The American squad raced to an Olympic record time of three minutes, 27.95 seconds. Murphy broke Aaron Peirsol's 6-year-old world record in the 100m backstroke during his lead-off leg, clocking 51.85 and shaving 0.09 off the old record.
Great Britain, the 2015 world champions in the relay, claimed the silver while Australia took the bronze.
Phelps said earlier Saturday on a Facebook live broadcast that the race is the last of his storied career. Historically, the U.S. men have won gold in this event every time they’ve entered, dating back to the event’s debut in 1960.
"Getting off the bus walking into the pool tonight, I almost felt myself starting to cry. Last warm-up. Last time putting on a suit. Last time walking out in front of thousands of people representing my country. It’s insane," Phelps said through USA Swimming.
"A lot better than what it was four years ago. This is how I wanted to finish my career the way I wanted to. I held back a little bit on the podium but there were some (tears) that were popping down. It just feels good to know the hard work did paid off.
I was able to fight through some of the times I went through over the last two years and get back to where I wanted to actually be. This was the actual cherry on top of the cake. I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter."
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