Men's 400m Freestyle Final
Two Finals Two Gold Medals:
On
day one of the Olympic Games, Danyon LOADER (NZL) won his country's
first swimming gold medal in the 200m freestyle. Tonight he destroyed
the field with a national record time of 3:47.97 to win his second.
Paul PALMER (GBR), was clocked at 3:49.00 to win the silver. His
medal was also the first won by a British athlete during the Olympic
Games. Daniel KOWALSKI (AUS) picked up his second bronze medal
with a third place time of 3:49.39. KOWALSKI was the bronze medalist
in the 200m freestyle. Medalists: Danyon LOADER (NZL), 3:47.97
NR; Paul PALMER (GBR), 3:49.00; Daniel KOWALSKI (AUS), 3:49.39.
"As soon as I came off the podium, I was pretty much down to earth again. I knew I had a couple of more races to go and with one race over and done it was time to concentrate on the other," stated LOADER when asked about the pressure of being an Olympic champion. "I hope this will give younger swimmers incentive to try harder and train harder and swim well because anything is possible."
Women's 200m Breaststroke Final
HEYNS Wins Second Gold Medal:
As
expected, Penny HEYNS (RSA) led from the start and never looked
back en route to her second gold medal. HEYNS is quickly becoming
the star of the women's swimming competition. In her qualifying
heat, HEYNS established a new Olympic record of 2:26.63. She topped
that performance with another Olympic record of 2:25.41 this evening.
Amanda BEARD (USA) finished second with a time of 2:25.75. BEARD
finished second behind HEYNS in the 100m breaststroke. Agnes KOVACS
(HUN) edged out the 1994 World Champion Samantha Riley (AUS) for
third place with a mark of 2:28.30. Medalists: Penny HEYNS
(RSA), 2:25.41; Amanda BEARD (USA), 2:25.75; Agnes KOVACS (HUN),
2:26.57.
"It was probably one of the hardest races I
ever swam. I was aware that Amanda would come up really fast,
I just had to hang in there and hope for the best. I jut had to
put the race in the Lord's hands..I guess this is His will,"
stated HEYNS.
Men's 100m Backstroke Final
Rouse Breezes to Gold:
Jeff
Rouse (USA), the world record holder (53.86) and 1992 silver medalist
in this event, added another award to his already impressive resume,
a gold medal. ROUSE breezed through the championship with a time
of 54.10. He was chased by a pair of Cuban swimmers who won the
silver and bronze medals. Rodolfo FALCON, who swam a personal
best (55.29) to reach the finals, topped his performance with
a 54.98 to win the silver. Teammate Neisser BENT won the bronze,
clocked at 55.02. Medalists: Jeff ROUSE (USA), 54.10; Rodolfo
FALCON (CUB), 54.98; Neisser BENT (CUB), 55.02.:
"I have imagined winning for so long, I went through every senario I possibly could. I really wanted to stay in the pool for about 10 more minutes and live the moment. I kinda got forced out, it's everything I imagined. I don't think I have gone through all the emotions yet," stated ROUSE.
Women's 100m Butterfly Final
VAN DYKEN Edges Out LIU:
The fastest qualifying field in the history of swimming squared off in the finals of the women's 100m butterfly. The spectators at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center were not disappointed as this race came down to the final reach. Amy VAN DYKEN (USA) edged out LIU Limin (CHN) by 0.01 of a second to win her first gold medal. It was also the first gold the United States has won in this event since Mary T. MEAGHER did it in 1984. LIU swam a second place time of 59.14. Angel MARTINO (USA), who entered the race as the number one seed, placed third at 59.23. MARTINO was the oldest qualifier in the race at age 29. She was hoping to capture her first individual Olympic gold medal. Medalists: Amy VAN DYKEN (USA) 59.13; LIU Limin (CHN), 59.14; Angel MARTINO (USA), 59.23.
"It's really special because a lot of people
were saying I should drop out of this race. That I wasn't a medal
contender. To walk away with a medal, especially a gold, I think
I have proven myself. It means a lot," stated VAN DYKEN.
Men's 4 x 100m Relay Final
Streak Stays Alive:
The
United States entered the 4 x 100m relay with the distinction
of never having been defeated in Olympic or World Championship
competition. They also entered the finals as the world record
holders (3:15.11), which they set in the Georgia Tech Olympic
Pool during the Pan Pacific Championships in 1995. In the most
exciting race of the evening, Gary HALL, Jr. (USA), who swam the
anchor leg, exploded off the block and dusted the rest of the
field to win the gold. Jon OLSON swam the first leg followed by
Josh DAVIS and Bradley SCHUMACHER. Aleksandr POPOV (RUS), a two-time
100m Olympic champion, led the Russians to a silver medal. The
remainder of the Russian team included Roman YEGOROV, Vladimir
PREDKIN and Vladimir PYSHENKO. Germany, the second seeded team,
finished third. The German team was comprised of Christian TROGER,
Bengt ZIKARSKY, Bjorn ZIKARSKY, and Mark PINGER. The United States
set a new Olympic record with a time of 3:15.41. Medalists:
USA, 3:15.41, Olympic Record; RUS, 3:17.06; GER, 3:17.20.
"It feels great. We just missed the Olympic
record in 1992. The world record last year, the Olympic record
this year -- there's not a whole lot more we can do," stated
Jon OLSEN. "It's a very special feeling."
Evans Fails to Qualify: Janet
Evans, the most decorated female athlete in United States history,
failed to qualify for the finals of the women's 400m freestyle
Monday morning. Kerstin KIELGASS (GER) will be the top seed in
a field loaded with Olympic gold. Gold medal winners include the
defending Olympic champion Dagmar HASE (GER), Michelle SMITH (IRL),
200m freestyle 1996; and Claudia POLL (CRC), 100m breaststroke,
1996. Smith swam the second-fastest time, clocked at 4:09.00.
Kirsten VLIEGHUIS (NED) will be seeded third with a time of 4:11.04.
Her teammate Carla Louise GEURTS will be the fifth seed at 4:11.18.
Cristina TEUSCHER (USA), 4:12.07 and Eri YAMANOI (JPN), 4:13.40
will complete the field. EVANS finished ninth in the preliminaries
with a time of 4:13.60, well off her Olympic-and world-record
time of 4:03.85, set in Seoul in 1988.
POPOV Leads Fastest Field in History: Aleksandr
POPOV (RUS), the most dominating swimmer in this event since 1992,
will be the top seed with a time of 48.74. POPOV is the current
world record holder at 48.21. Gary HALL, Jr. (USA) is seeded second
at 48.90. These two competitors have been chirping at each other
in the media since the world championships and the time has come
to put up or shut up. Of the remaining finalists, five set national
records this morning. The only swimmer with an outside shot of
upsetting POPOV or HALL may be Gustavo BORGES (BRA), who has already
won a silver medal in the 1996 Games in the 200m freestyle. GUSTAVO
will be seeded third with a time of 49.17. The rest of the field
includes Francisco SANCHEZ (VEN), 49.59 NR; Ricardo BUSQUETS (PUR),
49.61 NR; Pavlo KHNYKIN (UKR), 49.69, NR; Pieter van den HOOGENBAND
(NED), 49.73, NR; and Fernando SCHRER (BRA), 49.79. These eight
represent the fastest qualifying field in swimming history.
Note: If POPOV wins the gold medal tonight, he will
be the first repeat champion in the 100m freestyle since Johnny
WEISSMULLER (USA) did it in 1924 and 1928.
U.S. Swimmers Top Seeds: The
fastest field in swimming history will vie for the gold at tonight's
final. The race is a toss up, through the United States looks
to be in position to capture the gold and silver. Whitney HEDGEPETH
(USA) and Beth BOTSFORD (USA) enter the final as the top two seeds.
HEDGEPETH swam the fastest time of 1:01.70 while BOTSFORD was
clocked at 1:02.00. The remainder of the field includes Marine
KRIEL (RSA), 1:02.33; Mia NAKAMURA (JPN), 1:02.35; Nicole STEVENSON
(AUS), 1:02.50; CHEN Ian (CHN), 1:02.62; Ante BUSCHSCHULTE (GER),
1:02.68; Mike NAKAO (JPN), 1:02.90.
GOODMAN-PANKRATOV: Square Off Tonight In
the fastest final in Olympic history, the top two performers in
1996 will swim for gold. Denies PANKRATOV (RUS), the world record
holder in this event (1:55.22) will be considered the favorite
despite swimming the fourth-fastest time in the preliminaries
at 1:58.28. Scott GOODMAN (AUS) comes into the final with the
fastest time of 1:57.77. Earlier this year GOODMAN posted a mark
of 1:57.07, the fastest time in 1996. James HICKMAN (GBR) swam
a 1:58.16 while Tom MALCHOW (USA) swam a 1:58.69. They will be
seeded fourth and fifth, respectively. The remainder of the field
includes Peter HORVATH (HUN), 1:58.76; Franck ESPOSITO (FRA),
1:58.79; and Scott MILLER (AUS), 1:58.97.
China Favored: Despite swimming the third-fastest time in the qualifying heats (3:44.06),
China is still considered the favorite for the gold. The United
States is the defending 1992 Olympic champion and have established
themselves as a strong contender to repeat. The U.S. was clocked
at 3:47.33 and will be the number one seed in tonight's final.
The remainder of the field includes the Netherlands (3:43.63);
Germany (3:44.17); Sweden (3:45.39); Canada (3:45.66) NR; Russia
(3:47.33) and Australia (3:47.94).
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| Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium. |