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Get Excited For Tokyo: Inspiring Performances From Past Olympics
With the Tokyo Games on the horizon, Olympic swimming will once again be in the international spotlight. Many casual fans will tune in to witness the action. Here are some previous historical performances to get you hyped up for the Games.
Michael Phelps and the U.S. Conquer Beijing
Michael Phelps had been on the international scene since his stunning qualification for the Sydney Games in 2000, and he claimed six gold medals in Athens 2004. But the 2008 version of Phelps was a different breed of champion. All of the events he competed in, bar one, ended up in Phelps and/or his team claiming world records.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Naturally, there’s a lot of races to choose from but the most notable victory was the triumph in the 4×100 freestyle relay, and it required a record-shattering performance to win. Coming into the event, the U.S. squad featured Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak. The favorites for the event, however, were the French.
French swimmer Alain Bernard was assured France would defeat the U.S., saying “the Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”
It looked like Bernard was going to be right. After the first three legs, Bernard jumped into the pool with a lead of almost .6 seconds, extending it to .82 along the first 50 meters. That’s when the unthinkable happened. Lezak rocketed back, quickly gaining on Bernard, and setting the arena into pandemonium. With just meters to go, Lezak caught up and touched the wall .08 seconds before Bernard. The U.S. demolished the previous world record of 3:12.23 with a time of 3:08.24.
Five teams finished quicker than the previous world record. Italy and Sweden beat the old mark and did not even medal. There are not many races that will ever be like that.
A Young Champion: 14 Years (G)old
Japan’s Kyoko Iwasaki had barely turned 14 when she won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, winning the 200m breaststroke. Iwasaki finished second in her heat swim, finishing .01 behind U.S. star Anita Nall, the favorite for the gold.
In the final, however, it looked bad for Iwasaki. After the first leg, she was sixth and it looked like the podium would be a challenge. But she showed incredible composure and gradually worked her way back into the race. Down the final stretch, she was able to scrape by China’s Lin Li and Nall for the gold medal and an Olympic record.
While Iwasaki only made one more Olympics following her 1992 triumph, she still holds the record for being the youngest swimmer to win gold.
It’s a Tie?/Anthony Ervin’s 16-Year Gap
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The 50m freestyle has razor-thin margins and it showed in the 2000 Sydney Games when two athletes laid claim to gold. U.S. compatriots Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin flew through the water, touching the wall and immediately checked to see where they had placed. Hall noticed the “1” next to his name and celebrated before showing confusion at Ervin’s equal celebration. It took a moment for both athletes to realize that they both posted a time of 21.98.
The athletes celebrated and stood proudly together as they both received gold medals in Sydney, the second occurrence of a tie in Olympic swimming history.
In 2002, Ervin retired from swimming at just 22. However, Ervin came back out of retirement years later to earn a spot in the 2012 London Olympics. Ervin did not medal, finishing fifth in the 50 freestyle final, but there was more to come. At Rio 2016, Ervin captured Olympic gold again at 35, 16 years after he tied for gold. Ervin’s 21.40 gave the win by .01. He is the oldest Olympian to win gold in swimming.
The Only 1200-Meter Race
The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 was the only time the 1200-meter freestyke was raced at the Olympic level. Alfréd Hajós of Hungary had already won the 100 freestyle earlier that day and skipped the 500 free, which was held shortly after the 100 to allow himself time to recover for the 1200.
The event did not take place in a pool. It took place in the Bay of Zea, which had bone-chilling waters measuring 55°F on the day of the competition. The competitors were taken out on a boat where they had to swim back to shore.
Hajós dominated, winning by over two minutes and 40 seconds. Austria’s Paul Neumann, the winner of the 500 free, did not even finish, due to being drained from the prior event.
On To Tokyo
There are countless other stories of Olympic lore, and more will be written in Tokyo. What other races do you look back on with fondness?
