Australian swimmer James Magnussen looked unbeatable in the 100 meter freestyle going into the London Olympics, but American Nathan Adrian had a completely different plot in mind.
The 23-year-old beat the favorite by the narrowest of margins, one one-hundredth of a second, and looking up to see the No 1 on the board beside his name, lifted his arms in the air in part disbelief as much as happiness.
"At first I looked up and thought I saw a '1,'" Adrian said. "Then it was like, 'Wait a minute. Did I really?'
Adrian won gold in 47.52 seconds, and Magnussen, the conqueror of the title in blistering fashion at last year's world championship, took silver in 47.53. Brent Hayden of Canada won the bronze in 47.80.
"And that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks," Adrian added. "So many emotions. It was incredible.
"It's not who swims the fastest time this year. It's who can get their hands on the wall first here tonight."
Adrian, however, admitted he wasn't sure if he had edged out Magnussen. "I had no idea, to be honest," Adrian admitted. "I'm a guy that has a lot of speed and I can go out fast and I die a little more than he does.
"It's a little nerve-racking the second 50. I just had to really focus on it and stay strong."
Adrian's American teammates were watching the drama unfold in the locker room, and could not hide their delight after the results were announced. "We were in the ready room and we watched it and just went nuts," Ryan Lochte said. "We were screaming and everything. That was one of the greatest finishes. We're so happy for him."
Magnussen admitted he was crushed with the defeat, and said he would learn from his mistakes. "I just felt pretty much bulletproof coming into this Olympics," the Australian said. "It is very humbling.
"I have a lot more respect for guys like Michael Phelps who can come to the Olympics and back it up under that pressure.
"It is a pretty tough time to learn you are human."
