Aussies enjoy relay revenge
Aussies enjoy relay revenge
By Phil Lutton | Aug. 23, 2014, 10:36 p.m.
The Australian men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team, which famously misfired in London, has rebounded to form with a stirring victory over the US at the Pan Pacs championships on the Gold Coast.
The team of James Magnussen, Matt Abood, Cameron McEvoy and Tommaso D'Orsogna started as underdogs against the star-studded Americans but came out on top as Pan Pacs 100m champion McEvoy speared them home with another impressive swim in front of his home crowd.
It ended a clean sweep of the freestyle relays after the Olympic champion Australian women charged home on the back of a determined Bronte Campbell anchor leg to continue their domination of the event.
The Australian men, who have ditched the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" tag after their efforts in London, have a new spring in their step after beating a US team that included greats Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Olympic 100m freestyle champion Nathan Adrian.
Magnussen braved a painful back injury to finish strongly in his second leg, while Abood produced a quality swim to set it up for McEvoy, who was too sharp for Lochte on the run home.
It ends a frustrating run for the Australian men's relay but with the emergence of McEvoy as a sprint force, confidence is high that they can regroup and present as a serious gold medal threat at next year's World Championships and the 2016 Olympics.
D'Orsogna said it was a huge effort to get past the Americans and create the perfect platform as the countdown to Rio begins.
"Unreal. Those guys are fierce competitors in the relays. For us, we just needed to get in there, not get too overwhelmed with the home crowd and use it to the best of our ability," D'Orsogna said.
"For us, it's just about developing this team that we've got and really moving forward as well as we can towards Rio."
Australia's winning time was 3 minutes,12.80 seconds, ahead of the US (3:13.36) and Brazil (3:13.59).
Earlier, world champion Cate Campbell took the lead in the women's relay team before Brittany Elmslie, Mel Schlanger and Bronte Campbell drove home the advantage in the face of a determined American challenge.
The in-form Schlanger set it up with a strong second 50m in the penultimate leg before Bronte Campbell, who finished second to sister Cate in the 100m freestyle, powered them over the line.
[ source ]
By Phil Lutton | Aug. 23, 2014, 10:36 p.m.
The Australian men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team, which famously misfired in London, has rebounded to form with a stirring victory over the US at the Pan Pacs championships on the Gold Coast.
The team of James Magnussen, Matt Abood, Cameron McEvoy and Tommaso D'Orsogna started as underdogs against the star-studded Americans but came out on top as Pan Pacs 100m champion McEvoy speared them home with another impressive swim in front of his home crowd.
It ended a clean sweep of the freestyle relays after the Olympic champion Australian women charged home on the back of a determined Bronte Campbell anchor leg to continue their domination of the event.
The Australian men, who have ditched the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" tag after their efforts in London, have a new spring in their step after beating a US team that included greats Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Olympic 100m freestyle champion Nathan Adrian.
Magnussen braved a painful back injury to finish strongly in his second leg, while Abood produced a quality swim to set it up for McEvoy, who was too sharp for Lochte on the run home.
It ends a frustrating run for the Australian men's relay but with the emergence of McEvoy as a sprint force, confidence is high that they can regroup and present as a serious gold medal threat at next year's World Championships and the 2016 Olympics.
D'Orsogna said it was a huge effort to get past the Americans and create the perfect platform as the countdown to Rio begins.
"Unreal. Those guys are fierce competitors in the relays. For us, we just needed to get in there, not get too overwhelmed with the home crowd and use it to the best of our ability," D'Orsogna said.
"For us, it's just about developing this team that we've got and really moving forward as well as we can towards Rio."
Australia's winning time was 3 minutes,12.80 seconds, ahead of the US (3:13.36) and Brazil (3:13.59).
Earlier, world champion Cate Campbell took the lead in the women's relay team before Brittany Elmslie, Mel Schlanger and Bronte Campbell drove home the advantage in the face of a determined American challenge.
The in-form Schlanger set it up with a strong second 50m in the penultimate leg before Bronte Campbell, who finished second to sister Cate in the 100m freestyle, powered them over the line.
[ source ]