The Longest Current American Gold Medal Drought In Individual Events At The Olympics
By Daniel Takata on SwimSwam
The United States has won every individual (pool) event included in the current swimming Olympic program, including the men’s 800 freestyle and women’s 1500 freestyle, which made their debut in the last Olympics in Tokyo.
There are some events in which the United States has had a long winning streak. American swimmers built the longest streaks in Olympic swimming history in individual events: In the men’s 100 and 200 backstroke, U.S. swimmers won six straight gold medals from 1996 to 2016.
But there are some other events that the American swimmers have not been able to win for multiple decades. Instagram’s Swimming Stats page has published the longest current U.S. gold medal drought in Olympic individual events.
Considering the 28 individual events in the current Olympic swimming schedule, the United States has won 17 of them at least once in the last two Olympic Games. Which means there are 11 events the American swimmers haven’t won since, at least, 2012.
The last time American swimmers won the men’s 400 free and the women’s 200 IM was in 1984 – 40 years ago.
These are not the longest dry spells of the United States in swimming individual events in Olympic history. No American swimmer won the women’s 200 breast from 1924 – the event’s Olympic debut – until 1968. In other words, the event didn’t have an American swimmer on the top of the podium for 44 years.
What are the odds for the USA to repeat those 1984 victories?
In the women’s 200 IM, Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass both medaled in Tokyo (silver and bronze), and they are the latest world champions – Walsh won in 2022, Douglass won in 2023 and 2024. The Americans have a very good shot in this one.
A gold medal in the men’s 400 freestyle, however, is more unlikely. Considering the last three editions of the World Aquatics Championships (2022, 2023 and 2024), no swimmer from the United States has reached the podium. In fact, no U.S. swimmer has broken 3:45 since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
It has been a while since we saw American swimmers at the top of the world rankings in the men’s 400 freestyle. And, given today’s scenario, it seems that won’t be changing anytime soon. So, it is not going to be a surprise if the United States does not win a gold medal in the event in Paris in 2024. If this happens, the longest U.S. dry spell in swimming history at the Olympics will be equaled.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: The Longest Current American Gold Medal Drought In Individual Events At The Olympics