NANTERRE, France — If it were a separate country, the University of Notre Dame would rank 10th in the medal standings at the Paris Olympics.
As of late Tuesday night in Paris, the Fighting Irish had won five medals, just behind ninth-place Canada with six.
Swimmer Chris Guiliano earned his second medal, and fifth for Notre Dame, with a silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at Paris La Defense Arena.
Guiliano, a gold medalist Saturday in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, did not swim Tuesday’s final in the 4x200 freestyle relay. Because he was in the lineup for the heats, he was awarded the same medal as the final foursome.
The British won gold in 6:59.43, followed by the United States in 7:00.78.
Earlier in the night, Guiliano was sixth in semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle in 47.72 seconds, or .11 from third. He will go for a third medal in Wednesday’s final. In the heats, he was eighth in 48.25.
Before that, he swam a 1:46.74 anchor leg in the 4x200 freestyle relay.
Asked about three races in one day, he replied, “After the morning, I think I did a nice job recovering. I feel like I really elevate during the night.”
If Guiliano had been omitted from the heats and then been skipped over, he would not have been eligible for a relay medal. He said he was “totally OK” with omission from the final, even though he was second in the 200 freestyle at the Olympic Trials.
“They gave me the decision to even swim in the morning,” Guiliano said. “And I wanted to take full advantage of that. Again, coach’s decision, and I fully respect that. I want to see the best four out there.
“And the guys tonight have all my support.”
Notre Dame’s three other medals have all come in fencing, one each Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Grand Palais:
–Eszter Muhari won the bronze medal 15-14 over Estonia’s 34-year-old Nelli Differt in epee. Muhari, 21, of Budapest, Hungary, was 21-3 as a Notre Dame freshman and won the 2023 NCAA title. She did not represent the Irish this year, focusing on the Olympics.
–Lee Kiefer, 30, of Lexington, Ky., repeated as gold medalist in foil, winning 15-6 over Lauren Scruggs in an all-USA final. Kiefer became the third woman to win two or more Olympic golds in foil. She is a four-time Olympian and four-time NCAA champion.
–Nick Itkin, 24, of Los Angeles, defeated Japan’s Kazuki Iimura 15-12 for a bronze medal in foil. Itkin, a two-time NCAA champion, is the son of Ukrainian immigrants.
Notre Dame will be in contention for additional medals in fencing, as well as in swimming with Guiliano, rowing with Molly Bruggeman, basketball with Jewell Loyd, and track and field with Yared Nuguse in the men’s 1,500 meters.
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.