Former IU swimmers Zach Apple and Blake Pieroni finished in first place in the 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday night in the Tokyo Olympics, helping the relay team win a gold medal.
Apple, a 2019 IU graduate, and Pieroni, a 2018 graduate, joined Caeleb Dressel and Bowe Becker on the team for the final.
Pieroni took the second leg for the Americans, entering the pool with a .26 second lead and finishing with a .30 second lead.
Apple anchored the race, jumping in the pool when Team USA was in first by .20 seconds and securing the gold medal by 1.14 seconds. Team USA finished with a final time of 3:08.97.
Apple's split was 46.6 seconds, the fastest of any member of the relay.
Pieroni also won a gold medal on the 400-meter freestyle relay in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, although he only competed in preliminary heats.
