US secures first Olympic gold medal in men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay

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The United States' first gold medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics went to the 4x100-meter men's freestyle relay team in a thrilling race.

When Caeleb Dressel, the anchor leg of the four-man team, touched the wall, the United States posted a final time of 3:09.28, beating out their Australian rivals by more than a full second. 

Australia earned silver with a time of 3:10.05, while Italy edged out China for bronze at 3:10.70.    

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Caeleb Dressel of the U.S. competes in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay heats on day one of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena July 27, 2024, in Nanterre, France.  (Al Bello/Getty Images)

For Dressel, this is his eighth Olympic gold medal, but he wouldn’t have secured it without the efforts of Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy and Hunter Armstrong, who have a combined one Olympic medal of any kind entering the pool on Saturday. 

Alexy, considered to be the next great swimmer at 21 years old, swam the first leg of the relay, and he set the tone for the U.S. 

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Gold medalists Caeleb Dressel, Hunter Armstrong, Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy of the United States celebrate following the final of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, Paris, July 27, 2024.  (Sebastien Bozoni/AFP via Getty Images)

Guiliano, also 21 years old, followed him and started to create an edge before Armstrong created a gap between the competition. 

As Armstrong touched the wall, the veteran Dressel came flying into the pool to run away with the race. Australia, Italy and China