Ledecky turned in a split of 1 minute, 53.74 seconds, which was almost 2 1/2 seconds faster than her next-fastest teammate, Allison Schmitt in 1:56.21. The Americans trailed by.89 seconds when Ledecky went into the pool to swim the anchor leg. Scherer competes second after Ginny Thrasher who won the gold in 10m air rifle Saturday.
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Australia, who led until Ledecky dived in and turned the race around, took silver and Canada the bronze.
“I was prepared for being ahead, being behind, and I knew Maya put me right in the right spot to get out there and I knew I had to just kind of pace myself and not jump on it too fast and too early and I knew I could get it done”, Ledecky said told media.
The team finished in 7 minutes, 43.03 seconds to beat out Australia. Once again proving her dominance, Ledecky erased that 0.89 deficit and finished the race almost two seconds ahead of second-place Australia. No surprise, she is the reigning ACC champion in the event.
“I don’t realize yet I’m an Olympic champion”, Balandin said. Kazakhstan claimed its first-ever swimming medal – a gold one, at that – when Dmitriy Balandin pulled off a stunning upset in the 200 breaststroke. But he did cruise through the semifinals of the 200 individual medley with the fastest time, besting longtime rival and countryman Ryan Lochte.
Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps race the preliminary heats of their signature events, the 800m freestyle and the 100m butterfly.
Smith’s second leg split was 1:56.69.
Phelps will be seeking his fourth straight 200 IM title at the Olympics.
Unsure of what the decision would be after her qualifying swim, Franklin magnanimously told the Denver Post she was good with whatever lineup the US coaches selected.
That was Franklin’s role four years ago, when her leadoff leg helped the USA set an American record and claim the 4x200m gold.
They’ve already teamed up to lead Australia to a gold medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay.
Phelps now holds the Olympic record for having the most medals with 21 gold, two silver and a pair of bronze, making him the most decorated athlete of the Games for the third Olympics in a row. At the London Games four years ago, she did not race for the first time until Day 6.
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Ledecky, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom have emerged as the stars on the women’s side at Olympic Aquatics Stadium, and all three were in the relay final, but only Ledecky and Hosszu went head to head. Pieter Timmers of Belgium claimed the silver in 47.80, while Adrian made it onto the medal podium – with a bronze this time – in 47.85.
