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NANTERRE, France — There are races at the Olympic swim meet that deliver individual glory, and then there are those that offer the chance to trash talk another country’s swimmers for the next four years.
In that latter category, not many events can hold a candle to the two relays that unfolded Saturday night in the Olympic pool, which ended with an even split between the Australians and Americans. That’s probably as it should be for the two best swimming countries in the 21st century. The Aussie women and the American men get to make everyone else pretty cranky until 2028 — and very thankful for having held off the Chinese this time around.
Why do these races carry so much weight?
Basically, everyone who begins competing in swimming starts with the freestyle. The 100 meters (or yards in some countries) is arguably the main race at that distance.
In a sense, emerging at the top of the 100-meter freestyle pyramid means fending off everyone who has ever raced in a pool. It follows, then, that winning the 4×100 relay allows a country to claim it has four of the best swimmers at the most popular distance in the most popular stroke. Not bad.
There’s also the matter of the guitars. That was in 2000 in Sydney in the men’s 4×100, at a time when the American men were untouchable at the distance. Gary Hall Jr., whose ego was not small, said his crew would smash the hometown Aussies like guitars. Australia won, at which point Ian Thorpe and his teammates stood on the pool deck strumming away at their air guitars.
Australia’s Michael Klim plays lead guitar while Ian Thorpe, right, looks on after the Australians beat the U.S. in the 4×100 freestyle relay in Sydney in 2000. (Al Bello / Allsport via Getty Images)
Ever since then, there has been something particularly exhibitionistic about the celebrations that unfold after these relays and especially sulky about the groups that trail them, and Saturday night was no exception.
Meg Harris of Australia was in her teammates’ arms almost as soon as she hit the wall, still neck-deep in the water after holding off the U.S. women with more than a second to spare.
A lane over, Simone Manuel of the U.S., who’d just finished swimming a triumphant anchor leg, glumly lifted herself out of the water, then huddled with Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske.
About 10 minutes later, the American men exacted their revenge, riding the power of a massive effort from Hunter Armstrong in the third leg, then raised their chiseled arms into the air over and over, demanding more noise from a crowd that was already pretty deafening.
Now about the Chinese, who will be the cloud that hangs over this meet all week. As The New York Times and the German television station ARD reported in April, the FBI is investigating whether the World Anti-Doping Agency and Chinese doping officials violated American law when they secretly cleared 23 Chinese swimmers to compete in the Tokyo Olympics even though they tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug before the competition. The Chinese claimed contaminated meat at a hotel caused the positive tests.
Tensions over the investigation ratcheted up a few clicks Saturday when one of those Chinese swimmers, Qin Haiyang, a world record-holder in the 200-meter breaststroke, went on social media and accused testers of being part of a European and American plot to rattle the Chinese by testing them so often before the Games.
That accusation came two days after the International Olympic Committee announced it had selected Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Winter Games, but with a caveat. Officials in Utah had to agree to lobby the federal government to end its investigation into the matter.
The Chinese men led early but faded. The women gave the Americans a serious run for the silver until Manuel, an individual gold medalist in the 100 in 2016, made sure that wouldn’t happen.
Manuel said she focused on the legs kicking in front of her, not where the Chinese were.
“Been a while since I swam the anchor leg,” she said when it was over and the silver medal was around her neck. “I was pretty nervous.”
Australia’s Meg Harris and Mollie O’Callaghan embrace after winning the women’s 4×100-meter gold medal on Saturday. The Americans took second. (Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
There is also the matter of American exceptionalism when it comes to this event. Far and away the dominant swimming nation, American men won the 4×100 freestyle from 1964 until the air guitar incident in 2000. American women won it 14 times from 1924 to 2000.
Since then, it’s been silvers and bronzes, to the great joy of pretty much everyone else in international swimming.
Retired Australian swimming star Cate Campbell had this to say about “The Star-Spangled Banner” at last year’s world championships: “If I never hear that song again, it will be too soon.”
And Australia is among the closest allies of the United States.
“As the years go on, the standards just get higher and higher,” said Emma McKeon, the veteran Aussie who won her sixth gold medal and 12th overall Saturday night. “You look at the history of this event. You can’t help but want to be a part of it.”
It’s the sort of event that got Caeleb Dressel, among the most decorated of American swimmers, back into the pool after taking a mental health break following the Tokyo Games.
“You can’t explain this moment until you see the flag going up,” Dressel said, fresh off the podium. “Relays are a little more special.”
Just ask Armstrong, the 23-year-old who now has two golds in the 4×100, helping the U.S. to defend the title from Tokyo.
Armstrong blasted through the water, essentially doubling the Americans’ half-second lead over the Italians and Aussies, giving Dressel more than enough water to make sure there would be no guitars Saturday in Paris.
“I will give my entire body and soul up for these boys,” he said, after basically doing just that.
For four years of bragging rights, it was worth it.
GO DEEPER
Behind Caeleb Dressel’s Olympic return, ‘a work in progress’ to rekindle his love for swimming
(Top photo of the American men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team celebrating Saturday’s gold medal swim: Ian MacNicol / Getty Images)
