Team USA has its first gold medal in Paris.
The red, white and blue earned a first-place finish in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay Saturday at La Defense Arena, ending Day 1 of the swimming schedule on a high note. The quartet of Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel beat out Australia and Italy to win the gold medal.
Alexey was in second when Guiliano took over for his leg. He pulled away of the pack before Armstrong and Dressel anchored the relay team to a victory.
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It was the second of three medals won in the pool Saturday for the United States. Katie Ledecky added a bronze medal to her extensive resume with a third-place finish in the women’s 400m freestyle. Australia’s Ariarne Titmus finished first, while Canada’s Summer McIntosh came in second.
In addition, Team USA earned a silver in the women’s 4x100m relay. The quartet of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske and Simone Manuel was unable to beat Australia’s group of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayne Jack, Emma McKoen and Meg Harris, who set a new Olympic record with a time of 3:28.92 to take gold.
The Sporting News tracked all the latest updates, highlights and results from Day 1 of the Olympic swimming events at the 2024 Olympics.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
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Olympics swimming results
Saturday, July 27
| Time (ET) | Event | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30 p.m. | Women’s 100 Butterfly (Semifinals) | Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 55.38 | Torri Huske (USA) — 56.00 | Zang Yufei (China) — 56.15 |
| 2:42 p.m. | Men’s 400 Freestyle (Finals) | Lukas Maertens (Germany) — 3:41.78 | Elijah Winnington (Australia) — 3:42.21 | Kim Woomin (South Korea) — 3:42.50 |
| 2:52 p.m. | Women’s 400 Freestyle (Finals) | Ariarne Titmus (Australia) — 3:57.49 | Summer McIntosh (Canada) — 3:58.37 | Katie Ledecky (USA) — 4:00.86 |
| 3:13 p.m. | Men’s 100 Breaststroke (Semifinals) | Adam Peaty (Great Britain) — 58.86 | Qin Haiyang (China) — 58.93 | Arno Kamminga (Netherlands) — 59.12 |
| 3:34 p.m. | Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay (Finals) | Australia — 3:28.22 | USA — 3:30.20 | China — 3:30.30 |
| 3:44 p.m. | Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay (Finals) | USA —3:09.28 | Australia — 3:10.35 | Italy — 3:10.70 |
Live swimming updates, highlights from Day 1 at 2024 Olympics
(All times Eastern)
3:57 p.m.: The USA has its first gold medal in Paris. The quarter of Alexy, Guilinao, Armstrong and Dressel outpace the field to win the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Giuliano took the lead on the second leg and the team did not look back. Australia takes the silver while Italy claims bronze.
TEAM USA STRIKES GOLD. 💪
CAELEB DRESSEL BRINGS IT HOME IN THE MEN’S 4X100 FREE RELAY. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/rJwrSEWhps
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
3:52 p.m.: The final event of Day 1 for swimming is the men’s 4×100 freestyle. For the United States, it’s the foursome of Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel swimming in the race.
3:47 p.m.: Australia takes gold in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay. The quartet of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayne Jack, Emma McKoen and Meg Harris set a new Olympic record with a time of 3:28.92. The United States finish second thanks to a strong effort by Manuel on the final lap to fend off the Chinese attempt. USA clocks in at 3:30.20, while China finishes at 3:30.30.
3:36 p.m.: Up next is the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay. For the United States, it’s the quartet of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske and Simone Manuel looking to knock off Australia for the gold.
3:26: p.m.: Adam Peaty is still the man to beat in the men’s 100m breaststroke. The Brit finishes with the best time in the two semifinals at the event, racing in 58.86 seconds.
3:04: p.m.: The women’s 400m freestyle is still Ariarne Titmus’ race. The Australian defends her gold medal by beating McIntosh and Ledecky with a time of 3:57.49. McIntosh earned silver with a time of 3:48.37, while Ledecky finished more than three seconds behind the gold medal winner, with a time of 4:00.86.
Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky embrace after the 400m freestyle final 🤝 pic.twitter.com/jaOHhhm1Ou
— ESPN (@espn) July 27, 2024
2:54: p.m.: Up next is the highly-anticipated women’s 400m freestyle. The race features Katie Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh, three of the best swimmers in Paris.
2:49: p.m.: It’s a gold medal for Germany’s Lukas Maertens. The German swimmer narrowly missed out on a world record, but his time of 3:41.78 was enough to beat Australia’s Elijah Winnington. The Aussie took silver at 3:44.21, while South Korea’s Kim Woomin earned bronze.
2:38: p.m.: Gretchen Walsh is one of the favorites to win the 100m butterfly gold, and she shoed why in the semifinals. The USA star set a new Olympic record with her time of 55.38 in the first semifinal of the event.
Gretchen Walsh sets a NEW Olympic record with a 55.38 in the 100m butterfly semis! 🇺🇸👏 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/iAascuz7iz
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
2 p.m.: The pool is about to heat up in Paris. La Defense Arena is the site for a set of four finals ad two semifinals today, starting in the next alf an hour.
11:30 a.m.: Talk about anticipation. The women’s 400m freestyle final is set for later this afternoon, and even media members need a ticket to get in.
Listen to this.
Demand is so high for tonight’s opening night swimming finals — the women’s 400m free a marquee event at the Olympics — even accredited journalists need a ticket.
It’s getting wild here in Paris and the anticipation is off the charts.
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) July 27, 2024
10:34 a.m.: Katie Ledecky is going for gold. The American swim sensation secures the best time for the 400m freestyle and a spot in the finals, swimming the race in 4:02.19. She will go for gold at 2:52 p.m. this afternoon.
Strong start 💪@katieledecky’s 4:02.19 is the top time of the #Paris2024 400m freestyle prelims!
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) July 27, 2024
10:17 a.m.: In the men’s 400m freestyle, Aaron Shackell brought his A-game Saturday morning. The Team USA swimmer put up a personal best in the heats of the men’d 400-m event.
Aaron Shackell is on his way to the 400m free final after swimming a personal-best 3:45.45. 🇺🇸👏 #ParisOlympics
📺: USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/oYtjmJm95a
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
10 a.m.: The United States did not jus secure their spot in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay — they dominated. Team USA easily won first place thanks to the joint effort from Abbey Weitzeil (53.60), Simone Manuel (53.23), Erika Connolly (53.83), and Kate Douglass (52.63).
Team USA dominates its women’s 4×100 freestyle relay heat to book a place in today’s final at the #ParisOlympics. 💪
📺 USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/bv10jKqufT
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
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Olympics swimming schedule 2024
With the exception of Aug. 4, each day will begin with heats starting at 5 a.m. ET and will end with semifinals and finals races starting up at 2:30 p.m. ET. The USA Network will carry the heats in the United States and NBC will have the finals, while CBC will provide coverage of both events in Canada.
Those in the United States hoping to see replays of the qualifying heats can tune into NBC every afternoon to see how swimmers performed earlier in the morning.
Saturday, July 27
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Sunday, July 28
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Monday, July 29
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Tuesday, July 30
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Wednesday, July 31
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Thursday, Aug. 1
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Friday, Aug. 2
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Saturday, Aug. 3
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | 5 a.m. | USA | CBC |
| Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
Sunday, Aug. 4
| Event | Time (ET) | Channel (U.S.) | Channel (Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finals | 12:30 p.m. | NBC | CBC |
