Phelps and Franklin the stars as Sun Yang makes mark in 2012 Games
- Paul Gibkin
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E-mail Xinhua, August 5, 2012
By Sportswriter Paul Giblin
LONDON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Swimming, like all sports, is a question of winners and of losers and it is not hard to see who they have been in the pool at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Beijing will be remembered for the awe-inspiring exploits of Michael Phelps, who won 8 gold medals and deservedly dominated the headlines as the record breaking standout swimmer.
Phelps again took the plaudits and the affection in the spectacular London pool as he made history as on July 31 when a gold medal as part of the US 200 freestyle relay saw him win his 19th Olympic medal and overtake gymnast Larisa Latymina as the person with the most medals of all time.
He would add further golds in the 200 meters medley, 100 meters butterfly and as a part of the US 4X100 meters medley squad, leaving the Olympics with four gold and one silver medals and an overall total of 22 medals in his collection.
But despite this incredible haul and after becoming the only male swimmer to win the same event in three separate Olympics, Phelps was shown to be almost mortal in London, especially at the start of the week as his 27-year-old body began to pay the price of years of effort.
He finished out of the medals in the 400 meters medley, which was won by Ryan Lochte and was beaten by a fingertip by young South African Chad le Clos in the 200 meters butterfly.
Phelps would later single Le Clos out as his possible successor, pointing out that the South African is able to swim multiple distances and multiple disciplines.
Lochte had been tipped to be the 'new' Phelps and left London with 5 medals, but only two were gold and his expected dominance never arrived.
Indeed the tonic in London was that no one swimmer really dominated the action, which may have deprived us one a standout figure, but what meant that every race was open and exciting. The fact 8 new world records were set in the London pool is testimony to that, with many swimmers saying it was a 'fast' pool.
There may have been no standout swimmer, but there was a standout country as the USA enjoyed triumph after triumph in the pool, winning a total of 16 gold medals. As well as Phelps and Lochte, the US showed the depth of its squad, honed perhaps by the demanding trials. Tyler Clary and Nathan Adrian took golds, while the US women's team looked phenomenally strong.
The new generation raised its head for the women: 17-year-old Missy Franklin was a powerhouse, taking 4 golds, including two in the backstroke and two in relays, it's frightening to think she will only be 21 in Rio, while Allison Smith won 3 golds, including the 200 meters freestyle, and 15-year-old Katie Ledecky came within a whisker of adding the world record to the gold medal she won on Friday night.
Youth was the watchword for the women with China's Ye Shiwen winning the 400 and 200 meters Olympic medley in world and Olympic record breaking times. Ye's win sadly caused one of the controversies of the Games as she was accused of doping to having produce those improvements, despite no evidence other two magnificent swims.
Lithuania's Ruta Meillutyte was another 15-year-old who set the pool alight with her gold in the 100 meter breaststroke: She was also the closest thing that the host nation came to gold, given that she lives and trains in the city of Plymouth.
Team GB will be disappointed with their Games in the pool, winning just a silver medal and two bronzes, which both came thanks to Rebecca Adlington, but GB's disappointment is nothing compared to that of Australia.
The Aussies had arrived calling their swim-team the 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' and promising to tear up the pool. They left with just one gold, with their biggest disappointment failing to even medal in the men's 4x100 meters freestyle, while James Magnussen was beaten by Nathan Adrian in the 100 meters individual event.
These Games also highlighted the continued rise of Asia as a force in world swimming. Ye and Sun Yang led the charge for China with Sun winning the 400 meters and 1,500 meters individual freestyle as well as claiming bronze in his less favorite 200 meters freestyle and swimming a powerful anchor leg to steer China to bronze in the 2x200 meters relay.
The Chinese ended with 11 medals, while Japan also won 11 (three silver and eight bronze) to show the consistent level of swimming in that country. So while London proved that in the pool, US is top dog, Asia is on the rise, while the Aussies may have to go back to the drawing board. Enditem
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