In his first event on August 7, the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, he won his first gold medal of the 2016 Games and his 19th Olympic gold medal overall. Phelps swam the second leg with what his coach Bob Bowman described as "maybe the best turn that's ever been done", overtaking France's Fabien Gilot to give his American teammates a lead which they would not relinquish. Phelps's leg proved to be the decisive factor in the race, and Gilot later remarked "As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Phelps was faster". Phelps achieved a split time of 47.12, the fourth-fastest of the field (the three fastest times were posted by the team anchors), which was also faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics.