NANTERRE, France — Matt King helped the United States claim its first gold medal of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
The Glacier Peak High School graduate was part of the U.S. men’s swimming 400-meter freestyle relay team that claimed first place Saturday night at Paris La Defense Arena. It was the first gold medal of the games for the U.S. in any sport.
King, who qualified for the 400 freestyle relay team by finishing sixth in the 100 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, swam in the U.S. team’s heat race Saturday afternoon, the second of two qualifying heats. Swimming the second leg, King turned in a split of 48.40 seconds as the U.S. team of King, Ryan Held, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel finished second in a time of 3:12.61 — Australia won in 3:12.25. The time ranked the U.S. fourth heading into the final.
King was not selected to compete in the final. The quartet of Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Armstrong and Dressel won in a time of 3:09.28, finishing more than a full second ahead of second-place Australia (3:09.28).
King, by virtue of competing in the heat, takes home a gold medal. The 400 freestyle relay was King’s only event.
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