Related video above: How Much Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid For Winning Medals?Caeleb Dressel is pretty much invincible when he has a lane to himself.But give him a deficit of more than 8 seconds?Well, that’s too much for even the world’s greatest swimmer to overcome with two laps of the pool.On a morning of mixed emotions and chaotic racing at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Dressel set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly, but was basically doomed before he even dove into the pool on the new mixed relay Saturday.So went his chances of joining a very exclusive club. His bid to win six gold medals fell apart with another U.S. relay debacle. The Americans were too far behind in the 4x100-meter mixed medley when their top swimmer took over, so the best Dressel could do was rally the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in an event that features two men and two women on each team. Britain set a world record to win the gold.“Fifth place is unacceptable for USA Swimming,” Dressel said. “It stings.”It was a disappointing capper to a golden morning for the Americans, whose biggest swimming stars both ascended to the top of the medal podium.After Dressel won his third gold of the games, Katie Ledecky closed out her grueling Olympic program with a third straight victory in the 800 freestyle.Ledecky was pushed hard by Australian rival Ariarne Titmus, but the American held on in a race she hasn't lost since 2010.Ledecky finished up with two golds, two silver and a fifth-place finish at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre — not as successful as she was five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, but not bad at all.Ledecky became the first female swimmer to capture six individual gold medals in her career with another Olympic title in the 800 free, winning with a time of 8 minutes, 12.57 seconds.Titmus closed strong to claim the silver in 8:13.83, while the bronze went to Italy’s Simona Quadarella in 8:18.35.“I could see her the whole way,” Ledecky said of Titmus. “I was trying to keep tabs on her and trying to inch my way out a little bit each 50. I knew she was just going to be lurking there the whole time.Ledecky lost her first two individual matchups with Titmus, but finally beat the Terminator in their final showdown.“I knew I had to have a little gap,” Ledecky said, "because if we were neck and neck on the last 100, I know she has that finish.”Dressel led right from the start in the fly and held off Hungary’s Kristof Milak to touch in 49.45 seconds, breaking the mark of 49.50 that the American set at the 2019 world championships.Milak, winner of the 200 fly, earned the silver with a blistering 49.68. The bronze went to Switzerland’s Noe Ponti.When he saw the “WR” beside his name, Dressel smiled and joined hands with Milak in the lane next to him. They raised their arms together before Dressel flexed his left arm and pumped it in the air.“He’s going to put me out of a job one day, so I’m just trying to hang on as long as I can,” Dressel said. “Kristof executed perfectly. We both swam exactly the race we needed to.”The Australian women added another gold.Kaylee McKeown completed a sweep of the backstroke events with a victory in the 200 butterfly. Her winning time was 2:04.68.The silver went to Canada’s Kylie Masse in 2:05.42, with another Australian, Emily Seebohm, claiming the bronze in 2:06.17.Americans Rhyan White and Phoebe Bacon finished fourth and fifth.It's been a huge Olympics for the Aussie women. They have won six of their team's seven gold medals at the pool.In another bummer for the Americans, Simone Manuel failed to advance to the final of the 500 free, her only individual event in these games.The first Black American woman to win an individual swimming gold posted the 11th-best time in the semifinals and was eliminated, capping a trying year in which she was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome.Dressel advanced easily in the men's freestyle semifinals with the top final time (21.42).The mixed medley was another story.For the second time at these Olympics, the U.S. failed to win a relay medal, joining a fourth-place finish in the men’s 4x200 freestyle. Before Tokyo, the Americans had never failed to finish in top three of an Olympic relay they entered.The Americans tried a different strategy than everyone else, going with Dressel on the freestyle while the other seven teams all closed with a woman.The Americans faltered when 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby — already the only woman swimming the breaststroke leg —had her goggles knocked off on her dive into the water.The 17-year-old struggled to finish in 1:05.09, her goggles dangling from her mouth as the rest of the field pulled away.“I’ve never really had that happen before,” said Jacoby, who one wears a single cap while most swimmers wear two largely to prevent such a problem. “I was definitely panicking a little. My turn was where it was most rough because I couldn’t see the wall.”Her teammates praised her effort.“Anyone that swam with their goggles in their mouth like she did (knows) she did fantastic,” said Ryan Murphy, who took the opening backstroke leg.When 18-year-old Torri Huske passed off to Dressel after the butterfly leg, the Americans were 8.01 seconds behind the leaders in last place.Dressel furiously tried to cut into the huge gap. His 46.99 leg was better than his winning time in the 100 free individual event, but it wasn’t nearly enough to chase down all the teams ahead of him.“Everyone swam as well as they could in the moment,” Dressel said. “We got beat by a better team.”Britain's team of Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin claimed the gold with a world record of 3:37.58. The silver went to China in 3:38.86, while Australia took the bronze in 3:38.95.Dressel touched in 3:40.58, also finishing behind Italy.He was hoping to sweep his six events, which would have made him only the fourth swimmer and fifth athlete overall to win six gold medals at a single Olympics.Swimming icon Michael Phelps did it twice, capturing six golds at the 2004 Athens Games before setting the record with eight golds in Beijing four years later.For Dressel, who has two more races on the final day of swimming, five golds is now the best he can do.

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Related video above: How Much Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid For Winning Medals?Make it five for Caeleb Dressel.The American star won his fifth gold medal of the Tokyo Games, finishing off one of the great performances in Olympic history. He joins an elite club of just four other swimmers ever with at least five gold medals at one games.Dressel swam the butterfly leg as the Americans set a world record in the 4x100-meter medley relay with a time of 3 minutes, 26.78 seconds -- eclipsing the mark of 3:27.28 they set at the 2009 Rome world championships in rubberized suits.Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew and Zach Apple joined Dressel on the winning team, ensuring the Americans closed out the swimming competition with another gold in a race they’ve never lost at the Olympics.Earlier in the session, Dressel won the 50 freestyle for his third individual title of the games. He also won two golds on the relays.Dressel starred at the pool with Australia's Emma McKeon, who won two more golds Sunday to push her overall total to seven — four gold and three bronze.Mirroring Dressel's final day, McKeon won the 50 free and took the butterfly leg on the Aussies' winning 4x100 medley relay team on the women's side.McKeon became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single games. The only men to do it are Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi.

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South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker was the star of the day, setting the first individual swimming world record at the Tokyo Olympics.Others shined, too.Evgeny Rylov completed a backstroke double for Russia, Emma McKeon gave the Aussie women another gold, and China earned a return trip to the top of the medal podium.The mighty Americans? For the first time in the meet, they spent the entire session Friday watching others win gold.Schoenmaker, a 24-year-old South African, won the women’s 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 18.95 seconds, breaking the mark of 2:19.11 set by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen at the 2013 world championships in Barcelona.It was the third world record at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, with the first two coming in women’s relays.“I wasn’t expecting that at all," said Schoenmaker, who added to her silver in the 100 breast. ”It couldn’t have been a better race. It still just doesn’t sink in, maybe one day."Rylov thoroughly snuffed out America's dominance in the backstroke, adding the 200 title to his victory in the 100 back.Rylov won with an Olympic-record time of 1:53.29, while American Ryan Murphy wound up with the silver (1:54.15).Murphy was a double-gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he extended an American winning streak that began at the 1996 Atlanta Games.The U.S. won 12 straight men's backstroke events over six Olympics, but that streak ended with Rylov's victory in the 100. He made it 2-for-2 in the longer race, while Murphy settled for bronze and silver in the two events.Britain’s Luke Greenbank grabbed the 200 bronze in 1:54.72.McKeon touched first in the 100 freestyle with an Olympic-record time of 51.96, becoming only the second woman to break 52 seconds in the sprint.Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey earned the silver in 52.27, while another Aussie, Cate Campbell, took the bronze in 52.52. American Abbey Weitzeil was last in the eight-woman field.The Australians have won four individual women’s events at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, in addition to setting a world record in a 4x100 free relay that included both McKeon and Campbell.The team from Down Under has six golds overall, tied with the Americans, though the U.S. has the lead in the overall medal count.The Americans won three medals Friday, also claiming the other two spots on the podium behind Schoenmaker.But it was the first time the U.S. team went through an entire sessions of finals in Tokyo without winning at least one gold.Lilly King set a blistering pace early in the 200 breast and held on for a silver in 2:19.92, adding to her bronze in the 100 event. Annie Lazor nabbed the bronze in 2:20.84.“I don’t come from behind, that’s for sure, so I just wanted to put it out there and see where it goes,” King said. “I thought I did great.”A day after winning its first two golds at the pool, China picked up another victory when Wang Shun touched first in the men’s 200 individual medley.Wang edged Britain’s Duncan Scott with a time of 1:55.00. Scott took the silver in 1:55.28, while the bronze went to Switzerland’s Jeremy Desplanches in 1:56.17.It was another disappointment for hometown star Daiya Seto, who didn’t even qualify for the final of his first two events. He got through in the 200 IM, but just missed out on a medal with a fourth-place finish -- a mere five-hundredths of a second behind the Swiss bronze medalist.American Michael Andrew led after the third leg, powering to the top spot on the breaststroke. But he faded badly on the freestyle to wind up in fifth, more than 2 seconds behind the winner.“I think it hurt worse than it looked, and it looked pretty bad,” Andrew said. “I knew I had to be fast at the 150 and I was praying for some Holy Spirit power to get me home in that (final) 50, but it wasn’t all there.”But the U.S. has several good chances to claim gold over the last two days of the swimming competition.Caeleb Dressel has two individual finals remaining, and Katie Ledecky is a big favorite in the 800 free.Dressel set another Olympic record in the semifinals of the 100 butterfly.Minutes after Hungary’s Kristof Milak took down the mark in the first semifinal heat, Dressel went even faster with a time of 49.71 in the second heat.“I feel fine,” Dressel said. “I’m not worried about the schedule. I’ve had it written down for a couple weeks now. I know what’s coming. I know how to pace it correctly. I know how to take care of my body.”It was the third-fastest time in history and left Milak as the second-fastest qualifier at 50.31.In the preliminaries, Dressel tied the former Olympic record of 50.39 set by Singapore’s Joseph Schooling to win gold at the 2016 Rio Games.Dressel will be a big favorite in Saturday morning’s final, though he could get pushed by Milak. The Hungarian already won the 200 fly with a dominating victory.Dressel picked up the first individual gold medal of his career with a win in the 100 freestyle.

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