On this second day of London 2012 Olympic prelims, Australia’s Emily Seebohm posted a new Olympic record of 58.23 in the women’s 100 backstroke, USA’s hot favorite Missy Franklin 2nd in 59.37. Sun Yang looked invincible in the men’s 200 freestyle, beating USA’s Ryan Lochte in the 5th heat with a 1:46.24 to Lochte’s 1:46.45. Lithuania’s 15-year-old Ruta Meilutyte posted a scorching 1:05.56 in the women’s 100 breaststroke, an Olympic textile best they say. America’s Matt Grevers looked unbeatable in the men’s 100 backstroke, posting the only sub-53 time before helping his team to the 4×100 freestyle final. France’s Camille Muffat led the women’s 400 freestyle with a time of 4:03.29 ahead of USA’s Allison Schmitt in 4:03.31, Pellegrini and Adlington struggling in 7th and 8th. And in the men’s 4×100 freestyle, Australia led as expected with a “weapons of mass destruction” time of 3:12.29, Brazil making a huge blunder by not having Cielo help them into the final, instead ending up 9th.
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London 2012 day 1 finals: Ye posts first WR at these Olympics
On the first night of the London 2012 Olympics, China’s Shiwen Ye posted a world record of 4:28.43 in the women’s 400 IM, quite unusually by ripping the field apart in the last 100 freestyle. USA’s Elizabeth Beisel 2nd and China’s Xuanxu Li 3rd, old record was Stephanie Rice 4:29.45 from Beijing 2008, Rice now finishing in 6th. Michael Phelps didn’t make that 3rd gold medal in a row in the 400 IM, coming in 4th after Ryan Lochte in 4:05.18, Brazil’s Thiago Pereira in 4:08.86 and Japan’s Kosuke Hagino in 4:08.94. China’s Sun Yang set an Olympic record in the men’s 400 freestyle, posting 3:40.14 with reinstated Tae-hwan Park in 2nd and USA’s Peter Vanderkaay in 3rd, the world record only 7/100 away from Sun in 3:40.07. Australia won the women’s 4×100 freestyle in a new Olympic record of 3:33.15, the Netherlands in 2nd and USA in 3rd. Dana Vollmer led the field in the women’s 100 butterfly semi-finals, South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh the men’s 100 breaststroke semi-finals with a new Olympic record of 58.83.
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CC photo #210: My kids meeting a sea swimmer on Tórshavn harbor today
We are celebrating our national holiday “Ólavsøka” this weekend, which explains the clothes. Sea swimmer is Eyðun Húsgarð, chairman of Havnar Svimjifelag (the swimming club of Tórshavn). Video will be ready later.
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London 2012 day 1 prelims: Vollmer posts OR, lots of shocks in other races
In the men’s 400 IM, medal favorite Laszlo Cseh missed the final with 7/100 of a second, Michael Phelps just scraping by in 8th spot. In the women’s 100 butterfly, USA’s Dana Vollmer posted an Olympic Record of 56.25. In the men’s 400 freestyle, Tae-hwan Park posted a confident time of 3:46.68 but was disqualified, Sun Yang posting 3:45.07 while medal favorite Paul Biedermann failed to reach the final in 3:48.50 and 12th, our guy Pál Joensen just outside the final in 3:47.36 and 9th. The women’s 400 IM went more as expected with medal favorites Elizabeth Beisel, Shiwen Ye, Katinka Hosszu, Mireia Belmonte Garcia, Hannah Miley etc safely through to the final. The men’s 100 breaststroke similarly with Sprenger and Kitajima on top, both Brazilian Felipes Silva and Lima also just reaching the final in 15th and 16th. And in the women’s 4×100 freestyle prelims, I guess it went more or less as expected, Germany, Russia and Italy probably kicking themselves for not making the final. The stage is set for an exciting final session tonight, Phelps and Kitajima both ready to go for that historical third Olympic gold medal in the same event.
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Reuters’ Underwater Camera for Shooting Olympic Swimmers
Design derived from the cameras used during the BP oil spill back in 2010, via PetaPixel
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Olympics chief rings in the Games hard, real hard, so that the bell breaks
Epic, via boingboing
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CC photo #209: Hoisting the flags outside the Tórshavn swim pool
Back from the 2009 Faroese (Short Course) Championships, head referee in white, member of the federation swim committee in blue and I think Pál’s father in black. Go Pál.
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Ah, Weber-Gale is at it again, now eating bugs in London
Garrett Weber-Gale has found his old pals at Noma while in London, the three years in a row World’s No 1 restaurant having set up a “Taste of Noma” at the Claridge’s luxury hotel on Brook Street, Mayfair. And they are back to eating bugs again, no reason to change a winning recipe. Btw, don’t bother ordering, they are totally sold out.
Live ants I ate this morning for Taste of Noma. Taste like lemongrass. instagr.am/p/NloswEJ1Q7/
— Garrett Weber-Gale (@GWeberGale) July 27, 2012
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Kellogg’s “Swimmer” London 2012 Olympic Games Film
Wow, this is totally my kind of ad: “As the world gathers to honor the glory of the finish, lets take a moment and celebrate the promise of the start”