Olympics 2012 Swimming: France Chases Down USA In 400 Free Relay

One of the great traditions of the Olympics is the Really Slow Swimmer. In 2012, our Really Slow Swimmer is Turkmenistan’s Jennet Saryyeva, an 18-year-old competing in the women’s 400m freestyle.

As part of the Olympics’ mission, the IOC makes it possible for some competitors from countries that wouldn’t otherwise qualify. Most of the time, these competitors are a tad slow, but still are great athletes not quite up to Olympic standards but able to appear respectable against the best the world has to offer. Sometimes, they nearly drown in the 100m freestyle, like Equatorial Guinea’s Eric Moussambani back in 2000.

What happened to Team USA in the 400m free relay and how did they get chased down by France over the final 100 meters? It’s a question that many are asking after the U.S. built a sizable advantage over the first three legs, only to see it disappear as Yannick Agnel chased down Ryan Lochte during the anchor leg.

It’s easy to place the immediate blame on Lochte, whose 47.74 with a “flying” start was the slowest American split in the relay -- remember, Nathan Adrian’s time was technically slower but came on the opening leg without the benefit of a flying start. Lochte had also just swam a 200 free semifinal race, though Agnel did the same and went just about a half-second faster in his semifinal heat.

Four years after Jason Lezak’s unbelievable comeback in the Men’s 4x100m Freestlye Relay, France got its revenge against the United States Sunday at the 2012 Summer Olympics, narrowly edging the Americans for the gold medal. Russia won the bronze while Australia, the pre-race favorite, was fourth.

Cullen Jones swam the third 100m and only managed to maintain the U.S. advantage, but the French began closing over the final 50m. Ryan Lochte anchored the swim for the U.S. and took a 0.30-second lead into the final 50 meters, but it was there that France’s Yannick Agnel turned it on and gave his best Lezak impersonation, passing Lochte in the final meters and touching the wall just 0.45 seconds ahead of the American.

This is like telling a toddler they can’t have candy in a store and standing back to watch the explosion.

To be fair, he actually might be happy. He did finish second, earning the silver medal. Whatever he is ... splishy splashy!

Best way to celebrate winning gold at the Olympics and setting a world record in the process? Just chillin’ in the pool like it’s a relaxing Sunday, of course. Nice work, Cameron van der Burgh.

This is like me on an air mattress. Except, you know, without being a world-class swimmer. And without a beverage. And arm floaties.

Cameron Van der Burgh became the first South African to ever win the men’s 100m breaststroke with a world record time of 58.46 seconds Sunday at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Van der Burgh led throughout the race, edging out Australia’s Christian Sprenger (58.93 seconds) for the gold medal. Brendan Hansen of the United States snuck in for the bronze medal at 59.49 seconds. Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta was just 0.04 seconds behind.

Three previous world record holders were in the race in Hansen (set in 2004 and 2006), Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima (set set in 2008) and Australia’s Brenton Rickard (previous holder, set in 2009 at 58.58 seconds). Kitajima came in fifth place at 59.79 seconds and Rickard came in sixth at 59.87 seconds.

Day Two of swimming in the Aquatics Centre at the 2012 Summer Olympics is set to begin its afternoon session at 2:30 p.m. ET. The competition, which includes four finals, will once again not be shown on TV until NBC’s primetime coverage, which begin Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.

If you want to watch the swimming live, NBC LIve Extra is once again your friend (assuming there are no online streaming issues this time). And here is the specific link for the four medal finals:

The swimming events at the 2012 Olympics got off to a surprising start on Saturday, as Ryan Lochte won the 400m Individual medley for the U.S., while Michael Phelps finished in fourth place, failing to medal. Considering this is the year Phelps was expected to extend his all-time medals lead, this Summer Games has gotten off to an inauspicious start for him.

With four medal events in the books heading into Sunday, the United States has already picked up a gold, a silver and two bronze finishes. It will be another full day of swimming events on Sunday, including plenty of heats and four more medal finals.