Emily Seebohm, yet another solid Aussie gold prospect in the pool and the Olympic Games record-holder set in the heats, had to be content with silver as the tall American, Missy Franklin, swum the race of her life to grab gold in the 100 backstroke overnight.
Franklyn touched in 58.33, Seebohm in 58.68.
Belinda Hocking, the second Australian in the final, finished seventh in 59.29.
“I feel bad that my parents are here (in London) and for all those people in Australia who got up so early to support me,” said a choked and very emotional Emily.
Leisel Jones’ final appearance in her record fourth Olympics was a fifth in the 100 breaststroke final won by the 15-year-old from Lithuania Ruta Meilutyte for her country’s first gold medal in the pool in her first Olympics.
Nobody could blame her for looking like a rabbit in the headlights. She had stunned herself.
The winning time was 1.05.47, Jones 1.06.95.
At the medal presentation, Ruta was a flood of tears. So much has happened so quickly for the long blond-haired teenager.
Frenchman Yannick Agnel had a shock taste of Olympic gold two nights ago in the 4×100 freestyle relay, and liked it so much he won 200 freestyle gold last night, ending China’s Sun Yang’s aspirations of gold in the 200, 400, and 1500.
Sun tied with Korea’s Park Taehwan for silver in 1.44.93.
Australia’s Thomas Fraser-Holmes finished seventh.
In semi-final action:
* Australian Bronte Barratt surprised even her staunchest supporters by being fastest qualifier for the 200 freestyle final, with 1.56.08. Compatriot Kylie Palmer also made the decider with 1.57.44 as seventh fastest.
* Defending champion, Stephanie Rice, and Alicia Coutts, both qualified for the 200 IM final. Alicia was second fastest behind China’s Ye Shiwen, who broke Stephanie’s Olympic record set in Beijing of 2.08.45 with 2.08.39.
* The balloon has finally burst for controversial selection Nick D’Arcy in the 200 fly, finishing 13th fastest of the two semis with 1.56.07, compatriot Chris Wright 16th with 1.58.56. Defending champion Michael Phelps was only fourth fastest with 1.54.53, behind Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda’s 1.54.25.
* Tonight, can James Magnusssen and James Roberts start recharging their Olympic hopes after that disastrous relay performance?
Out of the pool:
The Opals hit a speed bump in their bid for basketball gold, beaten in a nail-biting thriller 74-70 by France in overtime. It was the first time since 1996 the Aussie girls have lost a prelim game.
But the moment that will become folklore belonged to Opal, Belinda Snell.
With one second left on the clock in regulation time, she buried a monster three-pointer from her side of half-way that sent the almost capacity crowd into raptures and the 65-65 scoreline into five minutes of OT.
The Opals’ chances in extra time were not enhanced by two of their tall timbers and top-scorers, in captain Lauren Jackson and Elizabeth Cambage, both being fouled out late in regulation.
Having said that, this was one helluva game of basketball, and the French were magnificent.
The hotly-fancied Kookaburras opened their hockey gold campaign with a thumping 6-0 win over South Africa, with skipper and five times world’s best, Jamie Dwyer, netting a hat-trick.
London is Rick Charlesworth’s third Olympics as national coach, taking the Hockeyroos to successive gold medals in 1996 and 2000.
Charlesworth took over the Kookas in 2009, and they haven’t lost an international tournament since. The good doctor has the Midas touch.
The Australian equestrian individual and eventing team are also looking good after the dressage and cross-country sections, with the third and final day – the show-jumping tonight – to decide the medals.
Highlight of the day for the locals was Zara Phillips, the Queen’s grand-daughter, and Princess Anne’s daughter, cover the demanding cross-country event with a perfect score.
Phillips, along with Australians Chris Burton and veteran Andrew Hoy, in his seventh Games, are in contention for individual gold tonight.
The Australian team is sixth, making a bronze medal the best possible bet.
In brief:
* A trim new-look and capless Lleyton Hewitt has stopped the Australian rot at Wimbledon with a gutsy 6-3 4-6 6-3 win over Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky after both Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic were first round casualties, Tomic for the sixth successive tournament. Top seed Roger Federer is into the third round and on track to realise the one major trophy he doesn’t own – an Olympic singles gold medal.
* Three Australian rowing crews have qualified for finals – the men’s eights, Drew Ginns’ four, the double sculls of Kim Crow and Brooke Pratley, and the women’s four of Dana Faletic, Kerry Hore, Pauline Frasca, and Amy Clay, via the repercharge.
* A nervous Australian water polo team lost 5-8 to world champions Italy, with the Australian scorers Richie Campbell, Tim Cleland, Rhys Howden, Aidan Roach, and Johnno Cotterill.
* The Stingers, the Australian women’s water polo team, reversed that decision with a 10-8 victory over Italy – captain Kate Gynther netting a hat-trick.
>> Listen to Emily Seebohm chatting with the ABC following her silver medal.
London 2012 Olympics – Day 4 Gallery
[roargal]
lolly
Guest
From the first race it has appeared that James Roberts is in worse state than Magnussen. Look at his 100m individual. They can't have a different plan when they don't have the talent. If you watched the World Championships it was obvious that Magnussen has to win races for the relay team. It's him or bust. You can''t have another plan in those circumstances. Comparing it with a proper team sport is a big much, Charlesworth has a pile of very fine players he can run them on and off the pitch with little noticeable difference in quality. The swim team isn't like that at all. There's not the depth.
sheek
Guest
Very true Jiggles, On another day on another forum dedicated solely to rugby, we could have a meaningful discussion about Alan Jones' assertion that Australian rugby (not just NSW rugby) is a joke. But this is not the thread nor the time - the Olympics are all-pervasive at present.....
Hoy
Roar Guru
I agree with those that say that other countries are catching us... to a point. And I am fine with other countries improving, and people will get beaten. But why are they catching us? As a previous leading nation in the pool, how is it we are now not living up to expectations? As Brendan says here many times, it isn't that we are losing, but not swimming as good as we can in the finals that is impacting. Why are the other countries catching us, and we are just paddling water, literally? Why aren't we still leading the world in all these sports? So we say that France would never have beaten the womens basketball 4 years ago. Great, although slightly subjective. Why have we stayed still, and they have improved? That is the issue that needs addressing if we want to continue to show the world that we fight above our weight with sporting results. Look at what the Brits did for Beijing with the cycling. They blew us away. They targetted us there, and aboslutely gave it to us. Time will tell if we have gained experience from what they did to us, or have we still done the same amount, and expect the same results we used to get?
Fly on the Wall
Guest
agree with point 1, lolly, but any elite coach worth anything prepares for different scenarios. Do you think Ric Charlesworth has only a plan A? Or Mick Malthouse? Or Wayne Bennett? That swim team is like a sheltered workshop - and the fawning TV commentary makes me want to vomit. Tell the talking head morons to stay impartial and just report what happened.
lolly
Guest
But they couldn't have a plan B. Maggs is the real class swimmer of the team, it's up to him to win the race. Unfortunate, but there it is. At least Thorpe had some real experience around him in Sydney plus a swimmer like Hackett with almost equal expectation on him in the squad. It really makes you wonder what went on with Emily Seebohm and the people close to her that she was so devastated to get a silver. I'm really wondering about the coaches in the Aus squad.
Fly on the Wall
Guest
A choke is when you are so crippled by the fear of failure (or feel the pressure of the competition) that you simply cannot execute your skills properly. Greg Norman did it too often in the majors, some Test batsmen also, Stosur also. What seems to have occurred to our swimmers, who qualified fastest for the finals but did not go on to win gold, is not so much a choke (perhaps it was) but a lack of mental preparation for handling the BIG time. Susie O'Neill was so stunned by her gold in the free that time that it affected her in the fly. And when Allssa Camplin won gold at the Winter Olympics in a shock result, her Canadian boyfriend (who was hot favourite for his event), bummed out. Camplin said afterwards that as a couple they had gone over many times how his anticipated gold medal might affect her performance etc etc - but not vice versa. Why (esp at The Olympics) do we seem to swim faster in heats and semis than in finals? Are we terrified of failing at the first hurdle, and the subsequent fight-or-flight response provides an adrenalin surge the likes of which we simply cannot replicate come finals time? To my mind our swim coaches need to do a lot more mental work with the swimmers, going over all possible scenarios. You could tell the men's 4x100m relay team EXPECTED Magnussen to lead them off in no doubt a WR time. Was it ever discussed how they might cope/recover if he had a bad day at the office. I bet not. No plan B. Don't forget that our swimmers are all really children mainly, whereas most other competitors are adults. I did feel for Seebohm, though, having to courage to say she felt she had let her parents down. That was raw.
Nev
Guest
Choking isn't losing the contest. Choking isn't even losing a contest you are favoured to win. These event are normal occurences in competitive sport, and I suspect a lot of people that hold these views on choking have stopped playing competitive sport. Choking is an individual/team getting into an (almost unassailable) winning position, having time for them to aware of this, and then their performance collapsing. The prime examples would be South Africa in the 1999 cricket world cup (cricket with its natural breaks in play), and perhaps some of the many golfing examples. Time to contemplate the situation, impacts the situation. I cannot see how swimming 30/100s of a second below your best ever performance can be classed as a choke. In fact I would go the other way, producing a PB in an Olympic final would be almost the ultimate achievement, and a statistical rariety. To give an example: lets say Usain Bolt runs 9.68s in the 100m final, and comes second to Blake, some Roarers will call that a choke because Bolt has run outside his personal best.
tonysalerno
Roar Guru
The Australian swimmers believe their own hype which is good in a way but can lead to failure- the result of our swimmers so far in London. Social media also has a key role to play- the heavy scrutiny and press the athletes receive from the tweets they send out is harsh because let's remember: Olympians and athletes alike are people too, they deserve freedom and respect.
Me too
Guest
The problem is in the eye of the beholder. 'Another Aussie gold goes begging' ? It was never 'ours', despite the expectations of some of our fair weather fans. Favorites lose more times than they win in the Olympics. The ones that live up to expectation become legends. How about we stop demanding they win and start supporting them regardless?
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
I can't watch the swimming because Rebbeca Wilson is invovled,gutter journo.
james
Guest
maybe the athletes just arent good enough
lolly
Guest
Cut the athletes some slack and put it down to the media. The athletes are trying their best.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
well said WB.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Tend to agree with you Steve. Many aussie supporters/commentators take it for granted that some of their athletes WILL win against others... The 4x100m relay, the Opals v France, D'Arcy, Seebohm etc... It's time to realise the world is a vast land and others do train hard too (harder for some) and have as much talent. We all have 2 legs and 2 arms and chances are that in a +6 billion world, a 22M nation like ours isnt going to win everything. Time to wake up and realise we are not the only one good at sports. Or stick to footy and league.
katzilla
Roar Guru
Is that the same Alan Jones who said the relay loss was a worse defeat then Gallipoli? I don't know why anyone still listens to that man.
lolly
Guest
Absolutely. Emily Seebohm apologsing for not getting gold is creepy and says volumes about the pressure put on our athletes. What happens if the Kookaburras don't win gold? Is that them branded failures?
lolly
Guest
How can you even put Ian Thorpe in that iist? Are you for real? He's won five gold medals at 2 Olympics. He won the 400m in both games. The expectations on our swimmers are getting completely out of hand.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
you right - I shouldn't have replied to the ridiculous and bitter "I look forward to when new coach Richard Graham takes the Reds performance south, then we’ll see who’ll be chortling….."
sheek
Guest
Ah Jiggles, That last sentence is so ridiculous, it's not worth responding to.....
King Robbo
Guest
Australia has always performed best when we are the PERCEIVED underdogs. This is a wacky theory but is too much sport science to blame, if one minor thing goes wrong in prep do athletes already have an excuse for losing. I notice seebohm saying today that maybe social media was to blame hence lack of sleep for her poorer time in the final. I blame rebecca wilson.