Olympic action: July 29
Sunday was a busy day at the London Olympics as the schedule featured 14 medal events in addition to a packed timetable of heats and trials. Medals were awarded in swimming, weightlifting, fencing, archery, judo, cycling, diving and shooting, and a full slate of swimming, gymnastics, football and tennis events continued to boost the excitement. Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights from the day.
Dana Vollmer reacts to her world-record finish in the 100m fly. (Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
American swimmer sets world record
American swimmer and gymnastics enthusiast Dana Vollmer set a new world record today in the 100-meter butterfly as she clocked in at 55.98 to claim gold. She is the first woman to finish the race in under 56 seconds. In 2004, Vollmer captured a gold medal as a 16-year-old swimming an Olympic relay, but she failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. After missing out on a national team spot for Beijing, Vollmer traveled to Fiji to teach children to swim. Her time with the children in Fiji revived her passion for swimming, and Vollmer ratcheted up her training to earn a spot in London this summer.
Ryan Lochte (left) and Cullen Jones (right) react to losing out on gold in the last leg of the 4x100m relay. (Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
American swimming relay team drifts off course in final leg
Another surprise in the pool Sunday did not favor the Americans. The U.S. 400-meter relay team lost to the French when Ryan Lochte was caught on the last leg of the race by Yannick Angel. The American swimmers received a silver medal for their effort. Michael Phelps swam the second leg of the race and extended a then-American league from a fingertip-lead to a body length. The silver medal marks Phelps’ 17th Olympic medal, moving him one medal away from tying Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina with the most Olympic medals in the history of the Games.
Aly Raisman competes in beam during the gymnastics team qualification. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
Aly Raisman leads American gymnasts in qualifying round, reigning world champion Jordyn Wieber eliminated
There was plenty of drama at the gymnastics arena Sunday as the individual qualifications produced some surprising results. Needham native Aly Raisman finished second overall and first for the Americans in the qualifying round of the All-Around competition while Gabby Douglas finished second. Jordyn Wieber finished right behind Douglas and Raisman, but because of a rule allowing just two gymnasts from each team to advance to the all-around finals, Wieber was eliminated. The 17-year-old left the arena in tears, but she will have to compose herself quickly before she takes part in the team finals Tuesday.
Michelle Obama embraces members of the U.S. basketball team after their win over France. (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
Team USA beats France in basketball preliminary game
With Michelle Obama watching from the sidelines, Kevin Durant and Co. dominated France in a 98-71 victory Sunday. Durant led the U.S. with 22 points and Kevin Love chipped in with 14 to help the Americans coast to the win.
Spanish soccer team eliminated
The pre-Games favorites for Olympics gold will not advance past the first stage of play as Spain’s football team lost its second match of the Olympics Sunday. The Spanish suffered a 1-0 loss to Japan Thursday and fell to Honduras 1-0 on Sunday. They are the only team in Group D not to score any goals or register any points in the standings.
Women’s weightlifter captures gold medal, world record
A 19-year-old Kazakhstan native won a gold medal and set a world record in weightlifting Sunday. Zulfiya Chinshanlo, who celebrated her birthday four days ago, lifted 131 kilograms in the clean and jerk to set the new world record. Her gold medal is Kazakhstan’s second in as many days, as Alexandr Vinokurov won Kazakhstan’s first medal of the Games Saturday with his victory in the cycling road race.
