Swm:Two more golds for Phelps as US overtakes Aust

AAP General News (Australia)
08-18-2004
Swm:Two more golds for Phelps as US overtakes Aust

By Julian Linden

ATHENS, Aug 17 Reuters - Michael Phelps took his haul of gold medals at the Athens
Olympics to three tonight after winning the 200 metres butterfly and helping the United
States beat Australia in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

The American also has two bronze medals and with three events still to go, he now seems
certain to become first swimmer to win eight medals at a single Olympics.

But for once, Phelps did at least have to share the spotlight with someone else after
Ukrainian Yana Klochkova became the first woman to win the same two events at consecutive
Olympics.

Klochkova won her fourth Olympic title when she took out the women's 200 medley three
days after winning the 400.

The 22-year-old also won the double in Sydney four years ago, emulating Hungarian Tamas
Daryni who won the same two events in 1988 and Russian Alexander Popov who won the freestyle
sprint double in Barcelona and Atlanta.

"When you do it once that is very important ... but when you win twice and make history
that stays in the record books forever," Klochkova said.

Camelia Potec provided Romania with their first swimming gold in Athens when she won
the women's 200 freestyle but the main focus was again on Phelps.

The American posted the second fastest time in history to win the 200 butterfly in
one minute 54.04 seconds, just 0.11 outside the world record he set at last year's world
championships.

He was under world record pace at the halfway stage but began to slow down on the turn
for home before holding off the late charge of Japan's Takashi Yamamoto and Stephen Parry,
who provided Britain with their first Olympic swimming medal since the Atlanta Games in
1996.

Phelps returned to the pool an hour later to join Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and
Klete Keller for a dramatic relay battle with Australia.

Phelps swam the lead-off leg and the US had a big lead heading into the final changeover
but Ian Thorpe, winner of the 200 individual gold the previous night, began to close on
Keller.

With everyone in the stadium on their feet roaring, Thorpe looked as though he would
pass Keller in the final few metres but the American held on to reach the wall just 0.13
seconds ahead with Italy third.

"It was probably the most exciting race I've ever been part of," Phelps said. "I knew
Klete would come through. He anchored the relay perfectly. He held off the greatest 200
freestyler in history."

Thorpe, who was aiming for his third gold of the Games, said: "We've owned this event
since 1998 so this is a disappointing result.

Klochkova led all the way to win the 200 medley in 2:11.14. American Amanda Beard pushed
her hard in the final length to take silver in 2:11.70, while Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe
won the bronze to add to the silver she won in the 100 backstroke yesterday.

Potec added the Olympic gold to the European title she won in Madrid in May, flashing
home from the outside lane to win in 1:58.03, having entered the final as second-slowest
qualifier.

Italian teenager Federica Pellegrini was second and Solenne Figues of France third.

The relay win gave the US their fifth gold in the pool in Athens after four days, one
more than Australia, but not everything went smoothly for the sport's traditional powerhouse.

America's two 100 freestylers, Jason Lezak and Ian Crocker, were both eliminated in
the heats, leaving the US without an Olympic finalist in the event for the first time,
barring the boycotted 1980 Moscow Games and an open-water duel between an Austrian and
a Hungarian in 1896.

Russia's Alexander Popov, who won the 50-100 sprint double in 1992 and 1996 and is
the reigning world champion, also missed out after clocking 49.23.

Reuters sp

KEYWORD: OLY SWM DAYLEAD

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