Anchoring a team that also featured Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and Ryan Lochte, Phelps was handed a comfortable lead and brought the United States home in a time of seven minutes and 0.66 seconds, ahead of Great Britain and Japan.
Advertisement
Earlier in the day, UT seniors Smith and Conger helped the relay team win their heat and qualify second in the event, behind Great Britain.
The U.S. team’s gold medal came in convincing fashion Tuesday, with Dwyer gaining a lead after the first leg of the relay with a personal best time of 1:45.02.
Teammate Ryan Lochte already was swimming the third leg when Phelps snapped his cap clean off, so he had precious seconds to find a solution.
The night was full of drama.
The race brought Phelps his 25th Olympic medal, including 21 gold, the most of any Olympian.
Conger recorded the best time for the USA, finishing his leg in 1:45.73, while Smith started the race with a time of 1:47.20. Along with Tuesday night’s gold medal, he also earned bronze in the 200-meter freestyle and placed fourth in the 400-meter freestyle.
Advertisement
If you want to see-and hear-Jones’ NSFW reaction to Phelps’ torn swim cap, check out her Twitter feed.
