Olympic highlights: August 12, 2008

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 

August 12, 2008 is the 4^th main day of the 2008 Olympic games, the below article lists some of the highlights.

Events

Men's 100m backstroke

American Aaron Peirsol set a new world record and won the gold medal in the final of the men's 100m backstroke with a time of 52.54 seconds.

Matt Grevers, who was representing the US with Peirsol, took the silver medal, while Arkady Vyatchanin and Hayden Stoeckel tied for third place with a time of 53.18.

Men's 200m freestyle

American Michael Phelps set a new world record and won the gold medal in the final of the men's 200m freestyle with a time of 1:42.96 minutes.

Taehwan Park, who was representing South Korea, finished in second place and set a new Asian record, while Peter Vanderkaay, who was representing the US with Phelps, finished in third place with a time of 1:45.14.

Phelps beat the old world record by almost one second. The Australian reported that Phelps 'shattered' the previous world record, which was also set by him.

Women's 100m breaststroke

Australian Leisel Jones won the gold medal and set a new Olympic record in the final of the women's 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.17 minutes.

"It has been a long journey. It's been a long eight years," said Jones, after her victory. "And I think just a lot of relief that the training was definitely worth it."

Rebecca Soni, who was representing United States, won the silver medal, while Mirna Jukic finished in third place with a time of 1:07.34.

Men's double trap

American Walton Eller set a new Olympic record in the qualification round of the men's double trap with a score of 145.

Francesco D Aniello, who was representing Italy, finished in second place, while Jeffrey Hologuin, who represented the US with Eller, finished in third place with a score of 140.

Men's 200m butterfly

American Michael Phelps set a new Olympic record when he finished in first place in heat six of the men's 200m butterfly with a time of 1:53.70. This record is one of several set by Phelps during the Olympic games.

Kaio Almeida, who was representing Brazil, finished in second place, while Takeshi Matsuda finished in third place with a time of 1:55.06, 1.36 seconds behind the time set by Phelps.

Women's 200m individual medley

Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry set a new Olympic Record in semifinal of the women's 200m individual medley with a time of 2:09.53 minutes. Coventry's first fifty second were the quickest, with her first length taking only 29.17 seconds.

Stephanie Rice, who was representing Australia, finished in second place, while Katie Hoff finished in third place with a time of 2:10.90, just over one second behind the time achieved by Coventry.

Medal Table

Medal Count _update

2008 Olympics - Beijing, China
Flag	Country	G	S	B	TOT	Rank
	China	13	3	4	20	1
	United States	7	6	8	21	2
	South Korea	5	6	1	12	3
	Italy	3	4	2	9	4
	Australia	3	2	5	10	5
	Japan	3	1	2	6	6
	Germany	3	1	1	5	7
	Russia	2	4	3	9	8
	Great Britain	2	1	2	5	9
	Czech Republic	2	0	0	2	10

Other countries

Flag	Country	G	S	B	TOT	Rank
	North Korea	1	2	3	6	11
	Azerbaijan	1	2	0	3	12
	Netherlands	1	1	2	4	13
	Slovakia	1	1	0	2	14
	Spain	1	0	1	2	15
	Finland	1	0	1	2	15
	Romania	1	0	1	2	15
	India	1	0	0	1	18
	Thailand	1	0	0	1	18
	France	0	7	2	9	20
	Zimbabwe	0	2	0	2	21
	Austria	0	1	1	2	22
	Cuba	0	1	1	2	22
	Kazakhstan	0	1	1	2	22
	Colombia	0	1	0	1	25
	Hungary	0	1	0	1	25
	Norway	0	1	0	1	25
	Sweden	0	1	0	1	25
	Turkey	0	1	0	1	25
	Vietnam	0	1	0	1	25
	Brazil	0	0	3	3	31
	Armenia	0	0	2	2	32
	Indonesia	0	0	2	2	32
	Taiwan	0	0	2	2	32
	Algeria	0	0	1	1	35
	Argentina	0	0	1	1	35
	Belarus	0	0	1	1	35
	Croatia	0	0	1	1	35
	Georgia	0	0	1	1	35
	Kyrgyzstan	0	0	1	1	35
	Mexico	0	0	1	1	35
	Switzerland	0	0	1	1	35
	Tajikistan	0	0	1	1	35
	Togo	0	0	1	1	35
	Uzbekistan	0	0	1	1	35
	Ukraine	0	0	1	1	35

	Total	52	52	63	167	-
Source: Beijing 2008 Official Site

Sources

• John Crumpacker. "Peirsol's record puts him atop packed podium" — San Francisco Chronicle, August 12, 2008
• "Men's 100m Backstroke Final" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008
• Neil Breen. "Michael Phelps shatters world record in 200m freestyle at Beijing Olympics" — The Australian, August 12, 2008
• "Men's 200m Freestyle Final" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008
• "Jones wins 100m breaststroke gold" — ABC News, August 12, 2008
• "Women's 100m Breaststroke Final" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008
• "Men's Double Trap Qualification" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008
• "Women's 200m Indiv Medley Semifinal 1" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008
• "Records" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008
• "Men's 200m Butterfly - Heat 6" — Beijing 2008, August 12, 2008