Olympics-US swimming on top again but alarm bells sounding with LA looming
By Steve Keating
PARIS, Aug 4 (Reuters) -Bobby Finke prevented a shock gold medal wipeout for the U.S. men with his win in the 1,500 metres freestyle at the Paris Olympic pool on Sunday, but alarm bells will be going off at USA Swimming headquarters ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
From Michael Phelps to Johnny Weissmuller the U.S. has rolled out Olympic champions like a gold medal assembly line.
But that production slowed at La Defense Arena, where Finke needed a world record to fend off Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri to come out on top in the final individual event on the programme.
If Finke had not gotten to the wall first the Paris Games would have been considered a monumental failure for U.S. Swimming marking the first time since 1900 that American men had been shut out of the individual Olympic golds.
"I knew going into the race, I was the last individual swim for the guys," said Finke, after a successful defence of his 1,500m title. "I'm just happy I won.
"I had a lot of pressure going into the race.
"I really wanted to defend that medal too, I really wanted to get on top of the podium again and hear the anthem all over again like I did for the first time in Tokyo."
Finke's win and another record smashing victory by the American women in the final event of the competition the medley relay were just enough to vault the U.S. over Australia at the top of the medal table.
But their eight golds was the lowest Olympic haul for the U.S. team since returning home with the same number from the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.
It may have been a golden celebration for the Americans but it came with a sobering reminder as they watched the United States' 64-year unbeaten run in the men's 4x100 metres medley end as China swept to a seismic win.
"I feel like for Team USA, the expectation is gold," said Caeleb Dressel, after adding the relay silver to his nine Olympic gold. "That's traditionally what we strive for and I don't think that changes any Olympic cycle.
"There's very competitive teams. I mean, just across the board, the wealth is being spread."
American swimmers and officials like to say that just getting through the do-or-die Olympic trials and earning a spot on the U.S. squad is tougher than winning a Games medal.
Not anymore.
Paris has shown that the competition is getting tougher with many of the star performers in Paris, like home hero Leon Marchand, coming through the U.S. college system trained by top American coaches such as Bob Bowman.
More than eight gold medals will be demanded of American swimmers at the Los Angeles Olympics, where the sport is being set up as the headline event, moving the pool into the massive SoFi stadium, home of the National Football League's Rams and Chargers.
In the immediate aftermath of Paris the future looks foggy for U.S. prospects, while two great new talents surfaced at the Paris pool from France and Canada.
Paris poster boy 22-year-old Marchand, winner of four golds, will be hitting his prime in four years, while 17-year-old Canadian wunderkind Summer McIntosh, winner of three golds, could by Los Angeles have replaced Katie Ledecky as the next superstar women's swimmer.
"I'm just trying to soak in this moment and know that this does only come around every four years," said McIntosh. "I'm already thinking about LA to be honest, I'm really excited."
Reuters Olympics coverage home https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/
Explainer: Olympics schedule, map, medals table, sports guides https://www.reuters.com/graphics/OLYMPICS-2024/EXPLAINER/byprqrwmqve/
Reporting by Steve Keating in Paris; Additional reporting Rohith Nair; Editing by Hugh Lawson
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
