Kaylee McKeown confirmed her gold medal won at Tokyo 2020 in the 100m backstroke, stopping the clock at 57.33 seconds, a new Olympic record. There was an American double behind the Australian, with Regan Smith finishing ahead of Katharine Berkoff in a final that saw four athletes finish within the span of 1 second.
In the 800m freestyle, Daniel Wiffen confirmed the significant growth he has achieved and, after winning the world title a few months ago in Doha, he clinched gold at the Olympic Games with a new Olympic record, lowering the previous mark by over 3 seconds. The Irishman triumphed thanks to a spectacular final lap, while in the last 50 meters, Gregorio Paltrinieri collapsed from first to third position. Accompanying the two on the podium was American Bobby Finke, who was defending the title from three years ago.
The British team in the 4x200m freestyle dominated the competition and secured the gold, just like in Tokyo. Behind Great Britain, which also broke the 7-minute barrier, the United States took silver, redeeming their poor performance from three years ago. Australia climbed to the lowest step of the podium. Behind the top three, there was a gap, with China finishing fourth, 2.50 seconds behind third place: the same gap that separated the Olympic champions from the bronze medal.