The longest of the pure sprint events in men’s swimming was the undercard on Saturday at the 2012 Olympics, and a Chinese swimmer scored a big upset in it, with 20-year-old Sun Yang winning gold in the men’s 400m freestyle.
Men’s 400m Freestyle Final: Sun Yang Gets Gold Medal In Upset, Peter Vanderkaay Snags Bronze For U.S.
Sun took the event in a brisk 3:40.14, establishing a new Olympic record, and earning his first gold at an international competition in the event after silver medals in the event at the 2011 World Championships and 2010 Asian Games. South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan, who beat Sun in both of those events, finished second in the final after needing to overturn a disqualification to get there, turning in a time of 3:42.06.
American Peter Vanderkaay won Team USA’s second medal of the Olympics in the event, taking bronze with a time of 3:44.69. The other American in the final, Conor Dwyer, finished fifth.
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub.
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