Patrick Callan, a members of the prelims heat of the United States’ men’s 800 free relay on Wednesday morning at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, has spoken up in support of his teammate Zach Apple.
Apple had the slowest split of the American finals group, splitting 1:47.31, as the Americans missed the podium. That marked the first time at a non-boycotted Olympics where the American men missed a medal in a relay.
American Splits:
- Kieran Smith – 1:44.74
- Drew Kibler – 1:45.51
- Zach Apple – 1:47.31
- Townley Haas – 1:44.87
The splits left the American relay .59 seconds behind the bronze medalists from Australia.
“Zach left this heart out there, couldn’t be more proud of him and the rest of the relay team,” Callan said as part of a pair of Tweets supporting his teammate. “For anyone sending hate Zach’s way, remember there were 7 of us that took part in that relay between prelims and finals. Every one of us, especially myself, could have been better. Don’t single one man out from the team. Win and lose as a team.”
Zach left his heart out there, couldn’t be more proud of him and the rest of the relay team 🇺🇸 https://t.co/X8LcpCGLGE
— Patrick Callan (@PatrickCallan19) July 28, 2021
For anyone sending hate Zach’s way, remember there were 7 of us that took part in that relay between prelims and finals. Every one of us, especially myself, could have been better. Don’t single one man out from the team. Win and lose as a team.
— Patrick Callan (@PatrickCallan19) July 28, 2021
The Tweets are a rare insight into the mentality of Team USA during the meet – American swimmers have told SwimSwam that they have been blocked from speaking to media outside of the rights holders from NBC until they return home to the states.
All four members of the American prelims relay, including Callan at 1:47.12, were faster than Apple’s finals split, but only Drew Kibler was chosen to race in the final. Also not on the finals relay was Caeleb Dressel, though we still don’t know if that was the coaches’ decision or Dressel’s decision to preserve himself for his later races.
Like Dressel, Apple had the 100 free semifinals earlier in the session. Apple didn’t advance.
Apple’s finals split on the 800 free relay looked on-target through 150 meters, where he split 1:18.31. That was the second-fastest first 150 meters of any 3rd leg of the field. The Americans sat in 2nd, behind only the Brits, at that point. Apple split 29.00 on his final 50, though, as the Americans slid to 5th place.
Apple’s 200 Free Splits:
- 50m – 23.80
- 100m – 26.74
- 150m – 27.77
- 200m – 29.00
Apple earned his spot on the relay via a 5th-place finish in the individual 200 free. While the double didn’t go well for him on Wednesday, his meet did start with a very-fast 46.69 anchor to the American 400 free relay that was the 2nd-fastest of the entire field and secured gold.
Apple will likely play a role at least in the men’s 400 medley relay still later in the meet.
Good for you Patrick. Most of us will never and have never gotten near the level that you guys have reached. Proud of you guys.
I agree your a team.
Don’t quit like. Biles
I hope to God you’re not really a coach. Jeez
Those 1:47 guys gotta stick together.
I’m curious to find out your results when you made the Olympic team.
Somewhat related discussion but can we admit that maheen and durden are overrated. Most of their athletes maintain their times or get worse under their coaching and in recent years, they both have made some questionable calls at big meets. A good coach isnt one who wins a lot of meets, its one who develops their athletes further (like Eddie Reese or Troy)
I’m sure you can find plenty of examples of athletes who have improved under both coaches, but especially Durden. When it comes to college-age athletes, it is much easier to get men to improve than women. Most guys will improve just from continuing to get bigger and stronger. Women mature earlier and often peak in high school.
The message boards here tend to treat Reese as a god, but I’m old enough to remember that he was the head men’s coach in 2004 when the US got 3rd in the 4×100 relay. He took of heat for that relay lineup.
Choosing the best relay lineup can be hard, especially when there are a bunch of plausible, but not great combinations.… Read more »
Durden has bad mouthed Eddie for 10 years to any one who would listen- especially recruits and the guys who swim for him. It’s nice to see him show his true colors on the biggest stage. It’s sad that his incompetence is keeping Americans from standing on the Olympic podium.
You’re cherry picking examples to prove your point.
I think the decision to not swim Dressel shows the focus on coaches on getting him to gold in the 100 fr – also a sign of some pressure being applied in the team to boost individual gold after a few near misses at this meet (M100bk, w200IM, w400fr). US fans won’t be so sad if that play comes off today.
Apple is why we have Gold in the 400 free relay. Stop the BS.
😊👌 Wish I could give this 1000 upvotes
Here’s my theory of what happened in the final. I think the US team was going for gold, not just podium.
But to get there, they were going to have to over-perform, since on paper they were slower than GB. Also, it wouldn’t surprise me if the recent interview with Ian Thorpe, where Thorpe said that everyone is swimming the 200 wrong was in their heads. Thorpe basically said that people need to take it out faster.
So, they went for it, rather than swim it conservatively to just get on the podium. All 4 guys were under 51 seconds at the 100. They were the only team that did that. That’s a really fast opening 100. For the… Read more »
This is a fantastic post! Well-reasoned, and rings true to me. Doesn’t forgive a terrible coaching decision, but it does cast some light on why it may have been made. And it would take the blame even more off Apple himself if the whole team was under instructions to blast it out.
As a separate point, I completely disagree with Thorpe’s quote, and I believe the evidence, in his era and now, does not support his assertion that swimmers should take it out faster. More likely, the main problem swimmers today have is not being Ian Thorpe…
Apple got off to a spectacular start of the meet with his relay anchor so I 100% agree with you that this decision to go with Apple was a Hail Mary effort to go for gold with a team that was much more likely to win silver.
But I don’t believe that the swimmers were instructed to swim differently. Honestly all four of them pretty much swam how they usually do.
At trials, Apple Took out all three of his 200s very fast and then lost momentum the last 50 especially at finals when he was leading or in second or 3rd for most of the final and then died considerably the last 50 which is why he… Read more »
I think he took it out even faster in the relay than he did at trials. But yes, that is his style. I also agree they should have put on Seliskar, but hindsight is 20-20.
No Apple swam his race exactly like he did at Trials where he went out too fast and died coming home for fifth place. Past few years US guys have paced the 200 differently than in the past. They need to get back to old school relay pacing which was build the 150 then blast it home. Always have something for last 25 meters of a relay.
I know that Apple took it out fast at trials, but he took it out even faster here.
I wish there was a post just for Duncan. This kids puts his giant heart on relays and has mixed results in individual races. (Mixed= Olympic silver) He is my favorite, has been since his 4×100 IM finish at the 2019 Worlds.