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Agnel covered the final leg in 46.74, while Lochte labored home in 47.74.Īgnel's anchor wasn't quite as spectacular as Lezak's 46.06 at Beijing, but the French had no complaints. Lochte was handed a lead of more than a half-second, but he couldn't hold it. Cullen Jones was solid, too, in the third spot (47.60). Nathan Adrian swam the leadoff leg in 47.89, going out faster than Australian star James "The Missile" Magnussen to give the U.S. Phelps put up the fastest time among the American swimmers, covering the second 100 in 47.15 and showing he still intends to be a force at these games after his disappointing start. Phelps stared at the scoreboard for a good 10 seconds before going over to congratulate the French. Lochte hung on the side of the wall, his head dropping toward the water - a much different reaction than he had the night before when he blew out the field in the 400 IM. "But we were able to get a medal, so I guess that's good." "I was just really excited and I think I overswam the first 50 and it hurt me for the last 50," Lochte said. That was one of the greatest races in Olympic history. But Lezak swam the fastest relay leg in history, drafting Bernard along the lane rope and beating him by a scant 0.08 seconds to keep Phelps on track for his record eight gold medals. "At least I'm in a medal today," Phelps said ruefully, referring to a fourth-place finish in his first race of the London Games.īut silver was a bitter disappointment for the Americans, who know how the French felt four years ago.įrance had the lead in Beijing and its best sprinter, Alain Bernard, going out on the final leg. Phelps settled for his 17th career medal - and first silver - to move a step closer to becoming the most decorated Olympian ever. "And four years later," he added, "we got our revenge." "We were very relaxed, like the Americans in 2008. "We knew the Australians would be very strong, but they were very nervous, perhaps like us in 2008," said Clement Lefert, who swam the third leg for the French. Russia took the bronze in 3:11.41, edging the team from Down Under by 0.22. Lochte and the Americans dropped to silver in 3:10.38, while Australia - the favorite - didn't even get a medal. "In the last 10 meters, I saw that he was really cracking.''Īgnel touched in 3 minutes, 9.93 seconds, having gone exactly one second faster than Lochte over the last 100 meters. "I gave everything in the last 50 until he cracked," Agnel said. But Lochte, who had already competed in 1,200 meters of racing over the first two days, simply didn't have enough left to hold off the towering, 20-year-old Frenchman, one of the sport's real rising stars.
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With about 25 meters to go, they were stroke for stroke. Yannick Agnel, playing the chaser role that Jason Lezak did for the Americans four years ago in this same event, sliced through the water and was right on Lochte's shoulder as they made the flip at the far end of the pool. Or, should we say, not nearly fast enough. When Lochte dove into the water on the anchor leg, he was a half-body length ahead of the field and looking to add another gold to his dominating victory Saturday in the 400 individual medley.
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With Michael Phelps looking much stronger than he did the night before, the Americans built a commanding lead over the first three legs of the 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday and never really had to worry about the defending world champions from Australia. This time, it was France chasing down the United States - and Ryan Lochte, no less - to win another riveting relay at the Olympics.