Team USA Wins 3 Gold Medals on Day 6 of Tokyo Olympics; Closing in on China and Japan

(Photo : ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images) Gold medalist USA's Robert Finke poses with his medal after the final of the men's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on July 29, 2021.

Team USA captured three gold medals on Day 6 of the Tokyo Olympics, with swimming and gymnastics providing the glory for the Americans. They remained in third place in the Olympic medal leaderboard with a total haul of 14 golds, 14 silvers, and 10 bronzes.

Dominating the Tokyo Olympics are Asian powerhouses, the People's Republic of China, back at the top, with Japan close at the second spot. While both nations have the same number of gold medals at 15, China takes the top spot owing to its seven silver medals against Japan's only four after Day 6.

Dressel and Finke capture golds for Team USA in swimming

Caeleb Dressel finally won the coveted individual gold medal in swimming as he reigned supreme in the men's 100-meter freestyle on Thursday. Dressel managed to hold off a furious challenge by reigning Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers to win the marquee race by just 0.06 of a second.

Dressel, who is also the reigning world champion in this event, posted a time of 47.02 seconds, a new Olympic record. Dressel's victory silenced the doubters who said that he couldn't win an Olympic race by himself. All three of his previous victories in the Olympics came in group events, one of which he won here in Tokyo in the men's 4x100 freestyle relay.

If Dressel's gold medal yesterday was expected, Bobby Finke's sure wasn't. He swam the race of his life in the men's 800-meter freestyle final, capturing the victory spectacularly. Heading into the final 50 meters of the race, Finke looked out of it as he turned outside of the medal places.

Finke found another gear, though, charging past three swimmers to win the race with a time of 7:41.87, a new American record. Finke became the first American man to win a distance freestyle event since 1984, and he did it in style as he established an Olympic record in the first staging of this competition in the Summer Games.

Katie Ledecky and the rest of Team USA in the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay swam a stunning race to grab the silver medal. The Americans finished behind China, which posted a new world record, but they will take comfort in the fact that they defeated the Australians, who were the pre-race favorites.

In the women's 200-meter butterfly, Americans Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Sunisa Lee wins gold in women's gymnastics

The other gold medal for Team USA came in women's gymnastics as Sunisa Lee took home the victory in the individual all-around competition. Lee carried the cudgels in Simone Biles' absence, posting a total score of 57.433 to win the gold for Team USA.

Lee's victory ensured that the gold medal in this event remained in the Americans' hands for the fifth consecutive Olympics. Lee got a major boost on the uneven bars, posting a score of 15.300, which was the highest in the competition.