TOKYO -- The first time since 1992 that the Olympic pool has lost a backstroke race by American men, it was in Tokyo.Russian swimmers won the 100-meter back in Tokyo on Tuesday. Evgeny Rylov claimed the gold medal in 51.98 seconds, and Kliment Kolesnikov took the silver medal in 52.00.Ryan Murphy, the Olympic champion in defense, settled for bronze in 52.19.Murphy stated, "Winning an Olympic medal of gold means that you are the best in the entire world." "Being third in world is no small feat."This was the first time the U.S. men had lost a backstroke at the Olympics since the Barcelona Games. They have won 12 consecutive golds in the Olympics. This includes Murphy's sweep at the 100 and 200 back at Rio Olympics 2016.The streak ended at Tokyo Aquatics Centre.It was a great morning for Australia as well as Britain.Kaylee McKeown, world record holder, won the women's 100-backstroke gold medal for Australia. This was an Olympic record.Her winning time was 57.47, just 0.02 seconds off the world record she set in 2005 of 57.45. Canada's Kylie Masse won the silver in 57.72 seconds, while Regan Smith, the former world record holder, took home the bronze at 58.05.Australia hadn't won a single women's title since 2008, when it entered the Olympics. It now has two gold medals, McKeown's being after Ariarne Titmus' win Monday in the 400 freestyle.McKeown stated that "my legs were definitely hurting with 20 more to go," It would have been very noticeable on TV, I'm sure. You know, I trained for it and knew that I had a strong backend and a good chance of being on the podium.Russia won the 100-meter backstroke with Russia taking the top two spots. Evgeny Rylov took home the gold medal, while Kliment Kolesnikov took silver. This was the first time that the U.S. men had suffered a defeat in the backstroke since the Barcelona Games. Al Bello/Getty ImagesBritain was 2-0 in the men's 200-freestyle. Tom Dean won the gold in 44.22 seconds. His teammate Duncan Scott took the silver in 1:44.26. Fernando Scheffer of Brazil won the bronze at 1:44.66Dean's win was all the more remarkable because he had been twice afflicted with COVID-19 in the lead-up to the Games.He said, "It was quite difficult." "It was difficult to spend so much time in the water. It is slow to develop because of its nature. It's hard and it was very bumpy this season.American Kieran Smith took sixth place after winning a bronze medal in the 400-free.Sun Yang, the 200-free champion, was expelled from the Tokyo Olympics due to a doping violation. Although he is currently serving a four-year ban for doping violations, he may be eligible to return to the Paris Games in 2024.Titmus and Katie Ledecky advanced to Wednesday's final 200-meter freestyle. This was a rematch of their exciting race in the 400 free.Titmus was the top qualifier for the 200 semis in 1:54.82. Ledecky, the current Olympic champion, cruised to third in 1:55.34. Titmus will be seeking her second consecutive gold medal after beating Ledecky in 400 free.Ledecky's day was much easier than Monday, when she raced three times and covered 2,100 metres.Ledecky stated that although he was tired for the last 15 minutes, he felt like he had good control over the heat.Wednesday will be a big day for her as she competes in finals of 200 free and 1,500 free, her shortest and most important events. They are about an hour apart.Ledecky stated, "It'll provide a challenge." It's been fun training for them both.This report used information from the Associated Press.
