Marchand, McIntosh Light Up Paris As Team USA Emerges Atop Swimming Medal Table

swin @) swan Marchand Is The Toast of Paris: Leon Marchand delivered under the heavy spotlight of racing in front of a home crowd at the Paris Olympic Games, going four-for-four in individual gold medals and adding a relay bronze on the final night to boot. Also: All of the highlights from nine days of racing in Paris, including Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, and the four world records we saw go down. MARCHAND BECOMES FOURTH SWIMMER TO WIN FOUR INDIVIDUAL GOLDS AT SINGLE GAMES Leon Marchand steamrolled the competition en route to winning four gold medals in Paris, becoming just the fourth swimmer in history to win a quartet of individual gold medals at a single Games. Marchand set new Olympic Records en route to wins in the men's 200 breast (2:05.85), 200 fly (1:51.21), 200 IM (1:54.06) and 400 IM (4:02.95), producing the second-fastest time ever in all but the 200 fly (which was the fourth-fastest ever). The 22-year-old Frenchman joins Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto with four individual swimming golds at a single Olympics. Phelps won four individual golds at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and then claimed five individual golds four years later in Beijing en route to his record-setting total of eight in a single Games. Spitz won four individual golds at the 1972 Olympics in Munich on the way to his seven total golds, which was the all-time single-Games record until Phelps broke it, and Otto won four individual and six total golds at the 1988 Games in Seoul. Otto was notably a member of the East German contingent that had widespread doping throughout the team. After his individual program was done, Marchand closed out the meet by splitting 58.62 on the breast leg of the French men's 4x100 medley relay, winning bronze in a National Record of 3:28.38. MCINTOSH BECOMES FIRST CANADIAN WITH THREE GOLDS AT SINGLE GAMES While Marchand was stealing the show on the men's side of the competition, the top performer for the women was Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old who walked away with three gold medals and one silver and made some Canadian history along the way. After her first Olympic medal with a silver behind Ariarne Titmus in the women's 400 free, McIntosh ran the table with victories in the 200 fly (2:03.03), 200 IM (2:06.56) and 400 IM (4:27.71), setting Olympic, World Junior and Canadian Records in the two former. In the 200 IM, she emerged in what was unequivocally the race of the meet, beating American Kate Douglass and Australian Kaylee McKeown, who had both won individual gold earlier in the meet as well. The other American, Alex Walsh, initially touched for bronze ahead of McKeown but was disqualified. McIntosh became the first Canadian to win three gold medals in a single Olympics and tied Penny Oleksiak for the most medals won by a Canadian at a single Summer Games with four. AMERICANS TOP SWIMMING MEDAL FOR NINTH STRAIGHT OLYMPICS The United States trailed the Australians in gold medals heading into the final session of swimming, but victories from Bobby Finke in the men's 1500 free and the women in the medley relay—both in world record fashion—secured the Americans' spot atop the swimming medal table for the ninth straight Olympics. FINAL SWIMMING MEDAL TABLE Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 United States 8 13 7 28 2 Australia 7 8 3 18 3 France 4 1 2 7 4 Canada 3 2 3 8 5 China 2 3 7 12 6 Italy 2 1 2 5 7 Hungary 2 1 0 3 8 Sweden 2 0 0 2 9 Great Britain 1 4 0 5 10 South Africa 1 1 0 2 11 Ireland 1 0 2 3 12 Germany 1 0 1 2 Romania 1 0 1 2 14 Greece 0 1 0 1 Japan 0 1 0 1 16 Hong Kong 0 0 2 2 Netherlands 0 0 2 2 18 South Korea 0 0 1 1 Switzerland 0 0 1 1 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM PARIS Four World Records Broken After "Slow Times" Early In Meet The first few days of swimming in Paris saw plenty of debate about the depth of the pool and whether or not it was to blame for the relatively slow times we were seeing. Conversations about the lack of record swims eventually faded away as things seemed to pick up as the meet went on, with four world records ultimately going down when all was said and done. China's Pan Zhanle obliterated his world record in the men's 100 freestyle by four-tenths, clocking 46.40 in the final to win gold by more than one second. On the final night of racing, Bobby Finke won the American men's first individual gold of the meet in the 1500 free, breaking Sun Yang's 12-year-old world record of 14:31.02 in 14:30.67. Two heats later, in the final race of the Olympics, the U.S. women's quartet of Regan Smith (57.28), Lilly King (1:04.90), Gretchen Walsh (55.03) and Torri Huske (52.42) combined for a time of 3:49.63 in the 4x100 medley relay, smashing the world record set by the American team in 2019 (3:50.40) and winning gold by three and a half seconds. We also saw a world record fall in the mixed medley relay, as the U.S. team of Ryan Murphy (52.08), Nic Fink (58.29), G. Walsh (55.18) and Huske (51.88) clocked 3:37.43 to break the British mark of 3:37.58 set at the Tokyo Olympics. Ledecky Continues To Make History Katie Ledecky did Katie Ledecky things in Paris, dominating the women's 1500 free to defend her gold medal and then winning an intense battle in the 800 free over Titmus and American teammate Paige Madden. Ledecky became the first female swimmer to win the same event at four straight Olympics in the 800 free, and she's also now the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history with nine career gold medals and 14 total. She ranks second all-time behind Michael Phelps in terms of swimming medalists, and is tied for #2 behind Phelps in terms of gold medals won, period, along with Caeleb Dressel, as both now have nine in their Olympic careers. Ledecky and Dressel are tied with American swimmer Mark Spitz, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, and track & field athletes Paavo Nurmi (Finland) and Carl Lewis (USA). Dressel fell shy of reaching the podium individually in Paris, but won gold on the men's 4x100 free relay and the mixed medley relay (swimming the prelims), and added a silver on the men's medley relay. Swimmers With Multiple Individual Gold Medals * Leon Marchand – men's 200 breast, 200 fly, 200/400 IM * Summer McIntosh – women's 200 fly, 200/400 IM * Kaylee McKeown – women's 100/200 back * Katie Ledecky – women's 800/1500 free * Sarah Sjostrom – women's 50/100 free There were five swimmers who walked away with five medals at the Games: Marchand, Huske, Mollie O'Callaghan, Smith, and McKeown. US CLOSES MEET STRONG WITH 2 GOLDS ON FINAL NIGHT TO TOP MEDAL TABLE FOR 9TH STRAIGHT OLYMPICS By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam The US has topped the medal table in swimming since the 1992 Olympics. They won a total of 8 in Paris, 1 more than Australia. Read the full story on SwimSwam: US Closes Meet Strong With 2 Golds On Final Night To Top Medal Table For 9th Straight Olympics Read More → - CANADA MAKING HISTORY IN PARIS WHILE LED BY TEENAGERS SUMMER MCINTOSH AND ILYA KHARUN By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam Summer McIntosh became the first Canadian to ever win three individual gold medals at the same Olympics. Kharun won bronze tonight alongside Josh Liendo. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Canada Making History In Paris While Led By Teenagers Summer McIntosh And Ilya Kharun Read More → - LEON MARCHAND BECOMES FOURTH SWIMMER IN HISTORY TO WIN FOUR INDIVIDUAL GOLDS AT SINGLE GAMES By James Sutherland on SwimSwam Marchand continues to make history in Paris, joining Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto in winning win four individual golds at one Olympics. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Leon Marchand Becomes Fourth Swimmer In History To Win Four Individual Golds At Single Games Read More → - SARAH SJOSTROM SOLIDIFIES HER LEGACY AS THE SPRINT QUEEN WITH A THIRD INDIVIDUAL GOLD By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam Sarah Sjostrom's gold medal in the 50 freestyle--the third of her career and second of the meet--cements her legacy as one of swimming's greatest sprinters. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Sarah Sjostrom Solidifies Her Legacy As The Sprint Queen With A Third Individual Gold Read More → - PARIS 2024, NORTH AMERICA DAY 8: LEDECKY FOUR-PEATS, BUT IS IT THE END OF AN ERA? By Yanyan Li on SwimSwam Katie Ledecky made history with her fourth-consecutive Olympic title in the 800 free. But could it be her last one as well? Read the full story on SwimSwam: Paris 2024, North America Day 8: Ledecky Four-Peats, But Is It The End Of An Era? Read More → - Twitter Facebook Instagram Website