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Historic 1,000th Gold Medal For Team USA Garnered By 400 Medley Relay (3:53.13)
- Updated: August 14, 2016
All the calculations and comparisons of strength and weaknesses indicated an epic duel. The United States had a stellar squad. Australia had a loaded lineup. Which nation would secure gold in the women’s 400 medley relay was a difficult call as Rio approached. As cliché as it may be, it could have gone either way.
Then the eight days of the Olympic Games unfolded, and something became quite clear: No one was touching Team USA.
Putting a wrap on a spectacular week at the Rio Aquatics Centre, the quartet of Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel blasted the competition in the medley relay, going 3:53.13 to leave Australia (3:55.00) and Denmark (3:55.01) in its wake. The gold medal held extra significance as it marked the 1,000th (all sports) for the United States in Olympic history.
The United States’ performance rates sixth all-time, and No. 3 in textile. It also was the penultimate medal (the men’s medley followed suit with its own gold) in a week that left no doubt which country is the sport’s king. It’s the United States – and it’s not even close. Team USA tallied 33 medals (its most since posting that same total in Sydney in 2000), the breakdown going 16 gold, eight silver and nine bronze. The women accounted for 16 of those medals, half of them gold. Australia was next with 10 medals, three of them gold.
Just five weeks ago at the United States Olympic Trials, there were questions concerning the talent of this American squad. Would Australia make a run at the Red, White and Blue? Would the United States post one of its lowest medal totals in some time? Leaving the 31st Olympiad, those queries were clearly foolish. As usual, it ended up being a stacked unit.
And so was the women’s medley.
Every leg of the lineup sent out by the United States featured an individual medalist in her stroke, Baker (silver) in the backstroke, King (gold) on breaststroke, Vollmer (bronze) on butterfly and Manuel (gold) on freestyle. With that combination of firepower, there was no way the United States was going to yield its title, this latest gold marking Team USA’s 10th in 15 tries since the event was added to the program in 1960.
Of the relay members, only the 28-year-old Vollmer was …
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