TOKYO, Japan — Indiana University graduates Drew Kibler and Zach Apple had a chance to win a swimming medal for the United States, but their effort came up short.
Joined by Kieran Smith and Townley Haas, the U.S. team was overwhelmed by the dominant Great Britain team in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay team and failed to medal.
Great Britain opened up a large lead on the field with about a leg-and-a-half to go, winning the gold medal in near-world record time. Their final time of 6:58.58 was just 0.03 seconds off the world record the United States set in Rome in 2009 and only 0.02 seconds slower than the Americans' Olympic record time of 6:58.56 set in Beijing in 2008.
The Russian Olympic Committee finished second, followed by Australia. The Americans finished fourth.
Blake Pieroni, another IU swimmer from Chesterton, helped the U.S. men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay team advance to the finals.
Kibler, Pieroni, Andrew Seliskar and Patrick Callan finished third in the second heat Tuesday morning with a time of 7:05.62. Team USA finished fifth overall, which means the team advanced to the eight-team final.
Pieroni and Apple helped Team USA take the gold medal in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay Sunday night. The Hoosiers were joined by Caleb Dressel and Bowen Becker, with a group time of 3:08.97, the third-fastest time in history.
Pieroni also won a gold medal in Rio in 2016 in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay.
Apple finished third in his heat Tuesday morning in the men's 100 meter freestyle with a time of 48:16. He finished with the 11th fastest time across the nine heats, advancing to the semifinals, but finished sixth in the second heat, missing the finals.
What other people are reading:
- Find out how US women's gymnastics team did after Simone Biles' withdrawal
- What Simone Biles posted online before gymnastics team finals
- Social media rallies around Simone Biles after team finals exit
- Crews battle large trash fire on Indy's south side
- Fountain Square bar, restaurant owners talk safety after woman says she was drugged
