The night started with the women’s 50 Free final. In a thrilling finish, Germany’s Britta Steffen completed the sprint sweep, out touching Dara Torres (24.07) at the wall in 24.06, just .01 of a second. Australia’s Cate Campbell completed the podium with a 24.17 finish. Team USA’s Kara Lynn Joyce hit 6th in 24.63.

The next event was the men’s 1500, where Tunisia’s Ous Mellouli won his country’s first Olympic medal with a 14:40.84. Reigning 2-time 1500 gold medalist Grant Hackett settled for the silver, touching the wall in 14:41.53. Canada’s Ryan Cochrane locked up the bronze with a 14:42.69 effort. American Larsen Jensen completed his race in 14:48.16, giving him 5th overall.

The women’s medley relay crown went to Australia as they put together a blistering World Record effort of 3:52.69. Finishing just after the Aussies were the Team USA foursome of Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Christine Magnuson, and Dara Torres in 3:53.30; a new American Record. China picked up the bronze medal with a 3:56.11 finish.

The men also established a new World Record as they reversed the 1-2 finish from the women’s final. Team USA’s quarter of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, and Jason Lezak downed their own global mark with a 3:29.34 performance. The Aussie team challenged for the gold throughout the race before finishing second in 3:30.04. Japan’s relay surged to the lead during Kosuke Kitajima’s breaststroke leg and ended up claiming the bronze medal in 3:31.18.

With the win Phelps surpassed Mark Spitz as the owner of the most gold medals from a single Olympic Games with 8.

Share This

The first final of the session was the women’s 200 Back, where Kirsty Coventry claimed her first gold of the Beijing Games by smashing the World Record 2nd place Margaret Hoelzer (2:06.23) in 2:05.24. The bronze medal went to Japan’s Reiko Nakamura after a 2:07.13 showing. Elizabeth Beisel, the other American in the final, was 5th in 2:08.23.

Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington, already a gold medalist in the 400 Free, took down the oldest record in the books in the women’s 800 Free final. She shaved about 2 seconds off of Janet Evans mark, lowering it to 8:14.10. Cesar Cielo claimed gold for Brazil with a 21.30 that established a new Olympic Record. American Ben Wildman-Tobriner placed 5th after a 21.64 sprint.

Dara Torres leads all qualifiers into the women’s 50 Free final tomorrow after a 24.27 effort in the second semifinal heat. This just seconds after displaying a great deal of sportsmanship in getting the officials and other competitors to wait on Therese Alshammar, who had a “suit malfunction” just before leaving the ready room. Kara Lynn Joyce put up a 24.63 swim to qualify 7th for the final.

All that is left for tomorrow are the women’s 50 Free, men’s 1500 Free, and both medley relays.

Share This

The first gold and World Record came in the women’s 200 Breast where Rebecca Soni shocked the event favorite Leisel Jones, touching the wall in 2:20.22, the fastest time ever. Jones picked up the silver with a 2:22.05 swim, followed by Norway’s Sara Nordenstam (2:23.02).

The next final was the men’s 200 Back where joint World Record Holders Ryan Lochte and Aaron Peirsol were set to battle. In a thrilling finish, Ryan made it to the wall first with a new global standard of 1:53.94, just ahead of Aaron’s 1:54.33 which gave the US another 1-2 backstroke finish. The bronze medal went to Arkady Vyatchanin after a 1:54.93 performance.

The 3rd and final gold for Team USA was claimed by Michael Phelps in the 200 IM. He is 6-for-6 in his finals so far, all in World Record fashion. He stopped the clock in 1:54.23 for the win. Laszlo Cseh picked up his 3rd silver medal with a 1:56.52 finish, while Ryan Lochte scored his second individual medal of the session with a bronze medal-winning 1:56.53.

Natalie Coughlin repeated her Athens finish in the women’s 100 Free, taking bronze in 53.39. Britta Steffen (53.12 ) chased down Libby Trickett (53.16) to capture the gold and set a new Olympic Record.

Phelps took on a second event in the men’s 100 Fly semifinals. He qualified 2nd overall with a 50.97 output after winning the first semi heat. Ian Crocker also qualified for the final, turning in a swim of 51.27 in the second heat. The top seed will be Milorad Cavic, who clocked a swift 50.92 in Phelps’s heat.

In the 50 Free semi’s Ben Wildman-Tobriner moves on after a 21.76 sprint, while fellow American Garrett Weber-Gale just missed the cut with a 22.08 finish. Cesar Cielo posted the top time of 21.34, a new Olympic Record to lead all qualifiers.

Finally, both American swimmers will race for gold in the women’s 200 Back. Elizabeth Beisel advanced with a 2:07.90 along with current World Record Holder Margaret Hoelzer, who hit in 2:08.25. Kirsty Coventry pushed the pace in heat 2, swimming below world record pace for part of the race before shutting it down and cruising to a 2:07.76 finish. She will swim from Lane 4 tomorrow.

Share This

Up next was the women’s 100 Free semis, where World Record Holder Libby Trickett almost did not advance. She needed a disqualification of another swimmer in order to squeak in. Swim Star Natalie Coughlin topped all semifinalists with a 53.70 race. Teammate Lacey Nymeyer posted a 54.74 which did not qualify her for finals.

China grabbed the gold and silver medals in the women’s 200 Fly with World Record setting swims. Liu Zige registered a 2:04.18 for gold while teammate Jiao Liuyang took the silver in 2:04.72. Joining them on the podium was former World Record Holder Jessica Schipper (2:06.26). Americans Elaine Breeden and Kathleen Hersey closed out the feel 7th (2:07.57) and 8th (2:08.23), respectively.

France’s Alain Bernard out-dueled World Record Holder Eamon Sullivan for the men’s 100 Free gold. His time was 47.67 to Sullivan’s 47.32. Jason Lezak claimed his first individual Olympic medal as he captured the bronze with a 47.67 effort. Brazil’s Cesar Cielo also hit in 47.67, so he will also be awarded a bronze medal. This is the second bronze medal tie of these Games so far.

Team USA’s Rebecca Soni was the top performer of the women’s 200 Breast semifinals. She turned in a 2:22.64 and will swim from Lane 4 during tomorrow’s final. Australia’s Leisel Jones qualified second with a 2:23.04 swim. Amanda Beard did not make it out of the prelims, finishing 18th in 2:27.70.

Americans Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps clocked 200 IM semifinal times that were just .01 apart and will go into the final as the the respective first and second seeds. Behind them, Thiago Pereira (1:58.06) and Laszlo Cseh (1:58.19) will also push the pace as the next fastest qualifiers.

The night ended with a thrilling world record in the women’s 800 Free Relay where all of the podium finishers went under the old US global mark. Australia took 6 seconds off the record with a blistering 7:44.31 finish. China took silver in 7:45.93, followed by the US squad of Allison Schmitt, Natalie Coughlin, Caroline Burckle, and Katie Hoff in 7:46.33.

Share This

Individually, Katie Hoff took on two event finals — 200 Free and 200 IM — and finished 4th in both. Fellow American Natalie Coughlin joined her in the 200 IM final where she edged Katie for the Bronze in 2:10.34. Katie’s time was 2:10.68. Australia’s Stephanie Rice improved her own World Record to 2:08.45, out touching Kirsty Coventry (2:08.59) at the wall. In the 200 Free, Katie posted a solid 1:55.78 swim to better her own American Record in the event. Italy’s Federica Pellegrini downed her own world standard with a 1:54.82 finish, claiming her first gold medal of the Games.

Other events contested during the session include the men’s 100 Free and 200 Breast semifinals, and the women’s 200 Fly semis. Aussie Eamon Sullivan shattered the World Record Alain Bernard set in semi #1 to take the top seed for the 100 Free final. The mark now stands at 47.05. American Jason Lezak, who famously ran down Bernard in the 400 Free Relay advanced with a 47.98, while Garrett Weber-Gale missed a spot in finals after hitting in 48.12.

The 200 Breast semis were topped by Kosuke Kitajima’s 2:08.61 Olympic Record from the first heat. Team USA’s Scott Spann grabbed the 3rd overall seed with a 2:09.08 performance. Teammate Eric Shanteau’s 2:10.10 was not fast enough to advance to the final.

Finally, Host Country China qualified both of their swimmers for the final with the 1st and 3rd seeds. World Record Holder Jessicah Schipper posted the 2nd time of the session with a 2:06.34 effort. Both Americans will also race in the final. Kathleen Hersey made it to the wall in 2:06.96, just ahead of Elaine Breeden’s 2:07.73.

Share This

It all got started with the women’s 200 Free semifinal heats. Katie Hoff’s first of two event semifinal races was a success as she 2nd overall the final in 1:57.01. The top performance belonged to Sara Isokovic, who hit in 1:56.50. The night before, in prelims, Federica Pellegrini broke the WR with a 1:55.45 showing.

The next event was the men’s 200 Free final where Michael Phelps won his 3rd gold medal of the Games. In doing so, he also lowered his own World Record to 1:42.96. Park Tae Hwan (1:44.85) claimed the silver just ahead of Peter Vanderkaay, who recorded a lifetime best finish of 1:45.14 in winning the bronze medal.

Natalie Coughlin defended her 2004 Olympic title in the 100 Back, holding on to win in 58.96. The new World Record holder Kirsty Coventry took the silver in 59.19, followed by Team USA’s Margaret Hoelzer (59.34).

Next the men took their turn and the USA went 1-2 as Aaron Peirsol lowered his own World Record to 52.54, while Matt Grevers picked up his second medal of the Games with a 53.11 finish. There was a tie for the bronze medals as Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia and Hayden Stoeckel of Australia posted identical times of 53.18.

Australia’s 100 Breast World Record Holder Leisel Jones won her elusive individual gold medal with a new Olympic Record time of 1:05.17. American Rebecca Soni made it to the wall second in 1:06.73, garnering her first ever Olympic medal. Autsria’s Mirna Jukic rounded out the medals with a 1:07.34 swim.

Michael Phelps leads all qualifiers into the 200 Fly final with a 1:53.70 finish that equaled his own Olympic Record. Japans Takeshi Matsuda grabbed the #2 seed with a 1:54.02 swim, just ahead of Nikolay Skvortsov’s 1:54.31.

The final event of the Day 3 finals was the women’s 200 IM semis. After already having swum races earlier in the session, Katie Hoff and Natalie Coughlin were set for a second challenge. Kirsty Coventry, who finished 2nd to Natalie in the 100 Back, established a new Olympic Record when she stopped the clock at 2:09.53 in the 1st heat. World Record Holder Stephanie Rice qualified 2nd in 2:10.58, followed by American Record Holder Katie Hoff. In the 2nd semifinal, Natalie Coughlin turned in the top time of 2:11.84, qualifying 4th overall.

Share This

Up next was the men’s 200 Free semifinal heats. The second of the two semis featured faster times as evidenced by Peter Vanderkaay’s field leading 1:45.76 race. He will swim from Lane 4 tomorrow. World Record Holder Michael Phelps also qualified, putting up the 4th fastest prelim time of 1:46.28, after Park Tae Hwan’s 1:45.99 and Jean Basson’s 1:46.13.

Australia went 1-3 in the women’s 100 Fly, led by Libby Trickett’s 56.73 finish. Team USA’s Christine Magnuson scored silver in her first Olympics on the heels of a 57.10, followed by Jessicah Schipper’s bronze medal-winning 57.25.

Brendan Hansen was shut out of the medals in the men’s 100 Breast, finishing 4th in 59.57. The gold, and new World Record, went to his main rival Kosuke Kitajima of Japan with a 58.91 performance.

To no one’s surprise, Leisel Jones locked up the top seed for the women’s 100 Breast, touching the wall in 1:05.80; well ahead of the rest of her competitors. USA’s Rebecca Soni’s 1:07.07 was the 2nd fastest semifinal, qualifying her for the final. Megan Jendrick’s 1:08.07 was also fast enough to earn her a spot in the final.

After setting a new Olympic Record in the 100 Back and assisting the men’s 400 Free Relay to a new World Record in prelims the night before, Matt Grevers posted a 52.99 semifinal time to secure the 2nd overall seed for the men’s 100 Back final. Teammate and World Record Holder Aaron Peirsol also advanced, with a 53.56 showing. Hayden Stoeckel grabbed the top finals seed after setting a new 52.97 Olympic Record.

Katie Hoff looked on her way to her first individual gold medal, in the 400 Free, before being out touched at the wall by Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington (4:03.22). Katie hit just .07 after to garner a silver. Another Brit, Joanne Jackson, made the podium with a 4:03.52.

The session ended with a bang as the American men’s 400 Free Relay came from behind to steal the gold medal from the French. Michael Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 47.51, a new American Record. He was followed by Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak, who swam the fastest relay split in history, chasing down France’s Alain Bernard in the final 25m of the race. Team USA broke the French World Record in prelims, and bettered that mark by 4 more seconds in finals. The new global standard sits at 3:08.24.

Share This

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.

Share This

Chad La Tourette finished 3rd in 14:57.50 and top seed Erik Vendt 4th in 15:07.78.

Kyle Young turned in a 15:15.36 swim for 5th place, just ahead of Tom Koucheravy’s 15:16.38. Robert Margalis took 7th with a 15:19.96 swim while Joe Kinderwater finished 8th in 15:21.84.

Share This

Lara Jackson claimed 3rd in 24.88 followed by Kara Lynn Joyce in 24.90. Kara Denby (25.12) and Brooke Bishop (25.16) touched next. Lacey Nymeyer’s 25.18 and Christine Magnuson’s 25.49 closed out the finals field.

Share This