Olympic Update (Swimming and Track and Field)

Day 8 of Swimming:

Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands, the champion of the 100 meter freestyle, won the gold medal in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 24.05, a new Olympic record.

Sun Yang of China proved that he is the world's top distance swimmer.  After having won the 400 free and having taken the silver in the 200 free, he won the gold medal in the 1500 meter freestyle on the final day of the competition with a time of 14:31.02, a new world record.

The U.S. Men's and Women's 4x100 medley relay teams
(Sports Illustrated)

The United States won the women's 4x100 meter medley relay and set a new world record in the event.  Missy Franklin led off by swimming the backstroke leg of the relay and Rebecca Soni followed with the breaststroke.  The Russians, however, remained in close pursuit.  Dana Vollmer, the world record holder in the 100 meter butterfly opened a huge gap, and Allison Schmitt anchored to bring home the gold.

The United States men's 4x100 medley relay followed suit in what was the final event of Michael Phelps' illustrious swimming career.  Matt Grevers led off with the backstroke, Brendan Hansen followed with the breaststroke, Phelps swam the butterfly and Nathan Adrian broke away from the field in the freestyle, giving Phelps the 22nd Olympic medal and 18th gold medal of his career.

Track and Field

100 Meters:

Usain Bolt
(Tyler Anderson/National Post)

Usain Bolt repeated as Olympic champion in the 100 meters, the world's fastest man competition.  Bolt broke away from the pack in the final 40 meters of the race.  The Jamaican broke his own Olympic record with a time of 9.63.  His countryman Yohan Blake, who had defeated Bolt in the Jamaican Olympic trials, won the silver medal with a time of 9.75.

Usain Bolt won by  a huge margin
(Reuters

American Justin Gatlin, the Olympic champion in 2004 who served a 4 year doping suspension from 2006-2010, took the bronze medal with a personal best time of 9.79, defeating fellow American Tyson Gay by only 0.01.




200 Meters:
Jamaica, a tiny island in the Caribbean with a population of fewer than 3,000,000 people, continued to exert its dominance of the track and field sprinting events by sweeping the medal stands in the men's 200 meter race.  Usain Bolt cemented his status as one of the greatest sprinters of all time by becoming the first man to ever win both the 100 and 200 meter sprints in consecutive Olympics.  Bolt won the gold medal with a time of 19.32, and nearly set an Olympic record despite intentionally slowing down substantially at the end of the race.  Yohan Blake, the silver medalist in the 100 meters, won the silver medal with a time of 19.44.  Warren Weir won the bronze with a time of 19.84.

The Jamaicans swept the 200 meter sprint
From left: Warren Weir, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake
(AP/Lee Jin-man)

Day 7 of Swimming at the 2012 London Olympics

Women's 200 Meter Backstroke:

Missy Franklin (European Photopress Agency)

Missy Franklin, the 17 year old from Colorado, added to her medal haul Friday night by winning the gold medal in the 200 Backstroke.  Franklin's time of 2:04.06 shattered the world record, and defeated silver medalist Anastasia Zueva of Russia by nearly 2 seconds, an eternity in the swimming pool.  Franklin's American teammate Elizabeth Beisel won the bronze medal.  Franklin, the breakout star of these Olympic games, had already won gold in the 100 backstroke and 4x200 freestyle relay, silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay, and qualified for the finals of the 100 and 200 freestyles.

Men's 100 Meter Butterfly:

Michael Phelps (Reuters)

By winning the 100 Meter Butterfly, likely the final individual event of his swimming career, Michael Phelps further cemented his legacy as arguably the greatest Olympian of all time.  The victory gave Phelps his 17th Olympic gold medal and 21st overall Olympic medal, by far the most by any athlete in the history of the Olympic games.  Phelps became the first swimmer to ever win two individual events in three consecutive Olympics. 

At the halfway point of the race, victory appeared to be far from certain for Phelps, who was 7th at the turn.  In the final 50 meters, Phelps charged ahead to the lead, as he has often done in his illustrious career, winning with a time of 51.21, nearly a second and a half off his world record in the event.  Chad Le Clos of South Africa, who shockingly defeated Phelps in the 200 butterfly, tied for the silver medal with Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia.  On the podium, Le Clos told Phelps that he had long looked up to Phelps as his hero, and the two embraced in a moment that demonstrated Phelps' far reaching impact on the sport of swimming.

Women's 800 Meter Freestyle:

Katie Ledecky (Toni L. Sandys/Washington Post)

Katie Ledecky, the 15 year old swimming phenom from Bethesda, Maryland, won the gold medal in the 800 freestyle.  Ledecky's meteoric rise to Olympic champion has included over 15 seconds of improvement in the 800 since the beginning of the year.  Ledecky burst out to a shockingly fast speed in the 800, pushing well ahead of defending Olympic champion and world record holder Rebecca Addlington of Great Britain.  Ledecky never let up, held her form and won the gold with a time of 8:14.63, only half a second off of the world record.  At this point in the evening, the United States had swept the gold medals, and continued to exert its dominance in the swimming world.  Mareia Belmonte Garcia of Spain won the silver medal, her second of these games, and Addlington took home the bronze. 

Men's 50 Meter Freestyle:

Florent Manadou of France won the 50 freestyle, the shortest Olympic event, with a time of 21.34.  Cullen Jones of the United States had a terrific performance in winning the silver medal, and world record holder Cesar Cielo Filho of Brazil claimed the bronze.  Manadou entered the Olympics with only the 10th fastest time in the world this year, but surprisingly came out on top.  His sister Laure was the gold medalist in the 400 free at the 2004 games in Athens.

Cullen Jones, Florent Manadou, Cesar Cielo Filho (Al Bello/ Getty Images)

Day 6 of Swimming at the 2012 London Olympics

Women's 200 Meter Breaststroke:

Rebecca Soni (Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images)

American Rebecca Soni set yet another world record in the 200 meter breaststroke with a time of 2:19.59.  Soni, tearing across the pool in her trademark pink suit, became the first swimmer at the London games to repeat as champion in an individual event.  Satomi Suzuki of Japan won the silver medal and Russia's Yulia Efimova, Soni's training partner in California, won the bronze.

Men's 200 Meter Backstroke:

Tyler Clary (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Day 6 of the Olympics for Ryan Lochte, in which he swam the finals of both the 200 backstroke and 200 IM with under 30 minutes of rest in between, was supposed to be the day in which he was to be coroneted as the world's greatest swimmer.  Lochte was attempting to be the first man in over 35 years to capture two individual golds in the same night.  Lochte appeared primed to repeat as Olympic champion in the 200 backstroke, and grabbed an early lead in the event.  Lochte led the race through the final turn, however, never pulled far away from the competition.  In the final 25 meters of the swim, Lochte weakened and was passed by both American teammate Tyler Clary  and Ryosuke Irie of Japan.  Clary, the gold medal winner, set a new Olympic record with his time of 1:53.41.  Irie's silver medal was Japan's 9th swimming medal of these games.  Lochte's bronze medal had to have been disappointing for him, but he graciously smiled on the podium and realized that winning an Olympic medal is nothing to take for granted.  Israel's Yakov Toumarkin finished 7th in the finals, the greatest achievement in Israeli swimming history.

Men's 200 Meter Individual Medley:

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte
 (Mark Duncan/AP)

The 200 IM was the single most anticipated and dramatic event of these Olympic games, featuring the second showdown between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.  Lochte, the world record holder in the 200 IM, had won the first battle between the two by blowing away the field in the 400 IM on day 1 of the Olympics.  Before the second showdown, both swimmers were under excruciating pressure, not having performed quite as well as they had hoped in the London games.  When Phelps was called out of the waiting room he appeared more physically nervous and stressed out than he ever has been before a race.  Lochte had just finished swimming the 200 backstroke, disappointingly failing to defend his title as Olympic champion, and was granted special permission to cool down in the diving well. 

The 200 IM would be the final chapter in the greatest swimming rivalry of all time.  Phelps got off to an incredible start and was under world record pace in the first half of the swim.  In the butterfly leg of the swim, Phelps' strongest stroke, he took a slight lead as expected.  In the subsequent 50 meters of backstroke, Phelps really exerted himself, surprisingly extending his lead over Lochte, with the knowledge that if he allowed Lochte to come back, Lochte would likely win the race.  Lochte was unable to catch up to Phelps in the breaststroke leg of the swim, and by the time he began to make up for lost ground in the final freestyle portion of the event, it was too late.  

Michael Phelps with the gold medal
Ryan Lochte with the silver
(Reuters)

Phelps held on to win the gold medal, his record breaking 20th Olympic medal, and became the first male swimmer to ever win a gold medal in an individual event at three consecutive Olympics.  Phelps' time of 1:54.27 was only 0.04 off the world record he set in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, proving that his supposed demise had been greatly exaggerated.  Lochte's silver medal was the 11th Olympic medal of his career, moving him up to a tie for second behind Phelps on the all time Olympic medal list among US male athletes.  Lochte leads all athletes at the London games with 5 medals.

Laszlo Cseh of Hungary won the bronze medal, the 5th Olympic medal of his career.  Had Cseh swum in any other era he would be a multiple gold medal winner.  His tremendous career is overshadowed by Phelps and Lochte, who swam all of the same events as the Hungarian.

Women's 100 Meter Freestyle:

Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands won the 100 meter Freestyle.  Her time of 53.00 set a new Olympic record.  Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus won the silver medal, her country's second at the London games.  Yi Tang of China took the bronze.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo (Matt Slocum/AP)

Day 4 of Swimming at the 2012 London Olympics

Women's 200 Meter Freestyle:

Allison Schmitt (AP)

The United States' Allison Schmitt, a product of the University of Georgia who trained with Michael Phelps and coach Bob Bowman in Baltimore in preparation for the Olympic games, submitted on the most dominant  and gutsiest performances of the Olympics thus far.  Schmitt strategically decided to pull ahead of the field early in the race, taking a full body length lead after the first 100 meters of the race.  None of her competitors were willing to challenge Schmitt early in the race, and by the time they picked up the pace, Schmitt was too far ahead for anyone to catch her.  Schmitt's time of 1:53.61 set a new Olympic record.  Camille Muffat of France, the gold medalist in the 400 freestyle, took the silver medal.

Men's 200 Meter Butterfly:

Chad Le Clos and Michael Phelps
(Reuters)

Michael Phelps of the United States was attempting to become the first swimmer to ever win the same event in three consecutive Olympics.  After Phelps' poor performance in the 400 IM, many wondered whether Phelps was still capable of producing the kind of performances he frequently displayed at the past two Olympics, in which he combined for 14 gold medals.  Despite leading from the beginning of the race, Phelps was never able to pull far away from Takeshi Matsuda of Japan and Chad Le Clos of South Africa.  While in the past Phelps would have broken far away from his competitors in the final 75 meters of the swim, this incarnation of Phelps lacked the same strong finish.  Although Phelps seemingly had yet another gold medal in the books, he was too far from the wall at the time that he took his final stroke.  While Phelps glided into wall, Le Clos properly timed his finish and was able to outtouch Phelps by five one hundredths of a second.  Le Clos stopped the clock with a time of 1:52.96, claiming another gold medal for South Africa which has had a tremendous start to the London games.  Matsuda took home the bronze medal.

Women's 200 Meter Individual Medley:

Ye Shiwen (Reuters)

China's Ye Shiwen, the gold medalist in the 400 IM, was caught in the midst of a tight race at the 150 meter mark of the 200 IM.  The 16 year old had yet another fantastic finish, pulling far away from the field in the freestyle leg of the swim.  Ye broke an Olympic record with her time of 2:07.57.  Alicia Coutts of Australia was the silver medalist, and the United States' Caitlin Leverenz took home the bronze.

Men's 4x200 Meter Freestyle Relay:

Michael Phelps and the United States' men's 4x 200 freestyle relay team destroyed the competition, keeping up the American tradition of dominating the event.  Ryan Lochte led off for the United States and made a superb field look ordinary by using his extraordinary turns to take a full body length lead over the field.  Connor Dwyer and Ricky Berens followed, with each one extending the lead.  By the time Phelps hopped in to swim the anchor leg for the U.S. there was no doubt that the Americans would add to their gold medal tally.  After winning the gold medal, Phelps' career Olympic medal count stands at 19, the most ever, adding to his legacy as the greatest Olympian of all time.  Yannick Agnel of France and Sun Yang of China, anchored for their countries, claiming the silver and bronze medals respectively

Michael Phelps, Connor Dwyer, Ryan Lochte and Ricky Berens
(USA Today)

Day 2 of Swimming at the London Olympics

Dana Vollmer

Women's 100 Meter Butterfly:

American Dana Vollmer had a breathtaking performance in winning the gold medal in the 100 meter butterfly.  The Berkeley based swimmer stopped the clock at 55.98, setting her first ever individual world record.  Vollmer, the world, pan pacific and now Olympic champion, pulled away from the field in the last 50 meters of the race and defeated silver medalist Lu Ying of China by nearly a second.  Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom, the previous world record holder who won the event at the 2009 world championships as a 16 year old, failed to medal placing 4th in the event.  Alicia Coutts of Australia won the bronze medal.

Men's 100 Meter Breaststroke:

Cameron Van Der Burgh

South Africa's Cameron Van Der Burgh opened the 100 meter breaststroke at a blistering speed and never looked back.  The gold medal winner set a new world record with an incredible time of 58.46.  Van Der Burgh had previously dedicated his swim to his good friend Alexander Dale Oen of Norway, the defending world champion in the event, who died earlier this year.  Christian Sprenger of Australia tok the silver medal and the bronze medal went to Brendan Hansen, the American who recently returned from retirement.  Japan's Kosuke Kitajima was gunning for his third straight Olympic gold medal in the event, and will have another chance to try to become the first swimmer to ever win an event in three straight Olympics later this week in the 200 meter breaststroke.

Women's 400 Meter Freestyle:

Camille Muffat

Camille Muffat of France and Allison Schmitt of the U.S. swam well ahead of the field for the entire duration of the 400 meter freestyle.  Schmitt, who trains in Baltimore with Michael Phelps under coach Bob Bowman, was unable to keep up with Muffat in the last 75 meters and claimed the silver medal.  Muffat's gold medal winning performance set a new Olympic record at 4:01.45.  Great Britain's Rebecca Addlington the defending champion, was willed to the bronze medal by the wildly cheering fans.

Men's 4x100 Meter Freestyle Relay:

The American 4x100 meter freestyle relay team appeared to be cruising towards the gold medal, before a wild finish changed everything.  In the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the French led the Americans by nearly a second before the final leg of the relay, in which Jason Lezak shockingly came back to keep Michael Phelps' quest for 8 gold medals alive.  This time around, it was the Americans who had a substantial lead over the field prior to the anchor leg.  Nathan Adrian opened the swim for the Americans, followed by Phelps who swam his fastest ever 100 meter freestyle and took a full body length lead over the field.  By the time Cullen Jones finished the third leg of the relay, Ryan Lochte, the anchor, seemingly had a guaranteed victory.  Yannick Agnel, the anchor for the French, incredibly overtook Lochte to claim the gold medal for the French, who had been waiting four years for a chance at revenge.   The relay of Clement Lefert, Amaury Leveraux, Fabien Gilot and Agnel delivered France its first ever gold medal in the event.

French 4x100 freestyle relay team

Day 1 of Swimming at the 2012 London Olympics

Men's 400 Meter IM:

Ryan Lochte

American Ryan Lochte's absolutely dominant performance in the 400 IM was the main headline of day 1 of the London Olympics.  Lochte's time of 4:05.18 blew away the field, defeating Brazilian silver medalist Thiago Pereira by nearly three and a half seconds.  Lochte was first from the opening leg of the swim, and pulled far away from the field in the backstroke leg of the event.  Lochte's world-renowned flip turns gave him a huge advantage over the opposition.  The first major shock of the Olympics was that American Michael Phelps, the two time defending Olympic champion and world record holder in the event, did not medal, placing 4th.  17 year old Kosuke Hagino of Japan who had the fastest time in the preliminaries won the bronze medal. 

Men's 400 Meter Freestyle:

Sun Yang

China's Sun Yang won the gold medal in the 400 Freestyle with a time of 3:40.14, missing out on breaking Paul Biedermann's world record in the event by under 0.1 seconds.  South Korea's Park Taehwan, the defending Olympic champion, led for the first 300 meters and won the silver medal.  Park was disqualified in the preliminaries of the event, however after video review was reinstated in the finals of the event.  The U.S.'s Peter Vanderkaay won the bronze medal in what will likely be his final Olympics.

Women's 400 Meter IM:

Ye Shiwen

China's Ye Shiwen put on a tremendous show in winning the gold medal in the 400 IM.  The 16 year old broke Stephanie Rice's world record with a time of 4:28.43.  At the 300 meter mark American Elizabeth Beisel had a full body length lead over Ye, who's unbelievable finish left the silver medalist Beisel a full three body length's behind by the end.  Shwen's final 50 meters of freestyle were incredibly even faster than those of Ryan Lochte, the winner of the men's 400 IM.

Women's 4x100 Meter Freestyle relay:

The Australian women won the gold medal with the Netherlands coming in second place.  Despite having the lead after 300 meters, the American women were passed in the final leg of the relay by both international swimming powers.  The Americans have not won this event since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Australian 4x100 freestyle relay team