In the final men's swimming event in the Paris Olympics, Caeleb Dressel helped lead Team USA to a second-place finish in the 4x100 medley relay, his first-ever Olympic medal that was not gold.
Dressel, Ryan Murphy, Hunter Armstrong and New Jersey's Nic Fink combined for a time of 3:28.0, about a half-second behind China which earned the gold. France took the bronze.
Fink was one of two New Jersey swimmers who will get a silver medal for Team USA in the event. Mandham's Jack Alexy will also get medal after he swam in the prelims before the final on Sunday.
The result may come as a bit of a disappointment for the U.S., which had won 10 straight gold medals in the event. That was tied for the longest gold medal streak for one nation in any team event in Olympic history.
It also is the first time Dressel will earn a medal that is anything other than gold. Each of his nine other Olympic medals he has earned in his career were all for first-place finishes.
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It was the ninth career medal for Murphy, and the third for Fink and Armstrong.
The relay was the penultimate swimming race in Paris. The U.S. got a medal in each of the final three events for the day, including the silver in the 4x100m men's relay and gold in the other two, which were done in world record time.
First, Bobby Finke set a world record in 1500m freestyle in 14:30.67. Then, the U.S. women's medley relay team set a world record in 3:43.69.
Entering the Olympics, the U.S. versus Australia was a big storyline for a battle of the pool. The two countries have developed a fierce rivalry in recent years, emerging as the two dominant forces in international swimming.
At the end of the nine-day swim meet, the United States won eight gold, 13 silver and seven bronze. Australia finished with seven gold, eight silver and three bronze.
