Caeleb Dressel & Co. Save America From Shame After First Gold at Paris Olympics

Team USA has ended the gold medal drought of Day 1 at the Paris Olympics 2024, and it’s all thanks to Caeleb Dressel and co. in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay! July 27 was filled with setbacks and a couple of silver and bronze medals, but the USA swimming squad finally struck gold.

Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, and Dressel, the anchor who stole the show, pulled off an epic race, finishing with a time of 3:09.28. They beat out both Australia and Italy at Paris La Défense Arena, putting a shining gold medal around Team USA’s neck and ending the day with five Olympic medals in the bag!

Today’s Olympic events had Team USA in the running for medals in several areas: shooting’s 10m air rifle mixed team final, diving’s women’s synchronized 3m springboard final, cycling’s women’s and men’s time trials, judo’s women’s -48kg and men’s -60kg events, rugby sevens’ men’s gold and bronze matches, swimming’s men’s and women’s 400m free finals, women’s 4x100m free relay final, and men’s 4x100m free relay final, and fencing’s women’s épée and men’s sabre individual finals. But only the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay final snagged the first gold on Day 1.

Caeleb Dressel snagged his eighth Olympic gold medal in his career by anchoring them to another 4×100-meter freestyle victory on Saturday. The Aussies took silver and Italy scored bronze, while China just missed out on the podium, finishing fourth. It was a perfect ending to a wild opening night. But hey, let’s dive into how the rest of Team USA fared in their events too!

Day 1 for Team USA at the Paris Olympics: Before Caeleb Dressel’s Gold Medal Magic

Day one of the Paris Olympics kicked off with a bit of disappointment for Team USA in the shooting arena. Both American pairs in the 10-meter air rifle mixed event fell short of the finals. Mary Tucker and Rylan Kissell finished 13th with a combined score of 626, while Sagen Maddalena and Ivan Roe ended up 18th with 624.9. Tucker, who had previously won silver in this event at the Tokyo Games, was hoping for a better result, but both teams will have two more chances to compete in the individual 10-meter rifle and the 50-meter rifle three position events. But the disappointment did not end here!

Men’s Gymnastics Qualifiers:
In men’s gymnastics, Paul Juda and Frederick Richard emerged as Team USA’s representatives in the men’s all-around final, following some critical mistakes by Brody Malone during the qualifiers.

British Triumph in Equestrian Dressage The British fans had something to cheer about as Laura Collett set a new Olympic record in the equestrian dressage event. Collett, riding London 52, finished with just 17.5 penalties, breaking the previous record of 19.3 set in 2000. Great Britain led the standings with 66.70 penalties, while Team USA finished sixth with 88.90 penalties, trailing behind New Zealand and Japan.

American Rowers Advance in Single Sculls
American rowers had a solid start, with Jacob Plihal and Kara Kohler advancing to the quarterfinals of the single sculls. Plihal finished second in his heat with a time of 6:54.95, while Kohler won her heat with a time of 7:32.46. The quarterfinals are set for Tuesday morning.

Katie Ledecky Wins Heat in 400 Freestyle
In swimming, Katie Ledecky won her heat in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:02.19, securing her spot in the final. She outpaced Australian rival Ariarne Titmus by 0.1 seconds. Paige Madden also qualified for the final, swimming the sixth-fastest time in her heat.

Team USA Secures First Medal: Silver in 3-Meter Synchronized Springboard
Team USA finally got its first medal of the Paris Games when Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook snagged silver in the 3-meter synchronized springboard. This was Bacon’s Olympic debut and marked Team USA’s first medal in this event since London 2012.

Olympic Fencing: Americans Advance in Individual Epee
In fencing, Americans Anne Cebula and Hadley Husisian advanced to the round of 16 in individual epee. Cebula narrowly defeated 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rossella Fiamingo of Italy, and Husisian edged out Switzerland’s Pauline Brunner. Husisian, a two-time junior world champion, was competing in her first Olympics.

Rowing: US Men and Women Make Semifinals
Rowing continued to shine as U.S. teams in the men’s and women’s double sculls both made it to the semifinals. The men’s duo of Sorin Koszyk and Ben Davison, along with the women’s pair of Sophia Vitas and Kristi Wagner, finished third in their heats. The women’s quad sculls team, featuring Grace Joyce, Emily Delleman, Teal Cohen, and Lauren O’Connor, placed fourth in their heat and will move into the repechage round.

US Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay Team Dominates Heat
In the pool, the U.S. women’s 4×100 freestyle relay team, including Abbey Weitzel, Simone Manuel, Erika Connolly, and Kate Douglass, won their heat with a time of 3:33.29. Australia, however, set the best overall time of 3:31.57. The finals were scheduled for later that day.

USA Rugby 7s Falls to Ireland in Heartbreaker
USA Rugby 7s faced a heartbreaker against Ireland. Leading 14-12 late in stoppage time, the U.S. missed a chance to secure a win as Ireland’s Terry Kennedy scored the decisive try, knocking Team USA out of contention for the fifth-place playoff. This was followed by another heartbreaker!

Men’s Beach Volleyball: Cuba Sweeps US Team
In men’s beach volleyball, the American duo Miles Partain and Andy Benesh were swept by Cuba’s Jorge Luis Aloyo Moliner and Noslen Diaz Amaro in two sets, 21-18, 21-18. Despite a promising start, the Cubans rallied to take control.

Chloe Dygert Wins Bronze in Individual Time Trial at the Paris Olympics
Team USA’s Chloe Dygert earned a bronze medal in the women’s cycling individual time trial with a time of 41:10.70. Australian Grace Brown took gold, and Great Britain’s Anna Henderson claimed silver. Dygert’s medal was a remarkable comeback after various injuries and setbacks.

Maria Laborde Advances in Judo In judo, Maria Laborde advanced to the round of 16 in the women’s 48-kg division, defeating China’s Guo Zongying but falling to top-seeded Assunta Scutto of Italy.

Belgium Dominates Men’s Cycling Individual Time Trial Belgium dominated the men’s cycling individual time trial with Remco Evenpoel winning gold and Wout van Aert taking bronze. American Brandon McNulty finished fifth.

USA Soccer Sets Record in 4-1 Win Over New Zealand USA Soccer got off to a stellar start with a 4-1 win over New Zealand at the Paris Olympics on Day 1. Walker Zimmerman and Gianluca Busio scored in the first half, Paxten Aaronson added another goal, and the U.S. set a new record for goals scored in an Olympic match.

Gretchen Walsh Sets 100-Meter Butterfly Olympic Record In swimming, Gretchen Walsh set a new Olympic record in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 55.38, breaking Sarah Sjöström’s previous record. Walsh had previously set a world record in June.

Katie Ledecky Finishes Third in 400-Meter Freestyle In a surprising twist, Katie Ledecky finished third in the 400-meter freestyle, earning a bronze medal. Australian Ariarne Titmus won gold, and Canadian Summer McIntosh took silver.

Field Hockey: Team USA Loses to Argentina
Field hockey saw Team USA fall 4-1 to Argentina, with Ashley Sessa scoring the lone goal for the Americans at the Paris Olympics. They face Spain next.

USA Women’s 4×100 Meter Freestyle Relay Team Wins Silver
The American women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Simone Manuel secured silver with a time of 3:30.20. Australia took gold with an Olympic record of 3:28.92, while China earned bronze.

This brought Team USA’s medal tally to 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze, totaling 5 medals. Currently, America sits in third place behind Australia, which leads with 3 Gold and 2 Silver for a total of 5 medals, and China with 2 Gold and 1 Bronze for a total of 3 medals. How many medals do you think Day 2 at the Paris Olympics will bring for Team USA? Share your predictions in the comments below!