Over
the second half of the swimming competition, though, things have picked up for
the U.S. Starting with the men’s 100 free on Wednesday and lasting through the
women’s 800 free today, the Americans won eight of nine gold medals awarded.
First off tonight, Missy Franklin won gold in the women’s 200 back. Most
expected Franklin to win gold fairly comfortably and potentially challenge
Kirsty Coventry’s world record of 2:04.81. The normally-fast-finishing Franklin
didn’t wait long to take over the race, touching first at the 50. Less than a
tenth off world record-pace, Franklin stormed away from Coventry’s pace on her
way to an unbelievable 2:04.06.
No
one could come close to Franklin the whole way, and the rest of the seven
competitors set their sights on silver. Anastasia Zueva, previously the
second-fastest swimmer all-time, overtook Elizabeth Simmonds halfway through
the race and held off Elizabeth Beisel for silver with a 2:05.92. Beisel, meanwhile,
took bronze in 2:06.55; this time, when she embraced the victor Franklin, she
did so with her customary smile, not the disgusted expression she featured
after a disappointing finish at Worlds last summer. Meanwhile, Coventry’s distinguished
career most likely came to a close with a sixth-place finish in 2:08.18.
In
my blog this morning, I predicted Michael Phelps to destroy the field in the
men’s 100 fly and record an outstanding time; Phelps got his gold and the
second threepeat ever for a man, but he won the race in ugly fashion. Going out
in seventh place, Phelps needed his patented closing finish to win in 51.21,
much slower than the 50.86 he swam in the semi-finals. Chad Le Clos, meanwhile,
continued his outstanding meet to tie Evgeny Korotyshkin for silver in 51.44,
while Milorad Cavic’s comeback from injury ended with a fourth-place time of
51.81; he took the race out fast, as expected, but he didn’t have quite enough
to hang on for a medal.
The
gold medal winners in the night’s first two events shocked no one; right on
schedule, Katie Ledecky reminded the world just how shockingly these Olympics
have turned out. Rebecca Adlington started the race as the top qualifier and
huge crowd favorite, though many expected 2009 World Champion Lotte Friis to
give her a fight, just like she did at Worlds last year. Meanwhile, Ledecky,
the 15 year old American had a great shot as a medal after her blazing 8:19.78
at U.S. Olympic Trials. Ledecky shocked the crowd at Trials when she took the
race out with blazing speed and had enough left to hold onto that pace the
whole way.
Ledecky
employed the same strategy tonight, leading the way out, except for flipping
second at the 100 behind Friis. When she pulled a bodylength ahead, I pulled up
her results from Trials and noticed that she had obliterated those splits. After
swimming her best time in the 400 along the way with a 4:04.34, Ledecky hung
onto world record-pace until the last 50, but she finished up in 8:14.63, the
second-fastest time ever and well under Janet Evans’ legendary American record
of 8:16.22, a mark which lasted 23 years. Ledecky could have a huge future
ahead of her, having dropped more than ten seconds off her best time in the
last five weeks.
Adlington,
meanwhile, overtook Friis and swam in second place for most of the race before
Spain’s Mireia Belmonte overtook her and swam to a surprise silver medal.
Belmonte touched in 8:18.76 for her second medal of the Games following her
silver in the 200 fly. Adlington, meanwhile, earned bronze, her second of the
Games, in 8:20.32. After facing years of pressure, Adlington fell short of the
high expectations her home nation had for her, but she graciously accepted her
medal and posed for pictures with Ledecky, tears in her eyes. The crowd, though,
lifted her with the chant of “BECKY! BECKY!” as one of the greats of British
swimming walked off the pool deck.
The
men’s 50 free finished off the night. Entering that race, the U.S. had won
eight of the last nine golds awarded in the pool, but Cesar Cielo entered the
race as the big favorite. Americans Cullen Jones and Anthony Ervin walked out
for the Olympic final in lanes five and three, respectively, with perhaps the
best upset shot. With Cielo’s Brazlian teammate Bruno Fratus in lane six, the
world had their eyes focused on America and Brazil. Frenchman Florent Manaudou
had other thoughts though, blasting out in front from the start and comfortably
winning gold in 21.34.
Manaudou
shocked the world to earn the gold, but most swimming enthusiasts know the
name; the brother of 2004 gold medalist Laure, Manaudou’s sister raced out onto
the pool deck to embrace her brother after the swim of his life. Jones,
meanwhile earned his first individual Olympic medal with a silver, matching his
semi-final time of 21.54; that marks a huge improvement for Jones over the form
we saw at Worlds last year, where he didn’t even get into the semi-finals. Meanwhile
Cielo had to settle for third in a very disappointing time of 21.59, while
Ervin’s comeback didn’t work out as he had hoped, and he settled for fifth.
One
last semi-final wrapped up qualifying for these Olympic Games in the women’s 50
free. Ranomi Kromowidjojo remains the huge favorite, leading the way into the
final at 24.07. Kromowidjojo qualified more than four tenths ahead of anyone
else, with 100 free runner-up Aliaksandra Herasimenia picking up the second
spot in 24.45. Defending gold medalist Britta Steffen got into the final, as
did World Champ Therese Alshammar, who squeazed into the eighth spot. Jessica
Hardy also qualified for the final in an outside lane, and she goes for a medal
tomorrow after putting up a 24.68 in the semi-finals.
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