After a bit of a sluggish start, Team USA surged in the final few days of Olympic swimming to hold rival Australia at bay and pick up the most swimming gold medals of any participating country.
The entire US swim team finished with eight overall golds, six of which were earned at least in part by a member of the women's team (one gold went to the mixed gender 4x100-meter medley relay).
Meanwhile, Team Australia capped their Olympic run with seven gold medals, though the overall total count swung more firmly in the US' favor at 28 to 18.
Team USA swimmers shine in imperfect Olympic meet
The meet was by no means perfect for Team USA, but they leave Paris with obvious bright spots and a few broken world records to boot.
Torri Huske emerged Paris's most decorated US women's swimmer. Along with her individual 100-meter butterfly gold, Huske anchored two gold medal relays, and tacked on two silver medals.
After getting the better of Australian standout Ariarne Titmus in the 800-meter freestyle, US icon Katie Ledecky leaved Paris with two individual golds, a solo bronze, and a relay silver. Plus, she became Team USA's most decorated Olympic women's sports athlete of all time.
In the end, former NCAA star Katie Douglass rounded out the impressive US trio with a gold in the 200-meter breaststroke to complement her two relay silvers.
Lastly, the final Olympic race gave the US a shining stamp on the Games, as the 4x100 medley relay earned a new world record on the way to the team's final gold medal.
McIntosh lays strong Olympic foundation
While the 2024 Games might be best remembered for the splashy US-Australia rivalry, they'll also live in history as Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh's thrilling Olympic debut.
In her first Olympics, the 17-year-old earned three individual gold medals and one silver, already staking her claim as a serious contender for the best all-around swimmer in the world.
With US swimmer Torri Huske’s 100-meter butterfly gold medal win on Sunday, Team USA’s combined tally of 14 swimming medals leads all countries across the Olympics.
But while the current haul is looking healthy, the USA’s Olympic swimming gold medal stranglehold is very much in danger of falling by the wayside.
Australia takes aim at USA's Olympic gold medal streak
It’s been 36 years since the coed US swimming squad came up short in the Olympic gold medal race — at least five years before anyone on today's team was even born.
That dominance, however, is hanging by a thread as the Australians are gold medal count favorites after running away with the 2023 World Swimming Championships.
"Certainly, there are some events… where we’ve got a significant amount of ground to make up," US head women’s coach Todd DeSorbo told reporters. "But I’m confident in the motivation and excitement and commitment of everybody — men and women — on the team that are prepared to do that."
Women's swimming wins keep hardware hopes alive
In the seven women’s events so far, the US has captured eight medals: one gold, four silver, and three bronze.
Joining Huske on Sunday’s 100-meter butterfly podium was US teammate and fellow NCAA swimmer Gretchen Walsh, who snagged silver just six weeks after becoming the event’s world record-holder at US Trials.
Monday’s 400-meter individual medley also saw two US swimmers medal in their second Olympic Games, with Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant taking silver and bronze behind 17-year-old Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh, who won the event by the equivalent of a country mile.
While Australia's Kaylee McKeown successfully defended her 100-meter backstroke gold medal on Tuesday — breaking her own Olympic record in the process —Team USA completed the podium. Regan Smith, who reclaimed the world record from McKeown at last month’s Trials, swam to silver, with first-time Olympian Katharine Berkoff taking bronze.
USA's Ledecky expected to make more Olympic history
After dropping to third in Saturday's 400-meter freestyle, seven-time USA gold medalist Katie Ledecky is still expected to own Wednesday’s 1500-meter freestyle, a race she hasn’t lost in 14 years.
A medal in that event would tie Ledecky with three former Team USA athletes as the most decorated Olympic women swimmers in history.