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Poolside in Sydney A look at the Games' top swimming moments
SYDNEY, Australia -- Clear out the chlorine and dust off the history books. This was a terrific swim meet. World records fell in 13 races, many more than once. The U.S. led all teams in both gold (14) and total (33) medals, handily topping the Australian marks of five and 18. The 18,000-seat Sydney International Aquatic Centre was an ideal setting for the emotion of the week. Here is our list of a half-dozen unforgettable highlights from the swim venue, plus 10 other swimmers who made the meet's unofficial all-star team. She Dawned on usAny time you looked over at the group of Australian swimmers who weren't swimming that day but we there to support their teammates, you saw Dawn Fraser leading the cheers. She did not have an official role with the swimmers or at the Games, except to simply be the most beloved figure anywhere she went. After amassing four gold and four silver swimming medals from 1956 to 1964, Fraser took on several roles in which she supported Australian sports, and was even the team manager for water polo at one Olympiad. She represented the Sydney suburb of Balmain in the Australian parliament and was considered the favorite to light the torch at the Games by many observers until Cathy Freeman received the honor. Fraser's bouncy enthusiasm at the pool -- and frequent bearhugs of buddy Ian Thorpe -- were testament to her unwavering committment. Thorpedoed
Tie one onThis is actually a nod to two outstanding, durable U.S. swimmers: Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres. When the two tied for third place in the 100-meter freestyle, with a time of 54.43 seconds, it was only fitting. Thompson had encouraged Torres to come to California to train with her when she first toyed with the idea of a comeback. But the competitive fires in and out of the pool fouled up the friendship, eventually forcing Stanford and U.S. national coach Richard Quick to train Torres on her own, away from Thompson and the others. After a great butterfly leg from Thompson and the relay anchor from Torres, the pair shared the podium on Saturday as members of the 4x100-meter medley team that set another world record. Both swimmers made history here. At 33, Torres became the oldest U.S. medalist, male or female, in swimming and the oldest swimming gold medalist from any country. Thompson increased her golden haul, though an individual gold eluded her. She surpassed speedskater Bonnie Blair as the U.S. female Olympian with the most career gold medals. Thompson ended her career with 10 Olympic medals; Torres finished with nine. Tie another one onThe U.S. synchronized divers should take a lesson. Training partners Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin tapped the wall with the identical time of 21.98 seconds on Friday to share the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle. The U.S. team, seated along the extended pooldeck on the opposite side, chanted: "Tie, tie, U.S.A., U.S.A., tie, tie, tie" to mark the occasion. A basket caseCharlie Snyder, the former director of communications for U.S. swimming, used to tell how reporters would come up to him at each Olympic trials and ask: "Can't you guys fix it so B.J. gets on the team?" For the past three Olympic trials, the answer has been no. B.J. Bedford had made international teams at every level (World championships, Pan-Am Games, Pan Pacific meet, World University Games) except the Olympics. In '96 she shaved her head to increase her chances and still placed third in the 100-meter backstroke. Through it all, she has been the best quote in swimming. To wit: "I wasn't just basket case, I was a whole case of baskets." "You don't swim with your brain, so I'm not sure what my problem is." "What was I thinking? Same as everyone else: Good god, where is the wall?" When the 27-year-old finally made the team in Indianapolis last month, she instantly hugged about 20 people she didn't know, from volunteers to judges to a mascot to a cameraman. Then she hugged the camera. On Saturday, Bedford swam the leadoff leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay team that set a world record. Her three swimmates teared up a little on the podium, but Bedford, who had dyed her hair red, white and blue for the meet, was a faucet. She climbed down after embracing Thompson and Torres and shouted: "Damn, somebody hug me." Fifteen Minutes of FameThe 1,500-meter freestyle is so esteemed in Australia as a race, you could turn on TV here two weeks before the Games started and watch, in its entirety, the 1,500 final that swum at the U.S. trials in Indianapolis three weeks earlier. These weren't even Aussies. This wasn't even live. There were no commercials and no cutaways. So imagine the crescendo of energy as native sons Grant Hackett and Kieren Perkins finished one-two in the race on Saturday. Sure Perkins, the two-time defending champ, was the sentimental favorite, but Hackett showed us how much he cared about that one race by fouling up most everything else during the week. Even though he also made the team in the 200 and 400, Hackett did little speed training and, in fact, little of anything that didn't help his successful bid to win the 1,500 in 14:48.33. And lest we leave anyone out, here is a list of Top 10 swimmers from the meet who were not otherwise mentioned in our list of moments: Lenny Krayzelburg,
U.S.
Sports Illustrated writer-reporter Brian Cazeneuve is in Sydney covering the
Games for the magazine and CNNSI.com. Check back daily to read Cazeneuve's
behind-the-scenes reports from Down
Under.
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