BEIJING: Michael Phelps pumped the air in joy after teammates yesterday rescued his Olympic dream with a thrilling fightback against France in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
Indians danced in the streets when a shooter won the country’s first-ever individual gold medal, and Spaniards hung their heads after a female cyclist became the first athlete to fail a dope test at these Games.
Hosts China picked up three more golds on the third day of competition and top the medals table with nine.
But the day belonged to Phelps, or more precisely to teammate Jason Lezak, who came from half a length behind on the final lap of the relay to win gold for the Americans.
Phelps, who now has two golds, will need both stamina and luck if he is to surpass Mark Spitz’s record of seven in 1972.
Watched again by US President George Bush at the Water Cube, he left the Americans second after the first leg. The French team had vowed to “smash” them and led with a lap to go.
“Jason finished that race better than we could even ask for,” Phelps said. “I was so fired up.” The Americans took nearly four seconds off the world record, a big margin in swimming. In all, five relay teams beat it, while Eamon Sullivan claimed the individual world record from Bernard when he led the Australian team off on the first lap. Having won six gold in Athens, Phelps needs only two more to have the most golds of any Olympian.
Indians across the country celebrated after Abhinav Bindra won the men’s 10m Air Rifle. The cricket-crazy nation has won eight hockey golds but this was their first individual gold.
“Now I have lots of work ahead as he is the country’s most eligible bachelor,” joked his mother Babli Bindra, speaking to Reuters from the family home in Chandigarh.
Like many winners in Beijing yesterday, Bindra needed a remarkable comeback, shooting a near perfect score at the end.
“It’s the thrill of my life,” he said after a win that left China’s defending champion Zhu Qinan sobbing with only silver.
Bindra said he was not really looking forward to going home to a hero’s welcome, because he does not like “plane travels.”
His country promptly awarded him a lifetime railway pass.
It has been a strange summer for Spain, victory in soccer’s European Championship and for Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon marred by the expulsion of two cylists from the Tour de France over doping.
Yesterday, Spain’s Maria Isabel Moreno became the first competitor to fail a drugs test at the Beijing Games, caught taking the endurance-boosting EPO drug.
The International Olympic Committee, mounting a strong campaign against drugs cheats, tested the entire Spanish cycling team three times before competition began. Stung by criticism it had been lenient, Spain called the incident a “stain on sport” and threatened to imprison offenders.
“We are going to hunt down these shameless people who harm our athletes,” Sports Minister Jaime Lissavetsky said. There was plenty more drama in the pool, as Rebecca Adlington won Britain’s first Olympic women’s swimming title in nearly half a century with a last-gasp victory in the 400 freestyle. Australia’s Libby Trickett had gone into the 2004 Games as world record holder for 100 freestyle but burst into tears the first time she saw the pool and failed to make the final.
This time she overcame another attack of nerves to claim gold in the women’s 100 butterfly. “Before the race I felt as if I was going to vomit I was that nervous,” she said.
The tennis tournament got into full swing after rain delays, Spain’s Rafael Nadal surviving a scare to defeat Italian Potito Starace 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Switzerland’s Roger Federer shook off recent wobbles to cruise through in straight sets, while Serena Williams also recorded a comfortable win in the women’s first round. The hosts hope to topple the United States from the top of the final medals table, to underline their growing might. But the weight of expectations may be getting to their shooters, another gold hopeful failing in the women’s trap. It was a happier story for China in diving, with a second gold in two days thanks to a near-perfect performance by Lin Yue and Huo Liang in the men’s synchronized 10m platform. They also added two weightlifting golds to their medal haul yesterday.
Most eyes today will be back on Phelps as he steps up his record bid in the 200 freestyle final. Bush has gone home, but Phelps’s mother Debbie will be there in the stands, as usual.
“I get very nervous,” she told Reuters. “Butterflies going, my hands are sweating, my heart is pounding, but I try to look very calm on the outside.”
