LONDON Aug 1 (Reuters) – Nathan Adrian won the 100 metres
freestyle final at the London Olympics on Wednesday to become
the first American to win gold in the blue-riband sprint for
nearly a quarter of a century.
In a desperate finish, Adrian got his fingers on the wall
0.01 seconds, the smallest margin in Olympic swimming, ahead of
Australian world champion James Magnussen.
Nathan stopped the clock at 47.52 seconds with Magnussen
second in 47.53. Canada’s Brent Hayden was third in 47.80.
Brazil’s Cesar Cielo, the defending champion and reigning
world record holder, was sixth in the race to decide the fastest
man on water.
While the United States has been the dominant power in
Olympic swimming, the last American man to win the 100 freestyle
gold was Matt Biondi at Seoul in 1988.
(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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