USA swimmers grab double gold on day 1 in the pool

BERLIN - USA claimed both men's and women's 4x100m freestyle relay gold medals and Nikolai Kolesnikov (AIN) took the men's 400m freestyle on the first day of swimming competition at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games in Berlin on Thursday.

The USA women's time of three minutes and 36.21 seconds at the Schwimm-und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark venue also broke the FISU Games record, taking 1.5 seconds from the old mark set by People's Republic of China at the Chengdu 2021 FISU Games.

"I think after coming really close (to the FISU Games record) in the heat, it was our goal tonight to set the record," final leg swimmer Isabella Ivey (USA) said. "We did a really good job. We had Maxine (Parker, USA) on tonight and we knew she'd give us a really great lead so it was pretty awesome. I had the easiest part (finishing)."

People's Republic of China took silver and Italy bronze.

In the men's relay race, the USA won gold in 3:12.36, almost two seconds clear of Japan with Brazil third. Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medallist Matthew King (USA) said the win was "an incredible honour".

"Everyone stepped up," he said. "It's really a dream come true. It's a stress-free environment, we are just here to race."

Teammate David King praised his namesake's "super energetic" ability to inspire the USA team.

"This guy gets us going," he said of Matthew King. "Vibes were up the whole night and we were amped up. We wanted to do it for the guys around us, the team. We had a lot of energy behind us. Happy we got the job done.

"At the end of the day, you are in your own lane and you are swimming by yourself, but you are really doing it for the people."

Earlier in the evening, Kolesnikov touched the wall in 3:46.66 to finish ahead of silver medallist Khiew Hoe Yean (MAS) with Ryan James Erisman Jr (USA) taking bronze.

"I had something for tonight," said Kolesnikov. "That's why I did better now, because I felt very confident. When we went for the last lap I felt like I had more power.

"This is my first international competition. In the stands I feel the atmosphere of international competition. I hear them cheer for USA - screaming 'USA, USA' - and it really inspires me. USA is not my country, but I hear the cheers for Brazil and USA and I feel inspired."

Despite the victory, Kolesnikov does not have ambitions to make swimming a full-time job.

"I don't have any goals in swimming because swimming is my hobby," he said. "If you love something, you do better than others. Maybe I'll end up as a lawyer."

It is the FISU Games after all.

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