The showdown between Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad was among the most highly anticipated of the athletics program at the Tokyo Games and came a day after Norway's Karsten Warholm destroyed his own world record in the men's event.
The U.S. were the favorites after winning the event at the 2019 World Championships. But they almost did not make the final after they were disqualified for exchanging the baton outside the changeover zone in Friday's first round.
China held off an elite anchor leg by Katie Ledecky to win gold and set a new world record in the 4x200m freestyle relay, but the American and Australian teams also surpassed the old record set in 2019.
