Word: relayers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals remains alive and well after the U.S. men out-touched the French in a down-to-the-wire relay on August 11. It was the U.S.' shakiest event, given that the French squad boasts world record holder Alain Bernard, but Athens 2004 veteran Jason Lezak managed to beat Bernard to the wall in the last 100m by .08 of a second. The time set a new world record, dropping the previous one, set just the night before in the preliminary heat by the U.S., by nearly four seconds...
...wide media covering Phelps' chase to break Mark Spitz's 1972 Munich record of seven gold medals in a single Games, that means another day at the Water Cube - in Athens, the waiting was over by the second day, when the U.S. men came in third in the 4x100m relay behind South Africa and the Netherlands...
...that Lezak was able to see Bernard all the way down the last lap. Lezak breathes on his right side, and there's nothing like seeing exactly where your opponent is to get your stroke flying. "When you put a world record holder in the end of a relay, and go in behind them, the chance of you beating them is slim to none," said U.S. men's coach Eddie Reese. "That was amazingly fast...
...victory is sweet for the U.S. team and for Phelps. "We haven't won that relay in the last 20 years," said Reese. "This was a tough one to win, but those are always the best ones to win." For Phelps, who swam the opening leg, it means his gold medal count now stands at two, a fact that helps explain his almost primal roar when Lezak finally came to the wall. And things may get even easier: in his remaining events, Phelps is either the world record holder or owns the fastest time this year. His closest challenges...
...year old Torres, who clocked the second fastest 100m time in the 400m freestyle relay and is the first middle-ager to swim in an Olympic relay - not to mention win a medal. As the anchor of the U.S. team, Torres was the fastest off the blocks and the quickest in the water, out-swimming teammates half her age to push the U.S. to a silver behind the Netherlands. "Age is really just a number," she said. "Water doesn't really know what age you are." After this, her 50m freestyle, a week from now, should really be just...