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Despite Turbulent Tokyo Olympics, Zach Apple Still Proves Himself as Dependable Relay Star
In the span of 48 hours, Zach Apple experienced the full spectrum of emotions a swimmer can go through, from the most impressive and dramatic triumph that brings about Olympic gold to the most gutting disappointment conceivable. The 24-year-old from Trenton, Ohio, had spent years establishing himself as a regular on U.S. international teams, but his first Olympics saw him take on more high-profile roles than ever before. Beginning with his first splash in an Olympic final, the stakes were raised.
Of course, Apple was already an experienced veteran, a 24-year-old who swam on relay squads at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships and earned five medals. His first finals relay appearance at the 2019 World Championships saw him split 46.86, the quickest mark in the race, to extend the American lead and propel the squad toward a gold medal. He was also a member of the bronze-medal-winning 800 free relay finals squad.
But in 2021’s 400 free relay, Apple would inherit the position of anchor. He had finished second in the 100 free at Olympic Trials behind Caeleb Dressel, his 47.72 four tenths clear of the next-best swimmer, and his sterling efforts from the 2019 Worlds supported the thought that Apple could hold his own in high-pressure spots. But consider the history of that relay anchor spot this century: in 2000, Gary Hall Jr. was still the man in the sprint events, and he anchored at the Olympics, and at the 2012 Games, the U.S. coaches switched the order around to have Ryan Lochte go last, which backfired. Other than that, every single U.S. men’s 400 free relay at an Olympics, World Championships or Pan Pacific Championships in the 21st century has had either Jason Lezak or Nathan Adrian on the anchor leg (and most of the medley relays, too).
Zach Apple (in pool) celebrates with Caeleb Dressel, Blake Pieroni and Bowe Becker after the U.S. men won Olympic gold in the 400 free relay — Photo Courtesy: Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports
“It’s definitely a coveted spot,” Apple said. “It’s an honor. It’s insane.”
Because the Americans only had five 100 freestylers on the team instead of the usual six, Apple got a warmup swim in the 400 free relay prelims. Then, in the final, he stepped onto the block with Dressel and Blake Pieroni having finished their legs, Bowe Becker coming to the wall and the American men clinging to a narrow lead over Italy.
“Beau was coming in, and he was pulling away from the pack, and I was like, ‘Dude.’ I was looking at my left and right, and I was kind of like, ‘These guys definitely aren’t beating me. We’re probably going to win this race,’” Apple recalled.
His tight relay exchange (0.05 takeover time) caused a few nervous heartbeats, but Apple took a two-tenth lead and just crushed the field. He split 46.69, this time the second-best in the field, to give the Americans a commanding lead — and a gold medal.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Apple said of receiving his first gold medal. “It’s something that you think about. Kids think about it for 15, 20 years and never get to stand on that podium and hear that national anthem. So it’s something that’s super, super special. There’s this music that they play during the walk-out and stuff, and it just makes you want to get emotional. And then you stand up on the podium, and you watch the flags go up, and you’re like, ‘There’s no way this is real. This is insane.’ It’s so wild. It’s a dream come true.”
From Olympic Glory to Crushing Letdown
In Tokyo, that dramatic-as-always 400 free relay win, the signature moment of Apple’s career to that point, was on Monday morning. But unlike some first-time gold-medal winners on that relay in past Olympics, Apple had a lot more racing responsibilities to go, so he would not have long to bask in the glory.
Tuesday evening, he was scheduled to return to the pool for two races, the prelims of the 100 free and the 800 free relay. He had finished fifth in the 200 free at Olympic Trials to qualify as a relay alternate. But a group of U.S. coaches, including men’s head coach Dave Durden and assistant coach Ray Looze, Apple’s coach at Indiana, told Apple that he could go straight to the finals relay without swimming in the prelims.
“I told him that if they felt comfortable, then I was comfortable being in that spot,” Apple said. “I have been on that relay at World Championships before. It’s not new to me.”
But before he got to the relay, he had a setback in the individual 100 free. Competing in the second semifinal, Apple swam a time of 48.04, not great by his standards but still quick enough to make most any international final in history. Not this time, though. But quickly, Apple had to reset and refocus, with the 800 free relay just an hour and a half away. He was set to handle the third leg, with Kieran Smith leading off, Drew Kibler going second and Townley Haas on the anchor leg.
The U.S. men finished a disappointing fourth place in the 800 free relay — Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports
While the Americans had been at least co-favorites in the 400 free relay, they were underdogs in the 800. Great Britain was the clear top choice for gold, while the four-time defending gold medalist U.S. men were just hoping to get on the podium. As it turned out, those efforts could not have gotten off to a better start as Smith led off in 1:44.74, a lifetime best, and then Kibler split an impressive 1:45.54. The Americans were in second place. Then Apple dove in and looked great… for 150 meters.
But on his last length, Apple had nothing left. His split was a brutal 29.00, and he went from first place to fifth. His split was 1:47.31, nowhere close to his 1:46.45 flat-start swim from Trials. Haas put together an impressive anchor leg, but he could not catch Britain, Russia or Australia. The Americans missed the podium in an Olympic relay for the first time ever.
Understandably, Apple was gutted. “Having a bit of time to reflect on it,” he said, “I think I let the emotional high of the 400 free relay extend for 36 hours after the race ended. In the moment, I didn’t realize that, but it’s hard.”
Proving He Was “That Guy”
Zach Apple got a ton of hometown support from back in Trenton, Ohio — Photo Courtesy: Zach Apple
Outside of his international successes with the U.S. team, Apple might be most associated with the two colleges he has attended, Auburn (for three years) and Indiana (for one year plus postgrad). But Apple is originally from Trenton, Ohio, a town of only 13,000 people about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. And in Trenton, Apple is a hero, regardless of whether one of his relay swims in Tokyo was not his best effort. “I don’t know if anyone knows that I swam on Wednesday,” Apple said.
Businesses throughout Trenton painted their windows to support Apple. An ice cream shop created a special dessert called the “Zapple.”
Trenton believed in Apple. So did his U.S. teammates and coaches, even after the 800 free relay disappointment
“The team and the coaches were just incredible after that,” Apple said. “They were amazing. The coaching staff and everybody didn’t skip a beat, didn’t leave me to be in my corner. People are interacting with me and trying to make sure to get me out of my head. Obviously, I was in a pretty bad spot. I just felt… yeah, you know. The guys were awesome. No one was coming up to me and shaming me or anything, even though I felt like it could have been warranted. They were awesome. The coaching staff was the same way.”
Apple still had one race left on his program, the 400 medley relay. Dressel was a faster option for the 100 freestyle split, but there was never any doubt Dressel would handle the fly leg. So they needed Apple for free, and even after his poor 800 free relay, Durden and Looze told Apple that they still wanted him for the anchor leg, which Apple called “a huge confidence boost, that they still had trust in me and what I could do.”
Apple told the coaches, “I’m still that guy that went 46.6. Nothing has changed in the past six days or whatever that’s going to make me not do that again.” He added, “It was definitely one where I felt like I had something to prove, especially coming off at 800 free relay.”
The Americans had never lost a 400 medley relay at the Olympics, but this one would be a tough task. Two years earlier at the World Championships, Duncan Scott had recorded the second-fastest relay split in history to pass the Americans and win a shocking gold medal. The British were poised to be really tough again, with superstar breaststroker Adam Peaty and strong butterflyer James Guy also featured on their squad. And the Americans had barely made the final, qualifying seventh after a rough prelims outing.
So the group of Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Dressel and Apple would swim in lane one, but they realized the night before that they didn’t need any superhuman performances to be Olympic champions after a meeting with Durden and national team managing director Lindsay Mintenko.
“Dave read us off the splits from the world record relay. It was 52.3, 58.5, 49.7 and 46.8, I think. We went down the line, and every single one of us guys who is sitting there had already been faster at the meet,” Apple said. “We were like, ‘There’s no reason we should not break this world record.’ All four of us have been there. We all are capable. Dave’s big message in that was that we didn’t need to do anything special to win that race. We just need to do what we can do, what we were capable of.”
Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple embrace after the two helped the United States win Olympic gold and set a world record in the men’s 400 medley relay — Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports
They did just that. Dressel gave Apple the lead, and rather than surrendering any ground to Scott, he extended the margin. He split 46.95 to bring the U.S. home for gold in 3:26.78, taking down a 12-year-old suit-aided world record. It was actually the first men’s long course relay world record to be broken since 2009.
“I touched the wall, and Ryan is standing on the side of the pool, right next to the blocks, going nuts,” Apple recalled. “I celebrate a little bit in the water, and he’s like, ‘Dude, get up here. We’re celebrating together.’ I hopped out of the water, and I barely can stand up. But that was awesome.”
It was Apple’s second gold medal, a redemption swim for sure, but also a point made. Apple has no intention of surrendering his newly-clinched spot as the trusted relay anchor, and certainly, he has earned the right to go into the abbreviated leadup to the 2024 Olympics as the incumbent in that position, at least in the 100 free. The 200, that remains to be seen how things develop, but there will undoubtedly be some motivation for Apple to try to show his Tokyo relay split is not the peak of his capabilities.
But now, as he looks back on his Olympics, Apple realizes that he has already secured a spot in swimming history, permanently, as a swimmer who anchored a gold-medal-winning relay. Despite what happened on the 800 free relay and whatever his future holds in swimming, Apple will be immortalized on YouTube, just like Lezak and Adrian and so many other legends of past Games.
“I have watched every Olympic race for the past two or three Olympics, but it’s weird that in a few years, somebody’s going to be going back and watching that race and that’s me. I’m going to be the one the people are watching, and that’s strange. It’s a huge honor.”
Additional photos of Trenton, Ohio, celebrating hometown Olympic gold medalist Zach Apple:
Congrats Zack