RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nathan Adrian and Ryan Murphy already had a week full of memories to take home with them when they took the blocks for the final swimming event of the 2016 Olympics, the 400-meter medley relay.

That didn't stop them from adding a few more images of Rio -- and a world record -- to remember forever.

Murphy jumped in first and left the pool with the world's fastest 100 backstroke time ever, Adrian closed with another great split in the freestyle and two of Team USA's stars throughout eight days in Rio helped bring the curtain down on an incredible stretch of swimming. Michael Phelps and Cody Miller teamed with the two Bears to post a time of 3:27.95 and win gold with Great Britain taking silver and Australia claiming bronze.

Given how the previous seven days had gone for those who'd traveled from Berkeley to Rio, there seemed to be no other final outcome than the one produced Saturday. Cal men's swimmers ended the games with 11 medals, four of which hung around Adrian's neck. Murphy won three (all gold), Anthony Ervin took two and Josh Prenot and Tom Shields each earned one in an incredible display of talent that reflected the work put in when no one was watching.

After winning the 100 backstroke just three-tenths slower than Aaron Peirsol's world record a few days earlier, Murphy knew he'd get another chance at the mark Saturday. He didn't disappoint, swimming the first 50 meters in 25.13 seconds and finishing with a time of 51.85 to best the previous mark of 51.94. 

Great Britain rallied with a great breaststroke leg from Adam Peaty but Phelps grabbed the lead right back to give Adrian a little room to work with. The eight-time Olympic medalist closed the race with style, recording a split of 46.74 to give the United States another win in an event it has never lost.

For many, the most memorable images of the 2016 Olympics came courtesy of Golden Bears in the pool. Whether it was Adrian closing out two United States relay victories, Murphy becoming the fifth Cal athlete (all swimmers) to win at least three gold medals in one Olympics or Ervin turning back time to win gold in the 50 free, there was a blue and gold hue to much of what happened inside the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. And, with Cal head coach and Team USA assistant Dave Durden as well as Cal associate head coach Yuri Suguiyama in Rio alongside their stars, the 2016 Olympics will forever be remembered as a golden era for the Bears.

"I'm lucky enough to have both Dave and Yuri here," Murphy said. "They've really taken the Cal program to the next level. We had five guys that trained together all year here. It's cool because we all have different pasts and we all had to take different paths to get here, just based on our strengths and weaknesses. To have them go through that individually with each of us and have it all converge here at the Olympics, that's really a testament to the program and their strength as coaches."