Pool HaulThe U.S. won five more swim medals, but Michelle Smith's second gold for Ireland caused a stirby Gerry Callahan
In a span of 48 hours, the response at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center to gold medal swimming performances by Michelle Smith went from mildly surprised to uncomfortably suspicious, which may turn out to be the highest compliment of all for the new Irish folk hero. How did she do it? How did she get so good so fast?
The U.S. women's 4x100 relay team — (from left) Martino, Fox, Van Dyken and Thompson — made its point in beating the Chinese for the gold.
photograph by
Smith and her giddy entourage in the Irish media took offense at the whispered accusations of steroid use, but they can blame it on Ben Johnson. Smith's blockbuster performance in the 400 freestyle last night brought back memories of the chemically enhanced Canadian sprinter who blew away the field at the '88 Seoul Olympics and changed the way many fans look at such stunning achievements. Last night Smith was that good, that fast, that stunning. She left the rest of the field in her wake in the final, after she had left American legend Janet Evans in tears following the morning qualifying round.
The Smith-Evans saga overshadowed the most competitive race yet of these Olympic Games. In the men's 100 freestyle, the rivalry between Aleksandr Popov of Russia and Gary Hall Jr. of the U.S. appeared to the naked eye to end in a tie, but Popov prevailed by .07 of a second. On Thursday the two square off again in the 50 free—Hall's best event.
"I look forward to the 50," said Hall. "I got second to the world-record holder, and that is something to be excited about."
The Americans fared better in other events last night. In the women's 100 backstroke, they took the top two spots, with 15-year-old Beth Botsford edging out 25-year-old Whitney Hedgepeth by .28. The Americans also won the 4X100 free relay as Angel Martino, Amy Van Dyken, Catherine Fox and Jenny Thompson teamed up to easily outdistance the Chinese in an Olympic record 3:39.29. In the men's 200 fly, world-record holder Denis Pankratov of Russia outraced silver medalist Tom Malchow, the youngest male swimmer on the American team at 19.
Smith swam to her second gold and head-on into a sea of controversy.
photograph by
But it was Smith who was in the center of controversy all day, and she stared it down with the same self-confidence with which she won the first two swimming gold medals in Ireland's history. How did she do it? Smith, 26, said the answer is simple: She earned it. "I put my heart and soul into this; all I do is eat, sleep and train," said Smith. "This is the culmination of all that hard work, and nothing else."
Smith won the 400 individual medley on Saturday but wasn't sure she could even compete for the 400 free until yesterday morning. Ireland had submitted her entry form after the July 5 deadline, and FINA, swimming's international governing body, had originally denied her a spot in the race. Over the objections of the U.S. and other countries, however, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned FINA's decision and approved Smith's late entry into the 400 free. The ruling was just the beginning of the fun, especially after it was discovered that if Smith hadn't been allowed to swim, Evans would have qualified for the eighth and last spot in the final, instead of being bumped to ninth.
Evans, the red-white-and-blue icon who has won four gold medals in her career, failed to qualify for a final for the first time in three Olympics. While she handled it with predictable class, some of her supporters were not so gracious. "It's the worst example of politics in the sport I've ever seen," said Mark Schubert, Evans's coach.
Of course, if Evans had merely turned in a mediocre performance, Smith's presence in the preliminaries most likely wouldn't have caused a ripple. Evans's time of 4:13.60 was dreadful—nearly three seconds slower than her pace at the U.S. trials and almost 10 seconds behind her eight-year-old world record. Evans will have another chance at her fifth gold when she competes in the 800-free heats tomorrow. If she qualifies for the final, she will swim the last race of her career on Thursday night. "I didn't go out fast enough," said Evans. "It was like I thought it was the 800. I think I wouldn't be human if I wasn't disappointed. I think I should be allowed a day to be disappointed."
Evans couldn't see her way to the 400 final.
photograph by
When asked about Smith, Evans said, "It's a little disappointing because I would have been eighth. You can look at it either way. It's a little unfair because they broke the rules, but the Olympics are supposed to be about the best swimmers."
As for Smith's unusual improvement, Evans gracefully walked a fine line between honest appraisal and sour grapes. "It's fair to say it was a topic of conversation on the pool deck," she said. "I think anytime a person has a dramatic improvement, there is going to be a question. But you don't know so you can't make false accusations."
Smith's gold medal time of 4:07.25 was more than a second faster than that of silver medalist and defending Olympic champion Dagmar Hase of Germany. Smith's winning time becomes even more stunning when held up against some of her past performances: She set an Irish record with a time of 4:26.18 just 15 months ago.
The 19-second quantum leap raised many eyebrows, but Smith attributed her improvement to a more effective training regimen. She credits her husband and coach, Erik de Bruin, for teaching her how to train properly, but his influence has done more to fuel the doubts than alleviate the suspicions. De Bruin is a former Dutch discus thrower who was once suspended for failing a drug test.
Popov didn't match his world record
in the 100 free but celebrated a
hard-fought victory over a game Hall.
photograph by
Smith last night brushed aside the steroid charges with a question of her own: How dumb do you think she is?
"I think it would be really stupid for someone like me to do that, because when you're in the top 20, you're subject to testing anytime," said Smith, adding that she has been tested at least four times since May. "I was sitting at home at nine o'clock on a Sunday morning recently, and the FINA people came to my house looking for a urine sample. You're just not going to be that stupid."
|
|
SI Olympic Dailies
|
