Former NC State Swimmer Ryan Held Wins His 2nd Gold Medal in the 4×100 Freestyle Relay

Former NC State Swimmer Ryan Held won his 2nd Gold Medal in the 4×100 Freestyle Relay yesterday for the United States.

Ryan Held gets another gold 🥇

Held brings home his second Olympic gold medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay after leading off during the preliminaries to help Team USA reach the finals, where they went on to finish first.#GoPack | #PackInParis pic.twitter.com/pirPvzlAbd

— NC State Swimming & Diving (@packswimdive) July 28, 2024

While Held didn’t swim in the Finals yesterday, he did swim in the Prelims on Saturday, helping Team USA advance to yesterday’s Finals.

What a start for Ryan Held and Team USA!

Held led off the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, going 48.52, helping guide Team USA to a fourth-place finish in prelims (3:12.61) and an advance to the finals! #OlympiansMadeHere | #PackInParis pic.twitter.com/HBIezOldgX

— NC State Swimming & Diving (@packswimdive) July 27, 2024

Held won his first Gold Medal in this event back in 2016 with Michael Phelps, Caeleb Dressel and Nathan Adrian.

Only 7 former NC State Swimmers have gone on to win a Medal in the Olympics, and Held is one of them, joined by Steve Rerych, Steve Gregg, Dan Harrigan, Duncan Goodhew, David Fox and Cullen Jones. Only 5 Swimmers have won a Gold Medal: Rerych, Goodhew, Fox, Jones and Held. Ryan is only 1 of 2 former Wolfpack Swimmers to win 2 Gold Medals, joining Steve Rerych, who won the Gold in the 400 Freestyle Relay & 800 Freestyle Relay in 1968.

Ryan Held is the 1st former NC State Swimmer to win Gold twice in the same event.

Held holds the school record for the fastest times in NC State history 50 Free, 100 Free, 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay. As a member of the Wolfpack, Held was a 25x All-American and a 25x ACC Champion.