Here’s a brief rundown of how the Swim Stars did during the first full day of Olympic action in Beijing.
The first event was the men’s 400 IM, where defending gold medalist and reigning World Record Holder Michael Phelps got the night started off with a bang, bettering his own global mark to 4:03.84. Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh hit in 4:06.16 to garner the silver, followed by Ryan Lochte’s bronze medal-winning 4:08.09.
The next event was the women’s 100 Fly semifinals where Australia’s Libby Trickett emerged the top qualifier for the final after a 57.05 swim. Team USA’s Christine Magnuson qualified 2nd in 57.08 and Elaine Breeden’s 58.55 earned her the 2nd alternate spot for the final.
Larsen Jensen scored the second medal for Team USA with a 3rd place finish in the men’s 400 Free. He lowered his own American Record to 3:42.78. The win went to Tae whan Park after a 3:41.86 performance, while China’s Lin Zhang scored the silver in 3:42.44. Peter Vanderkaay was just one spot from the podium, finishing 4th with a career best 3:43.11.
Australia’s Stephanie Rice became the first women under 4:30 in the women’s 400 IM. She shattered Katie Hoff’s world mark from June with a blistering 4:29 finish. Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry also turned in a sub-4:30 race, touching the wall in 4:29.89. Katie Hoff rounded out the medal winners with the bronze (4:31.71) just ahead of Elizabeth Beisel’s 4:34.24.
Both Brendan Hansen and Mark Gangloff advanced to the men’s 100 Breast final after respective times of 59.94 and 1:00.44. The top qualifier was Norway’s Alexander Dale Oen, who set a new Olympic Record with a 59.16 swim.
The final event of the session was the women’s 400 Free Relay. Team USA — comprised of Natalie Coughlin, Lacey Nymeyer, Kara Lynn Joyce, and Dara Torres — claimed the silver medal for the US with a new American Record setting performance of 3:34.33. The reigning World Record Holding team from the Netherlands took the gold in 3:33.76; a new Olympic Record. Australia secured the bronze with a combined 3:35.05.