelming victory.
200 free gold medalist Tom Dean led and 200 silver medalist Duncan Scott swam the anchor leg. Three-time Olympic medalist James Guy and 18-year-old Matthew Richards have stepped in.
“This has been created over the years,” Dean said. “We are getting stronger and stronger.”
The British missed the world record with a victory time of 6 minutes 58.58 seconds.
Americans set a record at 6: 58.55 in rubberized suits at the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
“In the end, it was very close to the world record,” Scott said. “If anything, I’m a little angry.”
Imagine how Americans felt.
For the first time in its proud swimming history, the United States failed to win a relay medal when attending an event.
Kieran Smith, Drew Kibler, Zack Apple and Townley Haas finished at 7: 03.24, not only lagging far behind Britain, but also following Russia and Australia, who won silver and bronze respectively.
As a result, Michael Phelps, who has been part of so many winning relay teams during his career and is now a television commentator at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, was furious.
Phelps has criticized American coaches for not including Caeleb Dressel in the relay, although it’s unclear if he wants to add another event to his already busy schedule.
“It’s shocking,” Phelps said in an interview with NBC. “In my opinion, he’s probably the best 200 freestylers in the world. He can probably put up with one of the best times we’ve seen. Remove him from that relay. I think it will be much harder for me to win a gold medal. “
Dressel withdrew from the event after swimming 200 free races once in the United States Olympic Trials. His Tokyo program includes three individual events, including 100 free Wednesday semifinals, and three other relays.
The dressel, mainly known as the sprinter, has recorded a lot of fast times over 200 meters.
Without him, not only would the Americans not be able to earn money, but they were completely shut out.
Other things that happened were the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, when Americans didn’t join the team with women’s 4×100 free relays, and the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which appeared entirely due to the Soviet invasion. It was when I wasn’t there. Of Afghanistan.
Otherwise, the United States had 94 out of 94 relays. Of course, not all win, but at least there are medals.
Make it 94 of 95.
The British made their own history.
It was the first relay gold since the aforementioned women’s 4×100 free relay in 1912, and was the only victory for the men’s 4×200 free relay at the 1908’s first London Games.
But they didn’t come out of nowhere.
They have been looking at Americans since winning a 4×200 silver medal in a Rio game five years ago.
Britain finally took the lead as Phelps retired, long-time stubborn Ryan Lochte was unable to form an Olympic team, and Dressel focused on other events.
“These four young people here, we are the best freestylers in the world,” Guy said. “The way things went is amazing. Michael Phelps raced Ryan Lochte in Rio and is now the Olympic champion.”
Paul Newberry