Men’s Relay of the Year: United States Blasts World Record to Keep 400 Medley Relay Streak Alive
Heading into the Olympic Games in Tokyo, one of the great streaks in the sport’s history was deemed in jeopardy. Although the United States had never lost the 400-meter medley relay in Olympic competition, Great Britain figured to be a major obstacle for the Americans. Why? One name: Adam Peaty.
With the two-time Olympic champion handling the breaststroke leg, Britain certainly possessed an X-factor. Peaty was expected to be as much as two seconds faster than the American leg, so the question lingered: Could the United States compensate on the other legs and remain undefeated in the event?
Done deal.
Behind the quartet of Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple, the United States clocked a world-record time of 3:26.78 and comfortably beat Great Britain, which came through with a European standard of 3:27.51. The performance has been selected as Swimming World’s Male Relay of the Year.
Aware that Peaty would be an issue on the breaststroke, the United States needed a strong start, and Murphy obliged with an opening split of 52.31, compared to the 53.63 outing of Britain’s Luke Greenbank. Indeed, Peaty flourished in the No. 2 position, as he split 56.53 – to the 58.49 of Andrew – and put Great Britain in the lead.
The British advantage didn’t last long, however, as Dressel delivered a contribution of 49.03 on the butterfly leg, which was a second quicker than the 50.27 of James Guy. As Apple prepared to enter the water for the freestyle anchor leg, he held a little more than half-second edge. The margin actually grew over the final 100 meters, with Apple clocking 46.95 against the 47.08 of Duncan Scott.
While Great Britain produced a stellar swim, the U.S. came up with a bit more, and ran its gold-medal streak in the event to 15 Olympiads. Adding a layer of drama to the win was the fact that the United States prevailed while racing in Lane One, a designation that followed a lackluster showing in the preliminary heats. The victory also atoned for a loss to the British at the 2019 World Championships.
“That race in 2019 is one I have watched a couple of times on days I wasn’t doing (well) or my body was breaking down, or I didn’t necessarily want to work hard,” Murphy said. “I’ve watched that and got fired up, and it’s definitely motivated me over the past two years.”
Note: The only time the United States did not win the 400 medley relay at the Olympics was in 1980 in Moscow, a Games the U.S. boycotted in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.