Suffice it to say he didn’t disappoint. This time he swam a 14:34.57 for the victory, within four seconds of the world record.
Advertisement
USA swimmer Connor Jaeger made the most of his second and final Olympic opportunity Saturday night, picking up a silver medal in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle.
Paltrinieri, a second-time Olympian, finished fifth in the 1500m in London.
That left the race wide open for Paltrinieri and Jaeger. Australia’s Mack Horton rounded out the top five. It was a personal best swim for Wilimovsky and the second-fastest 1500 meter swim by an American ever. His path broke wide-open in the prelims when Yang, already the 200-meter victor and 400-meter silver medalist, failed to qualify. He also set a national record along the way at 14:39.48. His gold is the sixth of these Games for Italy. Jaeger won the silver while Wilimovsky finished in fourth.
Advertisement
Jaeger cited the performances of the US team this week as inspiration for him to perform at his best: “I’ve watched a lot of insane swimming this week. and I told myself that crazier things have happened than me winning a medal in this race”.
