NANTERRE, France (AP) — The Australian women are about the surest thing in swimming, and they showed it Saturday on the first night in the Paris Olympic pool.
They picked up two gold medals, led by Ariarne Titmus in the 400-meter freestyle, and another by the quartet in the 4×100 freestyle relay, their fourth straight Olympic gold in the event.
The foursome of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris set an Olympic record with a winning time of 3 minutes 28.92 seconds.
It was especially sweet for the 30-year-old McKeon swimming in her final Olympics. She won seven medals three years ago in Tokyo — four gold. It also raised her gold medal tally to six starting with the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The Aussie women’s showdowns with the United States will be a story on all eight days in the pool, and they have started with a clear edge over the No. 1 rivals.
“For me it’s definitely about getting up there and doing my country proud,” Shayna Jack said. “It’s a really special moment to stand on the podium with the other three girls.”
Katie Ledecky gave the Americans a bronze in the 400 free — her 10th Olympic medal (six gold) — and the American women took silver in the 4×100 free relay in 3:30.20 with the team of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske and Simone Manuel. China finished third.
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