France overcomes Lochte, U.S. men in 4×100 relay
by Barry Svrluga
French team celebrates win in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. (Mark Terrill/AP Photo)
The French 4×100-meter relay team, devastated after throwing away an apparent gold medal four years ago, delivered a resounding answer Saturday night, taking the gold medal over an American team that had been handed a three-quarters of a second lead by Michael Phelps.
Ryan Lochte, fresh off his dominant gold medal-winning performance in Saturday night’s 400-meter individual medley, was overtaken in the final leg by Frenchman Yannick Agnel. Four years ago in Beijing, it was American anchor man Jason Lezak who stormed from behind to out-touch the French at the wall, giving Phelps one of his record eight gold medals.
This race started beautifully for the American team. Nathan Adrian handed a small lead to Phelps, who normally leads off but swam second Saturday. Phelps then crushed the competition, extending the U.S. advantage to 0.76 of a second. Cullen Jones maintained most of that lead on the third leg, and the Americans were up by .55 seconds when Lochte dove into the pool.
But Agnel, France’s best 100-meter swimmer, caught up to Lochte swiftly, and when Lochte turned for the final 50 meters, his advantage was scant. Agnel overtook him in the final 25 meters, and France celebrated a victory four years in the making, finishing in 3 minutes 9.93 seconds. The U.S. team finished in 3:10.38.
Dana Vollmer sets world record in 100 butterfly
by Amy Shipley
Dana Vollmer celebrates after breaking the world record in the women's 100m butterfly final on Sunday. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. swimmer Dana Vollmer set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly in the first race of Sunday’s Olympic swimming competition, exploding over the last 50 to come home in 55.98 seconds.
Vollmer went 0.08 of a second under the previous mark, set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom at the 2009 world championships in Rome — the height of the Supersuit era.
Vollmer, who was third at the turn, finished with a fury, topping China’s Lu Ying, who got the silver in 56.87, and Australia’s Alicia Coutts (59.94). She shook her fist when she realized she had gone under the world mark.
U.S. men's water polo edges Montenegro
Ryan Bailey of the United States reacts after scoring a goal against Montenegro in a preliminary water polo match. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
by Matt Brooks
The defending silver medalist U.S. men’s water polo team opening their London campaign with a 8-7 win over Montenegro.
Peter Varellas led the way with three goals while goalie Merrill Moses and the American defense did its part, holding Montenegro to just two goals in man-up situations. But the Montenegrans didn’t go quietly. After Varellas gave the U.S. a 7-5 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Aleksandar Ivovic scored to cut the deficit to a single goal with 2 minutes remaining.
With time with the clock winding below the one-minute mark Tony Azevedo rifled a shot into the left corner, but Vladimir Gojkovic answered for Montenegro.
Montenegro regained possession with 17 seconds left but failed to get a shot off amid one final gritty defensive stand from the Americans.
“Our defense is our No. 1 game, that’s what got us to the gold medal game last year and that’s what we live by,” Azevedo said in a post-game television interview with NBC.
The U.S. moved into a tie atop Group B with Serbia and Romania, who they play Tuesday.
Franklin is second qualifier in 100-meter back
by Barry Svrluga
Missy Franklin, the teen sensation from Colorado who appears poised to win multiple medals in London, qualified with the second-fastest time in the semifinals of the 100-meter backstroke Sunday night.
Franklin’s time of 59.12 in the first heat trailed only Australian Emily Seebohm, who swam a 58.39 that was just off the Olympic record Seebohm set in Sunday morning’s preliminary heats. Seebohm and Franklin will thus swim side-by-side in Monday night’s final, when Franklin could win the first Olympic medal of what is an exceptionally promising career.
Camille Muffat of France celebrates after winning gold in the women's 400-meter freestyle final. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Britain's first swim medal; Silver for American
With the crowd roaring for British legend Rebecca Adlington, France’s Camille Muffat won a tightly contested dual with U.S. swimmer Allison Schmitt to claim the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday night.
Adlington claimed Britain’s first medal in the pool, a bronze, with her finish in 4 minutes 3.01 seconds. Muffat got the gold in an Olympic record 4:01.45; Schmitt finished in 4:01.77 for the silver.
Another swimming world record is set
by Amy Shipley
South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh captured the third world record of the Olympic swimming competition on Sunday night, finishing the 100-meter breast stroke in 58.46 seconds as U.S. swimmer Brendan Hansen — who came out of retirement to compete here — claimed a bronze medal.
Van der Burgh went 0.12 of a second under the mark set in 2009 by Australia’s Brenton Rickard. Aussie Christian Sprenger got the silver in 58.93 as Hansen, competing in his first Olympic Games, snagged the bronze in 59.49.
Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa celebrates after winning the gold in the men's 100-meter breastsroke final. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Lochte advances to 200 free final
Ryan Lochte prepared to compete in the first semi final of the men's 200-meter freestyle. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
by Amy Shipley
Fewer than 90 minutes before he was scheduled to anchor the U.S. 4×100-meter relay team Sunday night, U.S. star Ryan Lochte advanced to Monday’s 200 freestyle final but posted only the fifth-best time.
Lochte, who will be seeking his second individual gold medal in the event, finished second to Germany’s Paul Biedermann in his semifinal, touching the wall in 1 minute 46.31 seconds as Biedermann got there in 1:46.10.
In the second semifinal, three swimmers went faster: China’s Sun Yang led in 1:45.61; France’s Yannick Agnel was second in 1:45.84; and South Korea’s Park Taehwan was third in 1:46.02.
Lochte will swim anchor on U.S. relay team
by Barry Svrluga
Ryan Lochte’s quest to surpass Michael Phelps as the dominant American swimmer will continue Saturday night in a new spot — as the anchor on the U.S. men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.
Lochte was tapped by his college coach from the University of Florida, Gregg Troy — who also serves as the head coach for the American men’s team — to swim the final leg. He will be preceded by Nathan Adrian, who will be followed by Phelps in the second leg and then Cullen Jones.
Jason Lezak, the 36-year-old sprinter who unforgettably came from behind to secure gold for the American team four years ago in Beijing, was left off the team in finals after he swam in the morning preliminary round.
Lochte, who already beat Phelps in the Olympics-opening 400-meter individual medley — a race in which Phelps swam poorly and finished off the podium — is now primed to become the centerpiece of the American swim team. Adrian has swam the final leg of several recent prominent meets for the U.S. team.
Ryan Lochte advances in 200 free, eyes 4×100 final
by Amy Shipley
Ricky Berens, top, Ryan Lochte, center, and China's Sun Yang men's 200-meter freestyle heats. (David Phillip/AP Photo)
A tired Ryan Lochte easily advanced in the morning heats of the 200-meter freestyle, finishing second overall to China’s Sun Yang, who topped the heats in 1 minute 46.24 seconds. Lochte came home in 1:46.45, ahead of France’s Yannick Agnel, 1:46.60.
“I just wanted to get in for tonight,” Lochte said, referring to the event’s semifinals Sunday. “The four IM kinda took a lot out of me last night.”
Lochte said he had no idea whether he would swim in the finals of the 4×100 relay Sunday night, though that seemed to be the case when Lochte’s coach Gregg Troy — also the U.S. Olympic team’s men’s coach — did not send him out to compete in the morning heats.
“At the end of the day, it’s a coach’s decision,” Lochte said. “I’ve just got to wait and see.”
Lochte was not selected to swim in the final of the 4×100 relay at the 2011 world championships, and the U.S. men’s team nabbed only the bronze.
Missy Franklin second in backstroke heats
by Amy Shipley
Missy Franklin competes in the women's 100-meter backstroke heats. (Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images)
Missy Franklin, 17, finished more than a second behind Australian Emily Seebohm in the 100-meter backstroke heats Sunday morning, hinting that Franklin will have a battle on her hands to win her first Olympic gold medal in the finals Monday night. Franklin, who had the fastest time in the world this year in the event entering these games (58.85 seconds), touched the wall in 59.37 as Seebohm claimed a new Olympic record with her finish in 58.23.
Seebohm’s time was the third fastest in history.
“I definitely know I can be faster, but that’s faster than I’ve ever been in the prelims,” said Franklin, who will compete in the event semifinals Sunday night. “I have no control over [Seebohm], what she does. I only have control over what I do.”
Franklin claimed a bronze medal Saturday as a member of the 4×100 women’s relay team.
Troy mum on 4×100 U.S. team
by Amy Shipley
Will Michael Phelps get a spot in the 4×100-meter men’s final Sunday night? Will Ryan Lochte? The coach of the U.S. team, Gregg Troy, isn’t saying. He said Sunday morning that he made his final decision after the 4×100 relay heats — a U.S. team of Jimmy Feigen (48.49 seconds), Matt Grevers (47.54), Ricky Berens (48.52), Jason Lezak (48.04) finished second to Australia — but would not reveal the Final Four.
“It’s always hard, whoever we pick,” Troy said. “We looked at all sides.”
It is hard. Nathan Adrian, who won the 100 free at the U.S. Olympic trials, is the only lock for the squad, though Troy wouldn’t even confirm his participation. Lochte, who blew away the field in the 400 medley and swam the 100 in the heats at trials, is also a virtual certainty to be included. Phelps, the team’s longtime lead off leg, is also likely, though he did not swim the 100 at trials and did not swim well in the 400 medley final, which could jeopardize his chances.
Cullen Jones, who finished second in the 100 free at trials, has a claim. Lezak, who swam the fastest relay leg in history to rescue the U.S. team in 2008, has a claim. Grevers, who swam fastest Sunday morning, very defiantly staked a claim.
“We weren’t definite on the relay until we considered what was going on today,” Troy said.
Troy said he had dinner last night with Phelps, Phelps’s coach Bob Bowman, Lochte and two other U.S. coaches.The group discussed the Chinese female 400 medley champion who swam a faster time in her freestyle leg than did Lochte, the men’s gold medalist. The Chinese woman, Ye Shiwen, set a new world record in the race.
“All I know at the moment was that was a heckuva split last night,” Troy said.
Lezak: Phelps should swim 4×100 final
by Amy Shipley
Shortly after helping the U.S. men advance to Sunday night’s final of the 4×100-meter relay in the morning’s preliminary round, longtime U.S. relay star Jason Lezak said he would put Michael Phelps in the night’s final despite his disappointing performance in the 400 medley final to open the Olympics.
“If I’m the coach, Michael’s on that relay, 100 percent,” Lezak said. “No question about that.”
Lezak, best known for his incredible relay leg on the gold-medal winning 2008 Olympic team, anchored a U.S. team that finished second to Australia in the heats. U.S. Olympic men’s coach has not announced the team that will swim in the finals, but U.S. 100 champion Nathan Adrian, Ryan Lochte and Phelps are good bets for three of the four sports. None swam in the preliminary round Sunday morning.
“None of us know what’s going on,” Lezak said. “We’ll see what happens tonight.”
Troy might be deciding who will claim the final of four spots from among those who swam Sunday morning — Lezak, who put out a 48.04 leg, James Feigen (48.49 as the leadoff), Matt Grevers (47.54), Ricky Berens (48.52) — and Cullen Jones, who finished second in the event at the U.S. trials. Lochte only swam in the prelims of the event at trials, and Phelps did not swim the event at all.
Lezak said his disappointing fourth-place finish in the 400 medley should not cost him a place in the relay final.
“Michael went 48.4 unshaved this year,” Lezak said. “He’s been on relays, leading off every year and doing really well. I don’t think it should be a question. If I’m the coach, I’m putting him on.”
Lochte marvels at female Chinese swimmer
by Amy Shipley
Ryan Lochte said he was up until 2 a.m. after winning the gold medal in the Olympic 400-meter individual medley Saturday night. A big topic of conversation? The performance of China’s Ye Shiwen, who set a world record in the women’s 400 medley Saturday.
Ye, who topped American Elizabeth Beisel, finished her final 50 meters freestyle faster than Lochte came home in his race. She sprinted the last 50 in 28.93 seconds, faster than Lochte’s 29.10 — and the times posted by three other men in the final.
“We were all talking about that at dinner last night,” Lochte said. “That’s pretty impressive. She’s fast. If she had been right there with me, she might have beaten me.”
Ye won her race in 4 minutes 28.43 seconds, surpassing Stephanie Rice’s 2008 world record of 4:29.45; Lochte claimed his title in 4:05.18.
Sunday medal events:
Women’s 100-meter butterfly (2:30 p.m.); men’s 100-meter breaststroke (3:11 p.m.); women’s 400-meter freestyle (3:18 p.m.); men’s 4×100-meter freestyle (4 p.m.).
American pair wins diving silver
by Tracee Hamilton
Kelci Bryant and Abigail Johnston took the silver medal Sunday in the synchronized 3-meter springboard competition at the Aquatics Centre.
Minxia Wu and Zi He of China won gold with 346.20 points. The American pair were second with 321.90. Jennifer Abel and Emilie Heymans of Canada won the bronze with 316.80 points, edging the Italian pair of Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dallape by less than three points.
The Chinese team swept all the golds in diving in Beijing four years ago.
In this event, eight pairs of divers complete five rounds of competition. A panel of 11 judges scores the dives and the highest total wins.
Miss any action? Read past live blogs: Opening Ceremony | Day 1 | Day 2