By: Sofia Marquez and Lyndley Carlson

The Summer Olympics were a breath of fresh air for everybody; countries coming together in sportsmanship, sharing groundbreaking experiences and history being made. Swimming had some of the most memorable moments of the Olympic games.

History was made not once, but many times, for many countries in swimming. To start things off, Katie Ledecky made history by being the first woman to win gold (or ever win!) in the 1500M Swim. The mile was an amazing event, with Katie Ledecky winning gold, and Erica Sullivan winning a just-as-impressive silver medal. Ledecky had a tough, yet amazing time at the games, and to win gold in the 1500m was just what she needed. Erica Sullivan, an open water swimmer, made her Olympic debut in this event, winning silver.

In the Men’s 400m Final, Ahmed Hafnoui came out of nowhere, winning a very impressive gold. In the final 50m, Ahmed had a crazy fast finish to the wall. Ahmed, an 18-year-old from Tunisia, had never competed in a major international meet except for the 2018 Short Course World Championships. Ahmed started out the race strong, but as the event unfolded Ahmed kept the same pace as Australian, Jake Mcloughlin. In the end, he burst out and hit the wall strong, earning himself a gold medal.

Lydia Jacoby, only 17, won over Lily King in breaststroke. Not only is she still in high school, but she is the very first Olympic swimmer from Alaska to compete in the games. Lydia swam and won gold in the 100m Breaststroke. Jacoby started the race in 4th place, just behind the South African swimmer, Tatjana Schoenmaker, who placed 3rd. On the last 50, around the 25-meter area, Lydia Jacoby bolted out from her 3rd/4th place to winning gold. The amazing finish by Jacoby won her a stunning gold medal.

The Men’s Olympic Relay had a stunning race. After never losing this race, the guys have a lot to live up to. This relay of fighters consisted of Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caleb Dressel, and Zach Apple. This race was one to remember. It looked like they might lose their streak, after never losing this event in history. They lost our lead when Michael Andrew went head to head with Great Britain swimmer, Adam Peaty. Thankfully, when Caleb Dressel came to swim the butterfly, their lead came back by a hair. Zack Apple just barely pulled our race together, swimming anchor. The race had us all on the edge of our seats, but what a relief it was to see we continued our gold streak. Literally.