Rob Schumacher/Reuters
Team USA picked up its first gold at the Paris Olympics in the pool Saturday thanks to the men men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, who beat out Australia by more than a second. Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel posted a time of 3:09.28, a strong finish over the Australian quartet’s 3:10.35. Armstrong was the fastest of the quartet, finishing his leg in 46.75 seconds. For Armstrong, this was his second gold medal after a victory in the same event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The victory tied Dressel, 23, on eight golds with fellow American relay swimmer Matt Biondi. For Guiliano and Alexy, this was their first medal and their first Olympic race. The four exploded with joy when Dressel came into the finish, yelling “let’s go” and “woo!” It was the 11th gold the U.S. has won in the 4x100m freestyle relay race in the past 13 Olympics it has competed in, and was the team’s third in a row.