Australia’s Cate Campbell competes in the final of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on July 25, 2021. (AFP/Odd Andersen)
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ustralia shattered the women's 4x100m freestyle world record to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, clocking 3mins 29.69 secs to better their own mark set three years ago.
The team of Cate Campbell, Emma McKeon, Meg Harris and Bronte Campbell lowered the 3:30.05 Australia set at the 2018 Commonwealth Games to reinforce their dominance of the event.
Canada came second and the United States third.
Cate Campbell brought home the new record with a flying final leg of 52.24sec, but it was set up by McKeon, who swam her 100m in an incredible 51.35, sending a clear signal that she is gold medal favourite in the individual event.
"It's very special to be part of this relay," said Bronte Campbell. "It always is and the competition in Australia is fierce for this relay and that’s what makes us so competitive on the international stage.
"It's more than us competing against each other for the spots on the relay. We really are an extended team. We support each other and that’s why we’ve managed to have such a strong team for so long."
Meanwhile, Japan and Tunisia celebrated shock gold medals on a day of upsets in the Olympic swimming pool on Sunday.
On the second full day of Olympic competition, the Tokyo Aquatic Center took centre stage for one of the blue riband sports of the Games with four gold medals up for grabs in a morning finals session.
But while swimming superpowers Australia and the USA traditionally dominate the Olympic pool, it was Tunisian teenager Ahmed Hafnaoui and Japan's Yui Ohashi who made the biggest waves.
Hafnaoui, 18, had only qualified eighth-fastest for the 400m freestyle final but produced a devastating late burst to win in 3min 43.36sec, overhauling Australian Jack McLoughlin, who took silver in 3:43.52.
"I just can't believe that, it's amazing," Hafnaoui said. "I felt better in the water this morning than yesterday and that's it. I'm the Olympic champion now."
It was Tunisia's first ever Olympic medal in the event and just their third gold ever in swimming.
The upsets continued in the women's 400 medley when Japan's Ohashi delighted the host nation to topple defending champion Katinka Hosszu.
Ohashi — whose previous best performance on the world stage was a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships — touched in 4:32.08 ahead of US duo Emma Weyant and Hali Flickinger.
"I swam believing in myself. I really did not think of winning the gold," said Ohashi.
The other early medals were split between the US and Australia.
Chase Kalisz, a silver medallist in Rio five years ago, went one better to claim the first US swimming gold of the Games with victory in the 400m medley.
