The smallest of margins can have the largest of impacts at the Olympics.
While the United States ultimately edged Australia in gold medals to close the Olympic swimming competition, it failed to get on the medal stand at all in the women’s 50-meter freestyle on Sunday as Gretchen Walsh finished off the podium by .01 seconds.
China’s Y.F. Zhang out-touched Walsh for bronze, with a time of 24.2 seconds to Walsh’s 24.21.
Australia’s Meg Harris finished second behind Sweden’s Sarah Sjoostrom, who won silver in the event three years earlier in Tokyo.
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The U.S. came into Sunday, the final day of the meet, with six golds to Australia’s seven.
Bobby Finke’s world-record finish in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle got the U.S. to seven, and Walsh, was part of the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay that gave the U.S. its decisive gold.
Walsh had three medals heading into the day, with gold in the 4x100m mixed relay and a pair of silvers in the women’s 100-meter butterfly and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
The University of Virginia swimmer, 21, is likely to be back at the 2028 LA Games, and despite her successes in Paris, will have something to dwell on after Sunday’s race.