Congratulations FRANCE for Winning Two GOLD Medals tonight and within one hour of each other in the Olympics Swimming Competition! Bravo!
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold.
To the men’s French 4×100-metre freestyle relay team that often-used line took on a whole new meaning on Sunday at the London Olympics.
France rallied in the final 50 metres to win gold in three minutes, 9.93 seconds, just 0.55 ahead of the 2008 Olympic champion Americans.
Russia (3:11.63) fended off the powerful Australians (3:11.63) for the bronze medal.
The race matched the 2008 event both in drama and intensity.
It appeared the U.S. men were well on their way to victory. Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones were brilliant in their legs, building a solid lead for anchor Ryan Lochte.
Gold Medals London 2012Lochte, who destroyed Phelps en route to gold in the 400 IM on Saturday, started strong as he still held an advantage on French anchor Yannick Agnel when the two swimmers made the final turn.
But the Frenchman wouldn’t be denied, making a surge to overtake Lochte in the last few metres for the upset win.
The race took on a delicious irony from four years ago.
Prior to the 2008 event in Beijing, the French were huge favourites to win gold and they let their U.S. counterparts know it in the lead up.
Their bravado would prove costly. In the final leg, American Jason Lezak dragged off France’s Alain Bernard — then the world-record holder in the men’s 100m freestyle — to deliver a stunning gold.
The victory also kept Phelps’s pursuit of a record eight gold medals in one Olympics intact.
Despite finishing second, the silver medal pull Phelps within one of Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s all-time total of 18.
Heading into the competition, the Aussies — featuring James “The Missile” Magnussen and James “The Rocket” Roberts — were the clear favourites.
The hype, however, didn’t match what took place in the water as the final came down to the French and Americans.
Camille Muffat Wins GoldThen France’s Camille Muffat, who cruised to a gold and set a new Olympic record in the 400-meter women’s freestyle event. Muffat’s 4:01.45 beat out American Gail Schmitt, who took silver. Schmitt’s time of 4:01.77 was good enough to set a new American record.
Muffat and Schmitt paced each other the whole way, and in the end Muffat’s touch comes out to less than half a swim stroke ahead of Schmitt’s.
The bronze went to British great Rebecca Adlington, who couldn’t add to her gold total, instead clocking 4:03.01 to place third. She was favored to win, but as we’re seeing with numerous records falling and the likes of Michael Phelps finishing off the podium, London’s not offering up the poolside script we expected.
Source CBC Canada and CBS News