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OMAHA, Nebraska, July 1. CULLEN Jones might have emerged victorious in the men's 50 free, but the top storyline of the splash-and-dash went to 2000 Olympic gold co-medalist Anthony Ervin earning an Olympic berth in the closest finish in Trials history at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Jones stormed to the finish out of lane two in 21.59, beating Ervin's semifinal time of 21.74 as the top Trials time in textile. The swim moved him to second in the world behind only Cesar Cielo, while also clinching him a second individual swim in London after taking second in the 100-meter free earlier in the meet. This is the second straight Olympic bid for Jones.
Ervin, meanwhile, finished just .01 seconds behind Jones in 21.60 to shoot to 15th all time in the event's history. The finish is the closet ever in Trials history in the event, trumping the .04 triumph of Gary Hall Jr. over Ervin in 2000, 21.76 to 21.80. Ervin has now been second in the two closest 50 frees in Trials history. Ervin shared the Olympic gold medal with Hall in 2000 after tying with matching 21.98s before heading into retirement in 2003. He returned to the sport in 2011.
Nathan Adrian, the 100 freestyle victor, took third in 21.68, while Josh Schneider placed fourth in 21.78. Those times are all among the top 10 in the world this year. Jimmy Feigen (21.93), Matt Grevers (22.09), Adam Small (22.38) and Jason Schnur (22.53) picked up the rest of the finishing spots.
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