What Was the Year? An Event-By-Event Look at the Last Time the USA Won Olympic Gold (Men’s Edition)
No country has won as many gold medals at the Olympic Games as the United States. The American arsenal has always been stacked, from the early days of Johnny Weissmuller to the greatness of Mark Spitz to the legendary performances of Michael Phelps. Most recently, Bobby Finke was crowned an Olympic champion, as the distance star repeated as the gold medalist in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2024 Games in Paris.
Here is a look at the last time the United States claimed gold in each of the 14 individual events on the Olympic program:
50 Freestyle
Last Gold Medal: 2020
Winner: Caeleb Dressel
Note: The gold medal for Caeleb Dressel in the freestyle was complemented by titles in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
100 Freestyle
Last Gold Medal: 2020
Winner: Caeleb Dressel
Note: The 100 freestyle has produced 14 American champions since the event debuted at the 1896 Games in Athens.
200 Freestyle
Last Gold Medal: 2008
Winner: Michael Phelps
Note: The title from Michael Phelps accounted for a percentage of his eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
400 Freestyle
Last Gold Medal: 1984
Winner: George DiCarlo
Note: The 400 freestyle has not produced an American champion in 41 years, the longest stretch of any event.
800 Freestyle
Last Gold Medal: 2020
Winner: Bobby Finke
Note: The 800 freestyle did not debut as a men’s Olympic event until the 2020 Games in Tokyo, where Bobby Finke won the inaugural gold medal.
1500 Freestyle
Last Gold Medal: 2024
Winner: Bobby Finke
Note: When Bobby Finke won the first of back-to-back golds in the event in 2020, it snapped an eight-Games streak without an American titlist.
100 Backstroke
Last Gold Medal: 2016
Winner: Ryan Murphy
Note: The gold medal won by Ryan Murphy extended the United States’ winning streak to six Games.
200 Backstroke
Last Gold Medal: 2016
Winner: Ryan Murphy
Note: As was the case in the 100 backstroke, the United States won the 200 backstroke at every Olympics from 1996 to 2016.
100 Breaststroke
Last Gold Medal: 1992
Winner: Nelson Diebel
Note: It has been eight Olympics since the United States sent an athlete to the top of the podium.
200 Breaststroke
Last Gold Medal: 1992
Winner: Mike Barrowman
Note: The victory by Mike Barrowman at the Games in Barcelona was delivered in dominant fashion, as he topped the field by more than a second.
100 Butterfly
Last Gold Medal: 2020
Winner: Caeleb Dressel
Note: The still-standing world record of 49.45 in the 100 butterfly was produced by Caeleb Dressel during his Tokyo Games victory.
200 Butterfly
Last Gold Medal: 2016
Winner: Michael Phelps
Note: When Michael Phelps won this event in Rio de Janeiro, it marked a reclaiming of the throne, as he prevailed in the event in 2004 and 2008, before finishing just behind Chad le Clos in 2012.
200 Individual Medley
Last Gold Medal: 2016
Winner: Michael Phelps
Note: The title by Michael Phelps in the 200 IM in Rio de Janeiro made him the first swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive Games.
400 Individual Medley
Last Gold Medal: 2020
Winner: Chase Kalisz
Note: American men have won the 400 IM on nine occasions.