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 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 5 of Swimming at the 2012 London Olympics

Men's 200 Meter Breaststroke:

Daniel Gyurta (Matt Slocum/AP)

Daniel Gyurta of Hungary has come a long way since winning the silver medal in the 200 Breaststroke as a wide-eyed 15-year old at the 2004 Athens Olympics.  Gyurta had an extremely disappointing Beijing Olympics four years ago, failing to medal in his signature event, and failing to qualify for even the semifinals in the 100 breaststroke.  This time around Gyurta performed to his full capability, setting a new world record in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:07.28.  Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, who was attempting to become the first swimmer to ever win the same event in three consecutive Olympics, charged ahead of the field in the first half of the swim well ahead of world record pace.  Gyurta did not panic and instead swam a strategic race, charging back like a freight train in the final 100 meters of the swim to win his first ever Olympic gold medal.  Michael Jamieson of Great Britain was willed to a silver medal by the fervor of the wildly cheering London crowd.  Kitajima, who had won every individual breaststroke event at the previous two Olympics, was passed for the bronze medal by his countryman Ryo Tateishi in the final meters of the swim.

Jiao Liuyang (David Gray/Reuters)

Women's 200 Meter Butterfly:

Jiao Liuyang of China won the 200 Butterfly with a time of 2:04.05.  Jiao, the silver medalist in Beijing continued the Chinese dominance of the event by pushing past Mareia Belmonte-Garcia of Spain in the final 25 meters of the swim to win the gold medal.

Men's 100 Meter Freestyle:

Nathan Adrian (Martin Bureau/Getty Images)

The 100 meter freestyle is the single most prestigious event in swimming competition.  This year's stacked field only added to the drama and intensity of the race.  The competitors included Yannick Agnel, the French national hero from the 4x100 freestyle relay and gold medal winner in the 200 freestyle, Cesar Cielo Filho, the Brazilian world record holder and 2009 world champion in the event, James "The Missile" Magnussen, the Australian defending world champion in the event, Nathan Adrian, the fastest American in the event, and Brent Hayden, the Canadian record holder and 2007 world champion. 

Nathan Adrian's finish (NBC)

The event certainly lived up to expectations and proved to be one of the most memorable races in recent memory and an instant classic.  Adrian got off to a furiously fast start with his arms churning at unimaginable speeds.  Adrian began to slow down in the second 50 and Magnussen surged ahead to take the lead going into the wall.  When Adrian had finished swimming, he was certain that Magnussen had out touched him.   One quick glance up at the scoreboard allowed him to let out a roar of victory.  Adrian had won the gold medal with a time of 47.52, defeating Magnussen by the slimmest of margins, only one 100th of a second.  Adrian's victory denied Australia of an opportunity to win its first individual swimming gold medal of these Olympic games.  Adrian is the first American to win the event since Matt Biondi in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  Hayden took home the bronze medal.

Women's 4x200 Freestyle Relay:

American relay (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The American women's 4x200 freestyle relay matched its male counterpart in dominating the event and claimed yet another gold medal for the United States.  By the time that Allison Schmitt, the gold medalist in the 200 freestyle, dived in to anchor for the United States, both the Americans and Australians had pulled far ahead of the field.  Schmitt had yet another incredible swim, helping her relay teammates Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer and Shannon Vreeland set a new Olympic record and defeating the Australians by a full body length.

Additional Notes:

Women's 200 Meter Breaststroke Semifinals:

Rebecca Soni of the United States broke a world record with a time of 2:20.00.

Men's 200 Backstroke semifinals

Yakov Toumarkin of Israel qualified for the finals in the 200 Meter Backstroke becoming the first Israeli to qualify for the Olympic finals in swimming since Eitan Orbach in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Toumarkin (Getty Images)

Day 3 of Swimming at the London Olympics

Men's 200 Meter Freestyle:

Yannick Agnel (AP/David J Phillip)

The Men's 200 meter Freestyle was one of the most anticipated events of this year's Olympics and it certainly lived up to the billing.  The stacked field included American Ryan Lochte, the 400 IM gold medal winner, China's Sun Yang, the 400 Freestyle gold medal winner, South Korea's Park Taehwan, the 400 Freestyle silver medalist, German's Paul Biedermann, the world record holder, and France's Yannick Agnel, whose incredible comeback in the final leg of the 4x100 Freestyle relay secured the gold medal for France.  Agnel took the swim out at a blazing fast speed and was never caught, securing yet another gold medal for France.  Agnel stopped the clock at 1:43.14 and finished a full body length ahead of the field.  Park and Sun, both of whom train in Australia, tied for 2nd place to add silver medals to their impressive resumes.  Lochte missed the medal stand by only one tenth of a second.

Women's 100 Meter Backtroske:

Missy Franklin
(AP/David J Phillip)

Missy Franklin, the 17 year old from Colorado entered the London games with extremely high expectations, but even she could be excused for failing to perform in the finals of the 100 backstroke only 10 minutes after swimming in the semifinals of the 200 freestyle.  The six footer had a very poor start and fell far behind Emily Seebohm of Australia, the favorite after finishing the semifinals with the fastest time.  Franklin had a terrific finish and passed Seebohm in the final 10 meters to win the gold medal.  Franklin stopped the clock with a time of 58.33.  Aya Terakawa of Japan claimed the bronze medal.

Men's 100 Meter Backstroke:

Matt Grevers (Getty Images)

Matt Grevers of the United States won his first individual gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke.  Grevers set an Olympic record with his time of 52.16.  American Nick Thoman, whose grandfather was a swimming world record holder in the 1940's, joined his teammate, Grevers, atop the medal stand by claiming the silver medal.  Japan's Ryosuke Irie took home the bronze medal.

Women's 100 Meter Breaststroke:

Ruta Meilutyte, a 15 year old from Lithuania, won the gold medal in the 100 meter breaststroke, shocking the swimming world which expected American Rebecca Soni to win the event.  Meilutyte, who trains in England, stopped the clock at 1:05.47 winning Lithuania's first ever Olympic swimming  medal.  Soni, the world champion in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, finished only one tenth behind Meilutyte to claim a silver medal for the United States.

Ruta Meilutyte (Twitter/Ruta Meilutyte)