Swimming
Tokyo Olympics: United States wins 11 gold medals, while Australia finishes with nine in swimming
In the women's category, Australia was far ahead with 8 gold medals with the United States winning only three
Mulitple records, upsets, different storylines, and there was drama all around as swimming came to an exhilarating end at Tokyo Olympics. In the men's swimming, the domination of the United States continued with Caeleb Dressel leading the charge for the Americans as they finished with a tally of 12 medals. It was the Emma McKeon show, in women's swimming, as she became the first-ever female swimmer to win seven medals at the Olympics. The mixed relay team event that was making its debut at Tokyo Olympics saw Great Britain winning the gold medal in the 4x100m medley.
Here's a look at how things fared in both the men's and women's events
Men's swimming
He came, he saw, he conquered. Caeleb Dressel made the Tokyo Olympics his own playground with the American winning five gold medals (3 individual and 2 team events) from a possible six. In the process, he also broke three Olympic records and one World record at the Games. He also is the first-ever to win a gold medal in 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, and 100m Butterfly in a single Olympics. The comparisons with Michael Phelps might just be a bit too early but the 24-year-old certainly has the caliber to be the poster boy of United States swimming in the post-Phelps era.
Man of firsts. 🥇
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) August 1, 2021
Caeleb Dressel x #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/b63ve63dAX
Adam Peaty defended his 100m Breaststroke gold from Rio 2016 and won a total of three medals, the same number as his countryman James Guy. Great Britain eventually finished second in the medals tally with seven medals (3 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze)
Evgeny Rylov, playing under the Olympic flag, was another one who made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics. Competing in his second Olympics, Evgeny had an impressive showing as he won two gold medals and one silver. He also set a new Olympic record in the men's 200m Backstroke event.
Medals Tally (Men)
1. United States: 12 (8 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze)
2. Great Britain: 7 (3 gold. 3 silver, and 1 bronze)
Women's swimming
While all the talk was about the Titmus vs Ledceky battle going into the Tokyo Olympics, Emma McKeon stole the limelight winning seven medals. The Australian also broke the Olympic record in the 100m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle events. But Emma wasn't the only Australian making the headlines as 20-year-old Kaylee McKeown, who was making her debut at the Olympics, won three gold medals. The current world record holder in the 100m Backstroke event, set a new Olympic record in the event with a time of 57.47s.
The Katie Ledecky vs Ariarne Titmus battle was narrowly won by the Australian. Titmus got the better of her opponent twice as the duo went head-to-head three times in the individual events. Ariarne Titmus eventually finished the games with a total of four medals. Katie Ledecky, who had won four gold medals at Rio, finished with two in Tokyo and one of them came in the 1500m freestyle, with the event taking place for the first time in Olympics. Apart from Ledecky, 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby at her Olympics debut made the United States proud, winning gold in the 100m Backstroke event.
China's Yufei Zhang was another one who caught the eye in the women's category, winning two gold medals and finishing with overall four medals.
Medals Tally (Women)
1. Australia - 13 (8 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze)
2. United States - 18 (3 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze)
