Male Relay of the Year: Kibler, Foster, Julian and Smith Put American Men Back on Top of 800 Free Relay

Kieran Smith, Carson Foster, Trenton Julian, Drew Kibler of United States of America show the gold medal after compete in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay Men Final with a new world record during the FINA Swimming Short Course World Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia, December 16th, 2022. Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Kieran Smith, Carson Foster, Trenton Julian & Drew Kibler (left to right) won a pair of 800 free relay gold medals in 2022 -- Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Male Relay of the Year: Kibler, Foster, Julian and Smith Put American Men Back on Top of 800 Free Relay

The American men had never missed the Olympic podium. Not once in history. But in 2021, the 800 free relay came up one spot short in Tokyo. The U.S. had come up short of gold at three straight World Championships in the event as a long winning streak fueled by Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, but this was the first time not even finishing among the top-three.

Kieran Smith and Drew Kibler remembered that result. A pair of Olympic rookies in 2021, these two men swam the first two legs in the Olympic final and had the Americans in first place before a disappointing finish to the relay. They were ready to go in Budapest as Kibler’s Texas teammate Carson Foster and Trenton Julian joined the team in its search for a gold medal. The field was weakened compared to the Tokyo Olympics with Russia suspended from the World Championships and Great Britain missing star Duncan Scott, but given this American performance, it might not have mattered.

Kibler led off in 1:45.54, leaving the Americans in third place, just behind South Korea’s Hwang Sunwoo and Brazil’s Fernando Scheffer. After Foster’s 1:45.04 split, the Americans had a lead of almost a second. Julian extended the lead to almost two seconds, and Smith split 1:44.35 on the way home, the second-quickest mark in the entire race, to give the Americans a gold medal by 3.24 seconds.

The final time was 7:00.24, which did not surpass Great Britain’s time from the 2021 Olympics (6:58.58), but the American team did crush the silver and bronze-medal winning times from Tokyo in securing the world title.

“A lot of us have been talking about this really since the day we got that fourth-place finish,” Kibler said on the NBC broadcast. “That was a tough feeling for Kieran and I, and I know these guys would’ve felt the same. It’s something we strive for in America. We expect nothing but the best, and it feels pretty good to be back on track. We’re just getting started. We’re on the world-record hunt, for sure.”

These swimmers will have a chance to cement their status as No. 1 in 2023 when Scott return to team with Tom Dean and give Britain a full-strength relay once again, and that should be a heck of a showdown at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The Americans have the benefit of superior depth as Luke Hobson, Jake Magahey and Grant House are among the other swimmers who have posted 1:46-mid or faster times in 2022 with the aim of joining the A-team next year.

But already, the Americans have made a statement in short course meters, as the same lineup reunited at the Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, although Smith led off and Kibler handled anchor duties. The team annihilated the short course world record record with a time of 6:44.12, beating silver-medalist Australia by 2.42 seconds. Foster had the fastest split of the team with his 1:40.48, and Kibler pulled away from the Aussies with a 1:41.16 on the end.

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