Starting with Michael Phelps in the 200m Freestyle. 4 years ago he "only" earned the bronze medal and this year came in to prove that he is the best! He started the race with a lead and made the distance between himself and 2nd place grow. Phelps earned a WR, breaking his own record by almost 2 seconds (1:42.96). Now Phelps is tied with the greats such as Mark Spitz with the number of gold's won. If he gets gold in one more event he will be in a league of his own!
"To be tied for the most Olympic golds of all time, with those names," Phelps said. "The Olympics have been around for so many years. That's a pretty incredible accomplishment."
Next event was the men's 100m breaststroke where Peter Vanderkaay swam his first Olympics and earned the bronze medal. "It was an awesome effort with my swim," said Vanderkaay. "I was pretty sure I was in medal contention. It means a lot to win my first individual medal on a stage like this. It is awesome."
Next, Natalie Coughlin successfully defended her title in the 100m backstroke. Coughlin, with that win, became the first woman to not only win back to back titles in Olympic history in the 100m backstroke, but also became the first woman to win gold more than once in the event. Her team-mate, Margaret Hoelzer was also on the medal podium received her bronze medal.
The next event hit everyone with the "1-2 punch" as Aaron Piersol (52.54) and Matt Grevers (53.11) placed first and second in the 100m backstroke. Peirsol's victory made him the first back to back winner of the 100m backstroke since Roland Matthes in 1968 and 1972.
The final event for the evening was the women's 100m breaststroke where Rebecca Soni earned a silver medal (1:06.73).
GO USA!!!
Medal Tally - 5 Gold, 5 Silver, and 5 Bronze
GO USA!!!
Medal Tally - 5 Gold, 5 Silver, and 5 Bronze
GO USA!!!
