Phelps sets Olympic record in 400 I.M., breaking (his) old one
By Mark Maloney | Lexington Herald-Leader
BEIJING — In the first swimming competition of the Beijing Olympics, the men's 400-meter individual medley, Michael Phelps broke the Olympic record he had set four years ago at Athens. His time at the National Aquatics Center - "The Water Cube" - was 4:07.82. At Athens, he clocked 4:08.26.
Elaine Breeden wasn't fastest in the women's 100-meter butterfly preliminaries, but she got the same reward as Phelps by moving on to the next round.
"It was really good. I was happy with the swim," said Breeden, a graduate of Lexington's Trinity Christian Academy. "It was good to get one race under. It's been a long process since (last month's U.S. Olympic Team) Trials and, hopefully, there are more good ones to come."
Swimming in the lane next to teammate Christine Magnuson, Breeden placed third in the heat in 58.06 seconds. Overall, she placed sixth in a field of 49.
Magnuson won the heat in 57.70, tied for second overall with China's Zhou Yafei. Brazil's Gabriella Silva edged Breeden in 58-flat, fourth overall.
Australia's Jessica Schipper had the fastest time, 57.58. Poland's Otylia Jedrzaejczak, the 2004 gold-medalist, ranked 17th in 58.53.
Semifinals are set for Sunday morning (late Saturday EDT), with finals Monday morning (Sunday night EDT).
The 17,000-seat Water Cube was, of course, dominated by Chinese fans. But Breeden said she was sparked by some vociferous teammates.
"I've got 40 other swimmers from America I'm swimming for," said Breeden, a Stanford University junior. "And no matter how many people are in the stands, when I hear them cheering for me I get the same feeling."
Her cheering section also included parents Dan and Lenore, plus sisters Kathleen and Caroline. They arrived a day or two earlier, according to Breeden.
"I haven't been able to contact them yet," she said, "but I know they're up there."
Phelps, touted as a potential winner of eight gold medals here, showed why. Hungary's Laszio Cseh had the second-fastest time, nearly 1.5 seconds behind in 4:09.26.
"I'm pretty satisfied with the time," Phelps said. "I didn't think I'd swim that fast in the preliminaries.
"All I know is I wanted to be in the middle (lane) of the pool tomorrow."
Teammate Ryan Lochte won his heat in 4:10.33, ranking fourth overall. Finals are set for Sunday at 10 a.m. (Saturday, 10 p.m. EDT).
Other preliminaries saw Norway's Alexander Dale Oen smash the Olympic record in the men's 100-meter breaststroke. His time of 59.41 clipped the record of 1:00.01 set four years ago by Team USA's Brendan Hansen. Hansen advanced to Sunday's semifinals, ranking 10th (1:00.36). Teammate Mark Gangloff claimed the 16th and final qualifying spot (1:00.71).
Americans Elizabeth Beisel (4:34.55) and Katie Hoff (4:34.63) ranked 1-2 in the women's individual medley.
Larsen Jensen of the U.S. lead men's 400-meter freestylers (3:43.10). Teammate Peter Vanderkaay ranked sixth (3:44.22).
China led qualifying in the women's 4-by-100 freestyle relay (3:36.78). Germany (3:37.52) and the United States (3:37.53) followed. Defending champion Australia qualified sixth (3:37.81).
Finals in the women's individual medley, men's 400 and women's relay are Sunday, shortly after Phelps goes in the individual medley.
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules.
Comments are displayed newest first. If you would like to read a thread from beginning to end, select "Oldest first" from the drop down menu.
@Nyx.CommentBody@