Former Ohio State Swimmer Hunter Armstrong Wins Gold Medal in 4×100-Meter Freestyle Relay

The former Ohio State swimmer won gold on Saturday as a member of the United States’ 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, which finished first in the finals with a time of 3:09.28 to beat out Australia (3:10.35) and Italy (3:10.7) for the top spot on the podium.

It was the first gold for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. And Armstrong delivered the fastest leg.

Team USA got off to something of a slow start, hitting the wall in second place through the first leg. But Chris Guiliano pulled the Americans ahead by about half a body length entering Armstrong’s leg.

Armstrong put on a staggering display in his third leg, swimming it in 46.75 seconds, the fastest of the relay for the Americans. He had a full body length and then some when he hit the wall, and Caeleb Dressel delivered the gold with a 47.5-second anchor leg for Team USA.

Armstrong’s leg was .05 seconds faster than the world record of 46.8 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle, though only the first leg of a relay counts toward the 100-meter record.

Armstrong wins gold as a member of a relay team for the second Olympics in a row as he won his first Olympic gold medal as a member of the 4×100 medley relay team in Tokyo, where he swam the backstroke for Team USA in the preliminary round.

He’ll chase another medal as an individual in the 100-meter backstroke, which begins with qualifying heats and semifinals on Sunday. He finished ninth in the event in Tokyo but took bronze medals at both the 2022 and 2023 World Aquatics Championships. He won gold at the 2023 Worlds in the 50-meter backstroke, which is not an Olympic event.

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Armstrong was one of four Buckeyes to compete on the first full day of Olympic events on Saturday.

Former Ohio State fencer Fares Arfa, who is competing for Canada, pulled off one of the day’s biggest upsets when he defeated three-time defending gold medalist Áron Szilágyi in the first round of the men’s sabre competition. He advanced to the quarterfinals to earn an eighth-place finish, Canada’s best-ever finish in an individual fencing competition.

Former Ohio State pistol shooter Katelyn Abeln, who is competing for the United States, finished 24th in the qualifying round for the 10-meter women’s air pistol. Current Ohio State diver Leah Hentschel, who is representing Germany, finished sixth in the 3-meter synchronized dive.

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