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Missile misfires

Aussies on the wane in the pool

QUAZI ZULQUARNAIN ISLAM from London
You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out James Magnussen's
expression after Wednesday night's thrilling 100-metre freestyle swimming final.
The Australian first had his head buried in his hands. Moments later he could be seen staring straight into the wall of the swimming pool, hoping perhaps that the water would, for once, swallow him up.
Magnussen had just lost his best chance for a gold medal, and he had lost it by the narrowest of margins possible, one-hundredths of a second. To put it into context, the difference in margins might have been due to the fact that Magnussen had curled his fingers instead of holding them out straight and taut. Swimming sprints are usually close races what with the best in the world competing over such a short distance. But you can never get closer than this; almost literally the length of a fingernail.
"I felt bullet-proof coming into the Games so this is very humbling," the 21-year-old Aussie said later, after the disappointment had sunk in. "It's a pretty tough time to learn you're human."
Indeed, Magnussen's bullish demeanour aided with his fantastic swimming capabilities had earned him the nickname of The Missile from the Australian press. And he certainly was not shy of mouthing off. Before the Olympics, Magnussen had spoken of how the world should watch out for him at London. He was sure it would be his stage to shine.
Instead the 100-metre loss meant an end to an embarrassing Olympics for the reigning world champions and a trip home to face the scorn of the nation who was counting on him to deliver on golden promises.
In the race it was clear from the start that
it would be a dead heat between Magnussen and American Nathan Adrian. Until the final few metres, it appeared Magnussen had it won. But in the final few inches, things went wrong. Magnussen reached for the end of the pool. So did Adrian.
In the waiting room, two of Adrian's eminent teammates watched the proceedings on a TV monitor. Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps were waiting for their 200-metre medley semfinal heat but the minute they saw the T go up next to the name of their teammate, they went ballistic.
"We just went crazy," said Michael Phelps in the mixedzones later.
"It was nuts," agreed Ryan Lochte, moments after he had vanquished the greatest Olympian of all time in the semifinal heats.
So did Adrian who could hardly contain his joy at having finished first. But as a man who is used to being in the shadow of two of the best swimmers of his time, Adrian again found his achievement trumped.
Rebecca Soni had set a world record in the pool in the 200-metre breaststroke and Adrian responded with a smile. "Wow, Rebecca just set a world-record? I am overshadowed by Rebecca's world-record."
In truth, he wasn't. The 100-metre freestyle is one of the premier events in swimming, and despite the US dominance in the pool, an American hadn't won it since Matt Biondi in 1984. Adrian awaits many rewards.
As for the Australians, their heartbreak continued into the last race of the night.
Allison Schmitt chased down Alicia Coutts to give the Americans gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay. Schmitt dived in the water about a half-second behind, but passed Coutts on the first return lap and won going away in 7:42.92. The Australians settled for another silver in 7:44.41, while France took the bronze.
Coupled with Stephanie Rice's failure to bag a single medal after her three in Beijing, London is rapidly turning into a nightmare for the Australians in the pool.
The Australians have come to expect the swimming competition to start the country's Olympic campaign off with a bang. Since Sydney in 2000 gold medals have come thick and fast for them, courtesy of some of the greatest swimmers of all time such as Ian Thorpe, Kieren Perkins and Grant Hackett. But these Olympics have been a reality check. Not since 1976 has the team failed to win an individual gold medal in the pool.
One newspaper summed it up best: "Weapons of mass destruction are now weapons of mass deflation."