On
the other side of the coin, some medal contenders found themselves right on the
bubble to advance, either in or out. 200 free winner Yannick Agnel has become a
favorite in the 100 free, but he narrowly made the semi-finals; his 48.93 put
him into the next round with less than a tenth of a second to spare. Ellen
Gandy, the British favorite who won silver at last year’s Worlds, finished 17th
and out in the women’s 200 fly, while defending silver medalist Brenton Rickard
barely advanced in the men’s 200 breast. Medal contender Russia then proceeded
to finish tenth in the 800 free relay.
Despite
some of the surprising and other disappointing performances this morning, we
need to wait for semi-finals to see how much the athletes held back this
morning. At this point in the meet, prelims swims mean less than they did back
on the first few days. One swim, though, stood out to me this morning: after
Brazil missed the final in the 400 free relay when they rested Cesar Cielo in
prelims, Cielo didn’t kick off his Olympics until his prelim heat of the men’s
100 free this morning. Cielo, though, didn’t exactly kick off his meet in
style, finishing fifth in his heat 48.67.
In
Cielo’s heat, American Nathan Adrian did not get off to the best start, but he
just destroyed the field after that, and he held off Gideon Louw to win his
heat in 48.19, which turned out to be the top time after prelims. After only
two swims, Adrian has gotten his Olympics off to a very good start. He beat the
likes of James Magnussen leading off the 400 free relay, finally breaking the
elusive 48-second barrier, and he’s carrying that momentum into the 100 free.
Adrian disappointingly found himself off the podium at Worlds last year, and he
obviously hopes to avoid a repeat. Expect a tough, fast field in the final, but
Adrian’s star has risen.
Charlie
Houchin, Matt McLean, Davis Tarwater, and Conor Dwyer swam away from the field
in the prelims of the 800 free relay, securing lane four once again for the
U.S. France, though, still has their ace to play; Agnel swam a 1:43.14 to win
the 200 free last night, a time no one else in London can match. France swam
Jeremy Stravius, Gregory Mallet, Amaury Leveaux, and Clement Lefert in prelims,
and they can’t go wrong with using any three along with Agnel. That foursome
will push the Americans for gold. Meanwhile, look for a Sun Yang-led Chinese
squad to battle a Paul Biedermann-led German team for bronze, especially in the
absence of the usually-prominent Russians.
The
Americans still have yet to show what Michael Phelps can swim in his 200 free,
but he looked fantastic on the 400 free relay, splitting a fast 47.15. Phelps
needs to put out a fast time today if the Americans want to win a third-straight
gold. Ryan Lochte will swim on the relay, and technically, Conor Dwyer and
Ricky Berens should join the pair in finals. Berens finished ninth in the 200
free, while Dwyer threw down a blazing 1:45.52 split today. However, the
American coaches could still go with Peter Vanderkaay, the bronze medalist in
the 400 free who did not technically qualify for the relay. As always, tough
decisions to make.
Did
anyone see that Missy Franklin won the 100 back gold last night? Yeah, I
figured you might have. After NBC spoiled the result minutes before they showed
the final. Of course, the network made up by helping Franklin meet her parents
for the first time in weeks after the final. Then, the Today Show highlighted
Franklin this morning. Clearly, the media has placed a great deal of hype among
Franklin and for good reason; America has fallen in love with this 17 year old
phenom.
Everyone
who watched NBC’s Olympic prime time coverage saw Franklin’s tough but
perfectly-navigated double. Teens relate to the bubbly 17 year old high school
senior who enjoys spending time with her friends. Adults marvel at her poise
and genuine respect and appreciation. That performance last night amazed the
world; the nation let out a collective “aww” when tears welled up in Franklin’s
eyes in the pool and then on the podium. Her first Olympic gold meant so much;
what a touching moment.
As
always, time to finish up with some more predictions.
Women’s
200 Free
1.
Allison Schmitt
2.
Camille Muffat
3.
Federica Pellegrini
Men’s
200 Fly
1.
Michael Phelps
2.
Takeshi Matsuda
3.
Dinko Jukic
Women’s
200 IM
1.
Ye Shiwen
2.
Alicia Coutts
3.
Caitlin Leverenz
Men’s
800 Free Relay
1.
United States
2.
France
3. Germany
3. Germany
 |
| Caitlin Leverenz tied for sixth in the 400 IM and hopes to improve on that in today's final of the 200 IM. |
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