"You just can’t give Dressel almost 2 sec advantage"; "Hunter Armstrong won that for them"- Fans react as USA wins first gold at Paris Olympics 2024
The USA grabbed their first gold medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday, July 27, courtesy of a solid performance by their men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team. The quartet of Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, and Caeleb Dressel contributed to the USA’s gold medal triumph as they clocked a combined time of 3:09.28s.
Armstrong clocked the fastest split at 46.75s, while the other members' split times were Alexy (47.67s), Guiliano (47.33s), and Dressel (47.53s).
Behind the USA, Australia and Italy registered times of 3:10.35s and 3:10.70s to win the silver and bronze respectively. Notably, this was the USA’s fifth medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, having collected two silver and two bronze medals, also on the same date, i.e., July 27.
Fans were amazed by the USA’s exceptional performance in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics. One fan remarked that giving Caeleb Dressel a nearly 2-second lead is a mistake and mentioned Hunter Armstrong's strong contribution to the team's win, stating:
“You just can’t give Dressel an almost 2 sec advantage, you just can’t! Hunter Armstrong won that for them, my god that was STRONG”
Another fan was so impressed by Armstrong’s performance that he humorously suggested that the American swimmer should be the USA’s next president. He wrote:
“HUNTER ARMSTRONG FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!! 46.7!!!!! RAHHHHHHHHHH 🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸”
Another fan expressed the excitement provided by the Olympic relays, stating:
“Olympic relays are pure electricity”
Here are some other reactions that the performance of the USA team in the relay event generated:
“He rocked it!!! Swims like a dolphin 🐬!!” one fan tweeted about Armstrong’s swim.
“HUNTER ARMSTRONG WITH THE SPLIT OF THE RACE!! #GoBucks That’s gold for the Americans!” another fan chimed in.
“Caeleb Dressel doesn’t like winning an Olympic medal of any other colour. 8 medals 8 golds now!” a fan commented on the American’s collection of medals at the quadrennial games.
Caeleb Dressel and Hunter Armstrong’s upcoming events at Paris Olympics 2024
Caeleb Dressel will also feature in the men’s 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The heats and semis of the 50m freestyle are scheduled for August 1, while the finals will take place on August 2. The 100m butterfly heats and semifinals will be held on August 2, with the finals slated for August 3.
On the other hand, Hunter Armstrong will next be in action in the men’s 100m backstroke, with the heats and semis scheduled for July 28, and the finals set for July 29, 2024.