The reigning Olympic Champion in the "Fastest Man Alive" contest also known as the 100m dash did not repeat and continue his reign. Tyson Gay of team U.S.A. did not even make the finals. Instead there was a new "fastest man", and his name tells the story Usain "Lightning" Bolt of Jamaica set a new world record, his fellow countryman Asafa Powell who once was the "fastest man" proved not to be a factor finishing fifth. In fact, some who watched the race said, Bolt even had time to look around and check out the field, and he "cruised" in for the win. First time Olympian Walter Dix of team U.S.A. proved commentators wrong, some had said he was running like he was at Florida State rather than at the Olympics. Today, he ran like he was at the Olympics.
Men's 100m
1. Usain Bolt Jamaica 9.69 World Record
2. Richard Thompson Trinidad & Tobago 9.89 Personal Best
3. Walter Dix U.S.A. 9.91 Personal Best
The last night at the water cube proved to be a memorable one with some amazing swims. In the 50m free, Dara Torres missed gold by a sliver, one one hundredth of a second to be exact. She lost the gold to Brita Steffan of Germany who already won gold in the 100m free. This was Torres' best finish in an individual event, all her others medals in past Olympics being bronze; at 41 years of age, she made many other women in the pool look ordinary. The 16 year old phenom from Australia, Cate Campbell took bronze; Torres had been chatting with her all week.
Women's 50m Freestyle
1. Brita Steffan Germany 24.06 World Record
2. Dara Torres U.S.A. 24.07
3. Cate Campbell Australia 24.25
Once banned for 18 months after admitting that he took a banned substance, an amphetamine-- Adderall to help him stay awake and study, Oussama Mellouli of Tunesia won gold in the 1500m free. Mellouli prevented Grant Hackett of Australia from winning this event at three straight Olympics. Larsen Jensen of the U.S. finished a disappointing fifth.
Men's 1500m Freestyle
1. Oussama Mellouli Tunisia 14.40.84
2. Grant Hackett U.S.A. 14.41.53
3. Ryan Cochrane Canada 14.42.69
Team U.S.A. did not win the gold in the women's 4x100m medley relay, but Dara Torres conveyed an important message that transcended age, culture, and gender: "Never put an age limit on your dreams. Australia led for the majority of the race and although Torres swan a faster leg than Trickett she just had too much time to make up.
Women's 4x100m Medley Relay
1. Australia Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper, Libby Trickett 3.52.69 World Record
2. U.S.A. Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Christine Magnuson, Dara Torres 3.53.30
3. China Zhao Jing, Sun Ye, Zhou Jafei, Pang Jiaying
The men's medley relay was all about making history; Michael Phelps has done something that no one in history has ever done before, he has won eight gold medals in one Olympic games, sixteen in his Olympic career. Brendan Hansen promised Debbie Phelps (Michael's mom) that he was going to be on his best game, that he was going to swim to win. The U.S. team led for almost the entire race with Japan being ahead only once. Lezak swan a tremendous anchor again, and then the celebration began.
Men's 4x100m Medley Relay
1. U.S.A. Aaron Piersol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak 3.29.34 World Record
2. Australia Hayden Stoeckel, Brenton Rickard, Andrew Lauterstein, Eamon Sullivan 3.30.04
3. Japan Junichi Miyashita, Kosuke Kitajima, Takuro Fujii, Hisayoshi Sato 3.31.18
In Basketball, the "Redeem" team continues to roll beating Spain 119-82!
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