From Great Britain’s world record performance to Team USA’s rough finish, the mixed 400-meter medley relay was something to watch.
Let’s start with the world record. This is the first time the mixed medley relay has been contested at the Olympics, so Great Britain are in the history books as the first Olympic champs in this event, finishing in a 3:37.58.
Adam Peaty and James Guy swam fast splits on the breaststroke and butterfly legs, giving freestyler Anna Hopkin the smooth water she needed to finish strong — 1.2 seconds ahead of the Chinese team.
Now to Team USA. To start, they had a questionable lineup. They were the only country that put a male swimmer in the freestyle leg — Caeleb Dressel. Breaststroker Lydia Jacoby’s goggles fell off as she dove in, but she still managed to split 1:05. But she is not solely to blame for USA’s 5th place finish.
When Dressel dove in, he was 8 seconds behind Great Britain. Even after splitting a 46.99, he was only able to recover to 5th.
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