Olympic Swimming Results 2012: Day 7 Recap, Top Times & Medal Standings
Michael Phelps may have saved his best individual effort for last on Day 7 of the 2012 London Olympics.
He made an improbable comeback to capture the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly in what was likely his last ever Olympic swim in a solo event.
It was his 17th career gold medal and third of the London games. Now only the 4x100 medley relay on Saturday night looms as the last Olympic event fans will ever be able to watch in Phelps’ astonishing career.
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In the other big story in the pool on Friday, 17-year-old Missy Franklin set a world record in the 200 backstroke en route to her third gold medal at London.
But those were far from the only stories in yet another strong day for the Americans in the pool. Here is the complete rundown.
Women's 50m Freestyle Qualifiers For Final
In one of the most thrilling events swimming has to offer, all eyes have to be on Germany's Steffen heading into the finals of the 50 freestyle. Despite a lackluster performance in the qualifier, she made the cut and will be one of the favorites in the finals tomorrow.
She currently holds the world record (23.73 seconds), which was achieved back in 2009.
Men's 1500m Freestyle Qualifiers For Final
A student at the University of Michigan, Jaeger is the only hope for America in this event after finishing third in his heat to earn a spot in the finals.
Even though the 21-year-old is a longshot, he has swam better of late and has the potential to steal a medal.
Women's 4x100 Medley Relay Qualifiers for Final
It’s another showdown between China and the U.S. in the pool when the two teams square off in the finals Saturday night.
America posted the better time in the qualifying round, but the Chinese hold the world record (3:52:19), set back in 2009.
Franklin didn’t compete in the qualifiers on Friday, but is expected to be on the team Saturday for yet another shot at Olympic gold.
Men's 4x100 Medley Relay Qualifiers for Final
Cullen Jones was the star of this U.S. squad that easily won its qualifying heat. But with Phelps taking over the reigns in the finals for his last shot at Olympic gold, all eyes will be on the most accomplished swimmer in the history of the sport.
The team also holds the world record set back in 2009, so anything less than gold from this group will be a disappointment.
Women's 200m Backstroke Finals
Missy did it again.
In her best event, Franklin demolished the competition by finishing more than a body’s length ahead of the silver-medal-winning Anastasia Zueva.
Her utter domination gives us a glimpse into the future of the sport. At the ripe age of 17, Franklin is going to be a fixture at the Olympics for the foreseeable future. Franklin was asked by the Daily Camera if she had just swam the perfect race, and had this great response:
"Honestly, yeah. I had the time of my life out there. I had so much fun in the ready room and it's my favorite event and I can't think of a better way to finish off my individual swims.
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The icing on the cake was that fellow American Elizabeth Beisel took home the bronze.
Men's 100m Butterfly Final
It was a fitting end to Phelps' individual career. After winning the event by .04 Athens and .01 in Beijing, Phelps “destroyed” the competition by .23 seconds on Friday.
He didn’t have the greatest start and was able to make up the difference with his patented long strokes and great turn off the wall.
After the race, Phelps sounded incredibly relieved (via CBS News): "I'm just happy that the last one was a win. That's all I really wanted coming into the night."
Phelps is a legend, and it’s sad to see him swim his last ever individual Olympic race.
Women's 800m Freestyle Final
What an incredible performance by 15-year-old Katie Ledecky.
Not only did she win gold, but she set the American record with a time of eight minutes, 14.63 seconds. She was just .53 seconds away from the world record set by bronze-winning Rebecca Adlington at the Beijing Olympics.
There is no question Ledecky and Franklin are going to be the face of women’s swimming moving forward.
Men's 50m Freestyle Final
In one of the fastest 25 seconds in sports, Florent Manaudou of France squeaked out a thrilling victory in a race he led from the jump.
He’s the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, who is a French Olympian swimmer as well.
American Cullen Jones settled for the silver in yet another strong performance for the Bronx native.
The eight finalists in this event were separated by less than two-thirds of a second. If you blinked, you missed this one.
Team Medal Count
| 1 | United States of America | 14 | 8 | 6 | 28 |
| 2 | People's Republic of China | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | France | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Individual Medal Count
| 5 | USA | Micheal Phelps | 3 | 2 | 0 |
USA | Ryan Lochte
| 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| 4 | USA | Missy Franklin | 3 | 0 | 1 |
USA | Allison Schmitt
| 2 | 1 | 1 | |
AUS | Alicia Coutts
| 1 | 2 | 1 |
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