RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Americans never seem to lose the men's backstroke at the Olympics.
Ryan Murphy kept that streak alive.
Murphy, 21, completed a backstroke sweep with a victory Thursday night in the 200 meters, extending his country's dominance of the events that dates to 1992.
The Barcelona Games were the last time the United States lost a men's backstroke final.
Three days after winning the 100 back in Olympic record time, Murphy touched first again in 1 minutes, 53.62 seconds.
"My goal was to win one gold," Murphy said. "That was a real breakthrough for me to be able to win that one. The 100 back was an event that comes a little bit more natural. The 200 back is an event I really have to dig deep for, so this one means a little bit more to me."
Murphy became the third American man in the last five Olympics to take both races. Aaron Peirsol pulled off the sweep at Athens in 2004, and Lenny Krayzelburg claimed both golds at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Australia's Mitch Larkin grabbed the silver Thursday in 1:53.96, just ahead of Russia's Evgeny Rylov with the bronze in 1:53.97.
American Jacob Pebley finished fifth.
The Associate Press contributed to this report.