US Falls to China in Men’s Medley Relay, Ends 60-Year Olympic Streak
The United States men’s swimming team suffered a shocking defeat at the 2024 Paris Olympics, falling to China in the 4×100-meter medley relay and ending a 60-year streak of dominance in the event. The US team, featuring Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Caeleb Dressel, and Hunter Armstrong, finished second and took silver, but was unable to catch China’s world record holder Pan Zhanle, who pulled ahead of Armstrong and France’s Florent Manaudou over the final 100 meters.
China finished the race in 3:27.46, while the US came home in 3:28.01, with France taking bronze in 3:28.38. The US team’s defeat marked the end of a remarkable 60-year streak of winning the men’s medley relay, with the exception of the boycotted 1980 Olympics.
Medley relays have been a part of the Olympic program since 1960, and the US team had won the inaugural men’s event by nearly seven seconds. Despite the loss, the US team has held the world record continuously since 1971, with a team featuring Dressel and Murphy lowering the record in Tokyo.
However, the latest foursome entered Paris 2024 as de facto favorites to further the tradition, but instead, they let it slip. They were outside the top three after the backstroke and breaststroke legs, with Dressel bringing them close to level at the 300-meter mark. However, Armstrong was no match for Pan, and the US team ultimately finished second.
The defeat marked an underwhelming meet for the US men, who ended with more disappointment. France, meanwhile, took bronze, giving Léon Marchand his fifth medal of the 2024 Olympics.
