No one can match America’s depth at the pool. That said, claiming the top step on the Olympic medal podium is no longer a given for US swimmers.
Nine days of thrilling competition at La Defense Arena wrapped up on Sunday night with the Americans barely pulling out the lead in the gold medal standings thanks to a victory in the final race.
The US finished with just eight gold, their fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one ahead of their biggest rival, Australia. More notably, the rest of the world totaled more victories (20) than the US and Australia combined, the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Americans will certainly be keen on improving their performance heading into the home games in Los Angeles (2028), when swimming will have its largest, most spectacular setting yet — a temporary pool inside SoFi Stadium with a capacity for some 38,000 fans.
Still, with more and more international swimmers getting their training in the US — and prominent American coaches such as Bob Bowman spreading their knowledge to other countries — a more diverse list of gold medalists is likely to be the norm going forward.
“This sport is growing and I can’t help but feel like we’ve been a part of that,” American swimmer Bobby Finke said. “It’s something we should take home and be proud of.”
Two of the biggest swimming stars in Paris, France’s Léon Marchand and Canada’s Summer McIntosh, train in the US and won a bevy of medals for their countries.
Marchand, who captured four individual gold medals as well as a relay bronze, is coached by Bowman, best known as the guy who led Michael Phelps throughout his record-setting career.
“Look at Bob Bowman. He doesn’t care if you’re from the US or whatever,” said Shane Ryan, an American-born swimmer who competes for Ireland. “He just wants to coach the fastest swimmers at all time.”
McIntosh trains with a team in Sarasota, Florida, where she honed the form that produced three individual gold medals — the most ever by a Canadian athlete.
“I think competition is great,” said longtime American star Ryan Murphy, who trains with several international athletes at the University of California, Berkeley, including Spain’s Hugo González. “He’s pushed me a lot. There’s plenty of days where he’s right next to me and helping me get better.”
Murphy said it’s only natural in today’s information-driven world that more nations are rising up to challenge the US. “People will take a video of what they’re doing in practice and put it up on social media right away,” he said. “The learning curve is so quick around the world.”
The US certainly had their shining moments in Paris. Katie Ledecky won two more golds, moving her into a tie for second place among all athletes on the career list with nine. She also joined Phelps as the only swimmers to win the same event at four straight Summer Games with her victory in the 800 freestyle.
The women’s team produced several more stars, including Torri Huske (three golds, two silvers), Gretchen Walsh (two golds, two silvers) and Regan Smith (two golds, three silvers).
But there were plenty of disappointments, particularly on the men’s side. Caeleb Dressel, a big star at the Tokyo Games with five gold medals, finished sixth in the 50 freestyle and didn’t even qualify for the final of the 100 butterfly.
Murphy settled for a bronze in the 100 backstroke and, like Dressel, failed to qualify for the final of his other individual event, the 200 back. In all, the American men produced only two gold medals, and they didn’t pick up an individual victory until Finke’s world record in the 1,500 freestyle on the final night.