Paris Olympics, Day 9 Finals: Pan Zhanle Powers China to Men’s Medley Relay Crown; U.S. Streak Snapped
The streak is over.
For the first time in which it was a participant at the Olympic Games, the United States failed to win the men’s 400-meter medley relay, its reign coming to an end at the Paris Games on Sunday night at La Defense Arena. Fueled by Pan Zhanle’s freestyle anchor split, the fastest in history, China touched the wall in 3:27.46 to defeat the U.S. (3:28.01) and France (3:28.38).
The victory was the first by China in a men’s relay at the Olympics, and was made possible by the heroics of Pan, who earlier in the meet set a world record in the 100 freestyle. Pan entered the water trailing France by .75 and .72 behind the United States, but he easily erased those deficits on the strength of a 45.92 split that was more than a second quicker than what Hunter Armstrong (47.19) managed for the Americans, and 1.67 faster than the 47.59 of France’s Florent Manaudou.
On 15 previous occasions at the Olympic Games, the United States lined up for the 400 medley relay and came home with gold. That run stretched from the event’s debut in 1960 in Rome to 2020 in Tokyo. Only 1980 featured a non-American triumph, as the United States boycotted the Moscow Games due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
China and the United States were expected to duel for the title, with France as an outside contender. Indeed, that scenario unfolded, with the Chinese boasting a hammer on the end of its squad. Pan has decisively separated himself from his fellow 100 freestylers. His solo world record is .46 swifter than the No. 2 performer in history, Romania’s David Popovici (46.86). Put that kind of firepower on a relay and, as the U.S. learned, it can be a game-changer.
On the opening backstroke leg, Xu Jiayu gave China a narrow lead when he split 52.37, with Ryan Murphy right behind in 52.44 and France’s Yohann Ndoye Brouard next in 52.60. China extended its margin on breaststroke, behind a 57.98 split by Qin Haiyang. At that point, Great Britain had moved into second place, thanks to a 58.16 effort by Adam Peaty. Meanwhile, Leon Marchand kept France in third with a 58.62 split while the U.S. dropped to fourth as Nic Fink split 58.97.
The butterfly was China’s concern and Sun Jiajun’s split of 51.19 only legitimized those worries as his team slipped back to third as France moved into the lead, followed by the United States. France’s move to the front of the field was the result of Maxime Grousset’s butterfly swim of 49.57.
It was Caeleb Dressel, though, who ruled the leg.
The 2020 Olympic champ in the 100 fly, Dressel failed to advance out of the semifinals in the event in Paris. But when his team needed their veteran leader to come through, Dressel obliged. He split 49.41 for his leg to temporarily give the U.S. a chance at a come-from-behind victory.
That’s when Pan took over.
Powering through the water, the 20-year-old celebrated his birthday by running down the opposition. By the midway point of the second lap, there was no doubt Pan was in control and would get China to the wall first. China’s time is the fifth-fastest in history.
“This is magic for me,” Pan said. “We (made) a good team and we got a good result.”
Qin rebounded from early struggles in Paris to play a key role on a pair of Chinese relays. Before winning gold on Sunday, Qin was a member of China’s silver medal mixed medley relay on Saturday night.
“I think this gold medal is of great significance to the entire Chinese swimming team,” Qin said. “At these Olympics, we’ve experienced a lot of challenges and come a long way. This achievement is the most inspiring of all. That showed our team’s solidarity. We’ve finally reached our peak, and it is truly inspirational. Our goal today was to win this gold medal, to break the stranglehold of the United States, and we’ve done it.”
With France picking up the bronze medal, Marchand upped his medal count to five. The 22-year-old was the star of the Games, winning gold in four individual events – the 400 individual medley, 200 butterfly, 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley.
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- DAY 3 PRELIMS RESULTS
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- DAY 4 PRELIMS RESULTS
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- DAY 5 PRELIMS RESULTS
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- DAY 6 PRELIMS RESULTS
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- DAY 7 PRELIMS RESULTS
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- DAY 8 PRELIMS RESULTS
- DAY 8 FINALS RESULTS
- DAY 9 FINALS HEAT SHEET
Did anyone notice if the Chinese got off to a too early start with the third swimmer?
Did they check the Chinese for steroids? How is it their freestyler breaks world records all of a sudden?
Pan Zhanle did NOT come from nowhere. Pan is the 2022 World Champion and he set a world record in that competition. At 2024 Olympics in Paris, Pan broke his own record at the 100M competition.