Sports

Rio Olympics: Swimmer Conor Dwyer Wins Gold as Part of 4x200-Meter Freestyle Relay Team

Team USA dominated Tuesday night's event, helping the Winnetka Olympian earn his 2nd medal at the Rio Olympics.

Winnetka swimmer Conor Dwyer earned a gold medal as part of the U.S. team that dominated the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay Tuesday night at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Team USA won the event with a time of 7:00.66. Great Britain captured the silver medal (7:03.13), and Japan took home the bronze (7:03.50).

The U.S. team's gold medal came in convincing fashion Tuesday, with Dwyer gaining a lead after the first leg of the relay with a personal best time of 1:45.02. The relay team—which consisted of Dwyer, Townley Haas, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps—never relinquished its lead after that.

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This was the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the U.S. in this event. Dwyer was on the 2012 team at the London Olympics, and Lochte and Phelps are the only swimmers who have been members on all of those gold medal-winning teams.

Although it didn't happen in the pool, Dwyer was part of the only bit of drama in Tuesday night's race. Phelps ripped his swim cap right before he needed to compete in the anchor leg. Thankfully, he was able to borrow Dwyer's cap and capture gold for the U.S.

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This was Dwyer's final event in this year's Olympics. Along with Tuesday night's gold medal, he also earned bronze in the 200-meter freestyle and placed fourth in the 400-meter freestyle.

A photo posted by Conor Dwyer (@conorjdwyer) on Aug 7, 2016 at 8:52pm PDT

And in case you're wondering, Saturday Night Live cast member and Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones, Dwyer's No. 1 online celebrity fan, made sure she didn't miss the race.

If you want to see—and hear—Jones' NSFW reaction to Phelps' torn swim cap, check out her Twitter feed.

PHOTO: Conor Dwyer after competing in the men's 200-meter freestyle Monday at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Dwyer | Instagram)


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