OUR failure to win a medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay is our greatest swimming disaster in a rich history that dates back to Fanny Durack winning gold at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.
Our men went into the event with the two fastest 100m swimmers this year in James Magnussen and James Roberts, plus a former world record holder in Eamon Sullivan and a fine swimmer in Matt Targett.
But gold turned to tin from the second 50m of the event when lead-out swimmer “Missile” Magnussen failed to produce his usual acceleration, leaving us second behind the US when Targett took off.
JAMES Magnussen headlines a big second day of action from London as Australia looks to add to its gold medal tally.
Leisel Jones powers through the water during her 100m breaststroke heat. Picture: Brett Costello.
Olympic Games, London, Day 2 heats:
Women’s 100m backstroke
Well, that woke everyone up. Emily Seebohm (AUS) just clocked 58.23, an Olympic record, in the 4th heat of the 100m backstroke. The times is just 0.11sec outside the world mark held by Gemma Spofforth (GBR).
Spofforth, looking stronger than she has for a long time, was on 1:00.05 in the next heat, with Anastasia Zueva (RUS) on 59.88, Julia Wilkinson (CAN), also under the minute, Rachel Bootsma (USA) just over it.
Melissa Franklin (USA), who had been the swiftest in the world so far this year, cruised through in 59.37 at the helm of the last heat, with Belinda Hocking (AUS), on 59.61, Aya Terakawa (JPN) on 59.82. The cut off for the semis: 1:00.25.
- Swimming was one of the sports held at the first Modern Olympic Games at Athens 1896 with men competing in four events - the 100m, 500m and 1,500m Freestyle and the ‘sailor’s 100m Freestyle’, the latter was only open to members of the Greek Royal Navy.
- The sport is now one of the most popular at the Games with 34 medal events and athletes from 21 countries reaching the podium in 2008.
- Individual races are held in four strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly) as well as a combination of the four called individual medley (IM).
- Swimmers’ speed has gradually quickened in line with improvements in kit and a greater focus on the mechanics of technique. USA’s Johnny Weismuller was the first to swim 100m Freestyle under a minute in 1922 while another American, Jim Montgomery, became the first person to dip under 50 seconds in the same event in 1976 while the current world record belongs to Brazil’s Cesar Cielo at 46.91
Japan Nationals and Olympic Trials, Tokyo, Day 2 Finals and Semis:
The triple crown dream is alive in Kosuke Kitajima after the double Olympic champion of 2004 and 2008 booked his ticket to a date with defence at the London 2012 Games in a national and Asian record of 58.90 over 100m breaststroke at Japan nationals at the Tatsumi International Pool in Tokyo.
The time gets inside the 58.91 in which he retained the 2008 Olympic crown in Beijing at a time when non-textile booster suits were allowed to make a huge impact on speed. Only Alex Dale One, on 58.71 for the world title in Shanghai last year, has ever swum faster without the aid of a suit.
Spring 2012, time for a quadruple Olympic champion to ready himself for another sweeping summer season, one that could write his name into history as the first man ever to win the same Olympic swimming crown at three Games, successive or otherwise.
The most successful breaststroke specialist ever, Kosuke Kitajima, gold over 100m and 200m in 2004 and 2008 behind him, set off well this morning with a heats effort of 1:00.23 at Japanese nationals in Tokyo.
Like Ian Thorpe in Athens and Michael Phelps in Beijing, the American swimmer Ryan Lochte could dominate the pool in London this summer, and is planning to bring home a pile of gold to match his diamond-studded smile.
Shanghai, July 2011. The men’s 200m freestyle final at the World Aquatics Championships. Ripping off his goggles, Ryan Lochte checks the clock and punches the air. He reaches over the rope and clasps Michael Phelps’s hand. He has just beaten his biggest rival for the first time in a major tournament. Then Lochte beats him again, in the 200m individual medley (IM), setting a new world record for the first time since performance-enhancing suits were banned. Then he wins gold in the 200m backstroke, and the 400m IM, beating his nearest rival by more than four seconds. He wins a fifth gold in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay. In December he is named Fina World Swimmer of the Year…
Michael Klim qualifies 11th fastest for the Men’s 100m Freestyle (although pictured doing butterfly) semis at the 2012 Energy Australia Swimming Championships.
James Magnussen qualifies fastest in 48.26, with Matthew Targett second in 48.85, Tommaso D’orsogna 49.18, Eamon Sullivan 49.29, Matthew Abood 49.33, Cameron McEvoy 49.39, James Roberts 49.45, Cameron Prosser 49.57, Kenneth To 49.61, Michael Klim in 49.79, Andrew Abood in 50.00, Andrew Lauterstein 50.90, Tom Barratt 50.10, Luke Kerswell 50.14 and Nicholas Ffrost in 50.16.
Ian Thorpe finishes 21st in 50.35, ending his Olympic campaign.
IOC campaign “Best of Us” asks all youths to share their best
Anchored by this “The Yellow Line” commercial featuring Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, the Olympic Committee encourages all young athletes to record and submit videos of “their personal best” to the web site olympic.org/showyourbest, and to vote on other submitted videos. The site will include a “mash-up creator” which takes the user-submitted videos and mixes them with footage from Olympic Games past, available on the Games’ Facebook page, channels on YouTube and Chinese video hosting service Youku. With the chance to win gadgets and ultimately a trip to the London 2012 Olympics. Via The New York Timesand bigleadsports
Hi Megan
Shut up and take my hand
Swimming is life
Hey, it's Mel :)
♍☮☯⚓∞✝
Here be dragons
