Olympic Swimming Results 2012: Day 4 Recap, Top Times & Medal Standings
The swimming events have provided as much drama so far as any event in the Olympics, and Day 4 was no different.
Coming into the day, the Americans had plenty to celebrate.ย Dana Vollmer and Ryan Lochte won gold early in the week, while Missy Franklin and Matt Grevers followed it up with golds of their own.
Those celebrations continued as the team was able to pick up some more hardware in the following races.
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Women's 200-Meter Freestyle
| Medal | Name | Country | Time |
| Gold | Allison Schmitt | USA | 1:53.61 |
| Silver | Camille Muffat | France | +1.97 |
| Bronze | Bronte Barratt | Australia | +2.20 |
Allison Schmitt finished off her Olympics in style by adding a gold to her bronze and silver. In this race, she dominated from start to finish and set a new Olympic record in the process.
This is her fifth Olympic medal overall but her first gold, and she definitely earned the win.
Teen sensation Missy Franklin was in medal contention throughout the race but fell behind late and ended up losing a medal by .01 seconds.ย
World-record holder Federica Pellegrini had a disappointing fifth-place finish.
Men's 200-Meter Butterfly
| Medal | Name | Country | Time |
| Gold | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 1:52.96 |
| Silver | Michael Phelps | USA | +0.05 |
| Bronze | Takeshi Matsuda | Australia | +0. |
Michael Phelps was looking to become the first male swimmer to win the same event at three different Olympics, but unfortunately he came up just short.
The American led almost the entire race, but his lead started to dwindle on the last lap as Chad le Clos and Takeshi Matsuda came on strong. Phelps was mid-stroke as he attempted to touch the wall, but the South African barely beat him to it.
After everything seemed to go right for Phelps in Beijing, the exact opposite is happening at these games in London. A mere .05 seconds separated him from his 15th gold medal. Still, with this race he earned his 18th career medal to tie Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most of all time.
Women's 200-Meter Individual Medley
| Medal | Name | Country | Time |
| Gold | Shiwen Ye | China | 2:07.57 |
| Silver | Alicia Coutts | Australia | +0.58 |
| Bronze | Caitlin Leverenz | USA | +1.38 |
After setting the world record while winning the 400-meter individual medley, 16-year-old Shiwen Ye added another gold to her trophy case with a win in the 200-meter version.
The field was packed with talented performers, from world record holder Ariana Kukors to defending Olympic champion Stephanie Rice, who led after the first lap.
Ye seemed to be in trouble heading into the final stretch as she trailed American Caitlin Leverenz, but her impressive freestyle technique allowed her to pull away from the field and take home the gold.
She is definitely a swimmer to watch, as she will certainly be in the running for many more Olympic medals in her career.
Men's 4x200-Meter Freestyle Relay
| Medal | Country | Time |
| Gold | United States | 6:59.70 |
| Silver | France | +3.07 |
| Bronze | China | +6.60 |
The United States made up for a disappointing silver medal in the 4x100-meter relay by completely dominating the 4x200-meter race from start to finish.
Ryan Lochte moved to the start position, and without pressure he got the team off to a great lead. Conor Dwyer and Rickey Berens each added about another second to the lead for Michael Phelps, who anchored strong despite having just raced about an hour prior.
Germany, France, Australia and China were all close in the quest for the silver, but France pulled away on the last stretch to continue a solid Olympics for the country.
Phelps now has the most overall medals of any individual in the history of the Olympics. Although this has been a disappointing week compared to his standards, this accomplishment should not be overlooked as he makes his place in history.
Swimming Medal Standings (via NBC Olympics)
 |  |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 6 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| China | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Australia | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Japan | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
The United States continues to dominate in the pool as they pick up a few more medals, but China, Australia and France have also had impressive showings. France has especially shown their depth in the relay events.
More medals will be up for grabs in Day 5 as the 200-meter breaststroke and 100-meter freestyle are decided for the men, while the finals for the 200-meter butterfly and 4x200-meter freestyle relay take place for the women.
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