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Caeleb Dressel leads USA to gold in men's 4x100 relay

TOKYO — Team USA won its first relay gold medal at the 2021 Olympics on Monday thanks to Caeleb Dressel, the closest thing these Games have to Michael Phelps.

In an event, the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, that Phelps and three teammates won in 2016, and an event in which Phelps and three other teammates still own the world record, Dressel sprinted the U.S. out to a significant lead with a lightning-quick first 100. Blake Pieroni briefly lost it, but recovered to put the U.S. in first at the midway point. Bowe Becker held it over the third 100, and Zach Apple brought home the gold, outracing Italy’s Manuel Frigo to the wall.

The U.S. finished in 3:08.97, the third-fastest 4x100 relay in history.

Best of Tokyo 2020 Day 3 slideshow embed
Best of Tokyo 2020 Day 3 slideshow embed

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