Rio Rapid Fire: Day Two Finals

SARAH SJOSTROM SMOKES OWN WORLD RECORD, OLEKSIAK BREAKS JUNIOR WORLD RECORD

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom broke her own 100m butterfly world record en route to her first ever Olympic medal: a gold. She was an unbelievable 55.48 to win the final by over a body length. She won by almost a full second as Canadian Penny Oleksiak claimed silver with a 56.46. Oleksiak broke the junior world record.

SUN YANG IS BACK FOR VENGEANCE

After losing the 400m freestyle last night Chinese freestyler Sun Yang was back on top, making a statement as he took the top seed in the men’s 200m freestyle heading into tomorrow night’s final. Yang was the only swimmer under 1:45, clocking in at 1:44.63 to lead the way ahead of Kosuke Hagino and Conor Dwyer.

NU-UH-UH EFIMOVA….LILLY KING TAKES TOP SEED

Lilly King is the talk of the town after reacting to Yulia Efimova throwing up a number one sign following her win in the first semifinal. While King was waiting in the ready room preparing for the second semi, she wagged her finger at the TV displaying Efimova when she saw Efimova’s reaction. King went on to put up the fastest semifinal time with a 1:05.70, two one-hundredths faster than Efimova.

ADAM PEATY REDEFINES WHAT’S POSSIBLE IN BREASTSTROKE

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty completely redefined what was thought possible in the 100m breaststroke with a jaw-dropping 57.13 performance that rendered a roar of applause from the crowd. Peaty won the race by the largest margin in Olympic history, separating himself from second place finisher Cameron van der Burgh by 1.56 seconds

KATIE LEDECKY CANNOT LOSE

It wasn’t a shock that Katie Ledecky took the gold tonight in the 400m freestyle, the shocking fact was the time she threw down in order to do it. Ledecky took almost a two-second chunk off her world record, sporting a 3:56.46 at the touch. Ledecky was over a body-length ahead of the world record line and several body lengths ahead of the remainder of her competitors.

AMERICAN BOYS TAKING BACK THE BACKSTROKE

After Mitch Larkin established himself as the backstroke king last summer at the world championships with two titles, the American men were quick to show that they’re in the running to take back that crown. Ryan Murphy and David Plummer were the two fastest swimmers in the semifinals, qualifying easily for the final first and second in 52.49 and 52.50.

MICHAEL PHELPS WINS 19th GOLD, AMERICA CLAIMS RELAY WIN

On the heels of an incredible 47.12 split for Michael Phelps, the Americans reclaimed the 4x100m freestyle relay Olympic crowd with the fastest-ever textile performance. Nathan Adrian anchored the team with a sub 47-second split. Both Olympic newcomers Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Held were electric in their contribution to the relay.