NANTERRE, France — No one can match America's depth at the pool.
That said, claiming the top step on the Olympic medal podium is no longer a given for U.S. swimmers.
Nine days of thrilling competition at La Defense Arena wrapped up Sunday night with the Americans barely pulling out the lead in the gold medal standings thanks to a victory in the last race.
The U.S. finished with eight golds, its fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one ahead of its biggest rival, Australia.
“It’s one of the worst performances in history as a U.S. team,” Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever and part of the NBC broadcast team in Paris, said Monday. “Something’s got to happen before 2028 because if you have a repeat like this, it’s gonna be even more embarrassing.”
Notably, the rest of the world totaled more victories (20) than the United States and Australia combined, the first time that's happened since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Americans will certainly be intent on improving their performance heading into the home games at Los Angeles in 2028, when swimming will have in its largest, most spectacular setting yet — a temporary pool inside SoFi Stadium with a capacity for some 38,000 fans.
Still, with more and more international swimmers getting their training in the U.S. — and prominent American coaches such as Bob Bowman spreading their knowledge to other countries — a more diverse list of gold medalists is likely to be the norm going forward.
“This sport is growing and I can’t help but feel like we’ve been a part of that,” American gold medalist Bobby Finke said. “It’s something we should take home and be proud of.”
Two of the biggest swimming stars in Paris, France's Léon Marchand and Canada's Summer McIntosh, train in the U.S. but won a bevy of medals for their home countries.
Marchand, who captured four individual golds as well as a relay bronze, is coached by Bowman, best known as the guy who guided Michael Phelps throughout his record-setting career. It was a bit strange to see Bowman in a France shirt, working on the coaching staff of Marchand's nation.
After a break to savor his Olympic triumph, Marchand will return to the U.S. to continue his work with Bowman, who now heads the swimming program at the University of Texas.
“Look at Bob Bowman. He doesn't care if you're from the USA or whatever,” said Shane Ryan, an American-born swimmer who competes for Ireland. “He just wants to coach the fastest swimmers at all times.”
McIntosh trains with a team in Sarasota, Florida, where she honed the form that produced three individual gold medals — the most ever by a Canadian athlete — and a silver.
“I think competition is great,” said longtime American stalwart Ryan Murphy, who trains with several international athletes at Cal-Berkeley including Spain's Hugo González. “He’s pushed me a lot. There’s plenty of days where he’s right next to me and helping me get better.”
Murphy said it's only natural in today's information-driven world that more nations are rising up to challenge the U.S.
“People will take a video of what they’re doing in practice and put it up on social media right away," he said. “The learning curve is so quick around the world. That’s a big reason why there’s so many talented athletes across the world now.”
The U.S. certainly has its shining moments in Paris.
Katie Ledecky won two more golds, moving her into a tie for second place among all athletes on the career list with nine. She also joined Phelps as the only swimmers to win the same event at four straight Summer Games with her victory in the 800-meter freestyle.
The women's team produced several more stars, including Torri Huske (three golds, two silvers), Gretchen Walsh (two golds, two silvers) and Regan Smith (two golds, three silvers).
But there were plenty of disappointments, particular on the men's side.
Caeleb Dressel, a big star at the Tokyo Games with five gold medals, finished sixth in the 50 freestyle and didn't even qualify for the final of the 100 butterfly.
Murphy settled for a bronze in the 100 backstroke and, like Dressel, failed to qualify for the final of his other individual event, the 200 back.
In all, the American men produced only two gold medals, and they didn't pick up an individual victory until Finke's world record in the 1,500 freestyle on the final night.
“You always want to be better,” said Anthony Nesty, head coach of the men's team. “Yes, we want our athletes to win gold medals, but the other teams have great athletes as well. We have to go back, all the coaches in the U.S., get back on it and hopefully four years from now we have a better result. From the men, for sure."
The depth of the American team remains its biggest strength. Even with four of its most prominent stars — Dressel, Murphy, Lilly King and Simone Manuel — managing only one individual medal (Murphy's bronze in the 100 back), the U.S. easily led the overall medals table with 28.
Three of the four world records set at the meet came from the Americans, two of them in relays.
“Whether our athletes won a gold medal or failed to make a semifinal or whatever it might be,” said U.S. women's coach Todd DeSorbo, “you've got to learn from it, go back home and be better.”
