Early on in the competition, as Digital Journal reported, on July 21, American swimmers Nathan Adrian, Zach Apple, Blake Pieroni, and Caeleb Dressel won the gold medal in the men’s 100 meter freestyle relay final with a championship record.
Adrian also assisted the U.S. team to reach the final of the 4 × 100 meter mixed freestyle relay by competing in the preliminaries, which earned them a spot on the final. Adrian, Blake Pieroni, Katie McLaughlin, and Abbey Weitzeil won that preliminary heat with a time of 3:22.70.
Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple, Mallory Comerford, and Simone Manuel subsequently swam the 4 × 100 meter mixed freestyle relay final, where Team USA won the gold medal and they simultaneously smashed a new world record with a time of 3:19.40, proving that they are in a league of their own.
Finally, Adrian won the silver medal in the 4×100 meter medley race for Team USA, which he shared with teammates Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel, and Andrew Wilson. In that race, Great Britain was able to stun all and win the gold thanks to the 46.11 second split for British swimmer Duncan Scott in the anchor leg.
Team USA won a total of 36 medals in Gwangju, South Korea, which included 15 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals. They ranked No. 2 on the medal table count, right behind China, which led with 16 gold medals, and a total of 30 medals won.
Adrian will be competing for the Los Angeles Current, as part of the new International Swimming League (ISL), with Lenny Krayzelburg as General Manager.
