Post by Taxigirl on Aug 19, 2004 10:00:25 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/swimming/3578914.stm
Swimming superstars Alexander Popov and Pieter van den Hoogenband missed out on the 50m freestyle semi-finals after a series of fiercely competitive heats.
American Gary Hall, who was joint champion at the Sydney Olympics, set the fastest time of 22.04 seconds.
But Dutch 100m winner Van den Hoogenband could only finish 17th in 22.56, with Russian Popov, who won over 50m in 1992 and 1996, one place behind.
Yona Walesi, of Malawi, was the slowest entrant to finish in 34.11 seconds.
"I'm not disappointed. I knew it could happen," said van den Hoogenband, who won the 100m on Thursday night.
"Yesterday I was so, so happy. It was such a big night for me to win the gold again."
Swimming superstars Alexander Popov and Pieter van den Hoogenband missed out on the 50m freestyle semi-finals after a series of fiercely competitive heats.
American Gary Hall, who was joint champion at the Sydney Olympics, set the fastest time of 22.04 seconds.
But Dutch 100m winner Van den Hoogenband could only finish 17th in 22.56, with Russian Popov, who won over 50m in 1992 and 1996, one place behind.
Yona Walesi, of Malawi, was the slowest entrant to finish in 34.11 seconds.
"I'm not disappointed. I knew it could happen," said van den Hoogenband, who won the 100m on Thursday night.
"Yesterday I was so, so happy. It was such a big night for me to win the gold again."