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| Phelps, Thorpe lead generation turnover |
| | www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-22 19:40:39 |
By Sportswriter Ma Xiangfei
ATHENS, Aug. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Off to a fabulous world-record breaking start and rounding up with another new world mark, the swimming competition drew its curtain Saturday at the Olympic Games after eight days of thrilling races.
Eight world records and 24 Olympic marks were set in the Olympic Aquatic center outdoor pool where 977 swimmers from 152 countries and regions had competed in the 32 events.
The United States top the standing with 12 golds, nine silvers and seven bronzes while Australia stand in the second with seven golds, five silvers and three bronzes.
The two countries bagged over half of the golds on offer as they did in last Olympics in Sydney were the United States with 14 and Australia at five.
The intriguing rivalry between the Michael Phelps-led U.S. team and Ian Thorpe-anchored Australian squad turned the swimming program one of the most excited in Olympic history.
American teenage phenomenon Phelps gave the competition a dream start as the 19-year-old broke his own world record to win the 400m individual medley in the opening event on August 14.
He went on to win the 200m butterfly, 200m IM, 100m fly and 4x200m free relay in the following days as well as two bronzes from the 200m free and 4x100m free relay.
Phelps did not appear in the line-up for the 4x100m medley relay, the last event on the program Saturday after the Baltimore boy relinquished his fly spot, allowing his beaten teammate Ian Crocker, the world record holder, a chance to add another medal.
The United States finally defended their title in a new world record while Phelps would get a medal for his qualifying leg. Thus,Phelps had achieved an unprecedented feat as no swimmer has ever won eight medals at a single Olympic Games.
Thorpe, "the Torpedo", was the one who could split the limelight here from wunderkind Phelps.
The triple Sydney Olympic champion proved his dominance in the 200m free showdown featuring defending champion, "Flying Dutchman" Pieter van den Hoogenband and Phelps.
The 22-year-old Aussie won in the most-awaited final Monday, which was sandwiched between his gold medal in the 400m free one day earlier and a silver in the 4x200m free relay one day later.
Both Jodie Henry and Petria Thomas stood on top of the women's medals tally as the two Australian claimed three golds each while Natalie Coughlin of the United States pulled off two.
Ukrainian Yana Klochkova solidified her position as the undisputed individual medley queen when the 22-year-old defended her 200 and 400 IM with the same easy manner as in the World
Championships in Barcelona last year.
World champion Luo Xuejuan of China added a 100m breaststroke Olympic gold medal to her collection while Japanese 20-year-old Ai Shibata surprised the field to win the 800m free.
Aaron Peirsol of the United States stood between Phelps and Thorpe in the men's standing with three golds and a world record in the 100m backstroke final.
Japanese Kosuke Kitajima stood out as the best Asian swimmer as the former world record holder grabbed both the 100m and 200m breaststroke titles.
Kirsty Coventry wrote a new chapter in Olympic history when the Zimbabwean native secured the first ever swimming gold at the Olympics for her country.
Sydney sweethearts Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn from the Netherlands still attracted much of the attention in Athens.
The blonde Bruijn, 31, flew to win the women's 50m free while 26-year-old Hoogenband defended the 100m free.
But the lapse of time was not kind to everyone as the great Alexander Popov missed both his favorite events -- the 50 and 100m free, causing both a sensation and sadness.
The swimming Tsar, 32, concluded his decade's reign over the short-distance freestyle swimming after four Olympics.
The four-time Olympic champion's unique career was started in this same venue in 1991 when he won his first European titles but the end was certainly not in the way he would have imagined.
Probably several other celebrated champions seem close to wave farewell to the Olympics.
Massimiliano Rosolina of Italy, the 200m IM champion from Sydney, was 11th in the semi-finals and former world record holder Jani Sievinen from Finland missed even the semis.
German Franziska van Almsick did not even manage to climb the podium of 200m free, an event where she won silver twice at the Olympics and holds the world record.
Certainly there is a generation turnover and most the well known champions are handing over the power to their younger challengers. Enditem |
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