Swimming-Agnel gets second gold, Franklin her first

LONDON (Reuters): Yannick Agnel outsprinted some of the biggest names in swimming to capture his second gold medal in 24 hours at the London Olympics as Missy Franklin claimed her first to confirm her place as the new darling of the American team.

Lithuania celebrated their first Olympic swimming medal when teenager Ruta Meilutyte survived the ultimate test of nerves in the 100 breaststroke while the towering Matt Grevers led a U.S. one-two in the 100 backstroke final.

Michael Phelps did not compete in any of the four gold medal races but safely booked his spot in Tuesday’s 200 butterfly final where he can equal Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s long-standing Olympic record of 18 career medals.

Franklin also advanced to Tuesday’s 200 freestyle final after qualifying eighth from the semi-finals, just 13 minutes before the backstroke final. “They let me use the diving pool to warm down and that was fantastic. It helped slowing my heart rate down and kept the adrenaline high,” Franklin said. “Everyone told me I had to stay off my legs as much as I could during the first race but still do enough to qualify. It was difficult but it worked perfectly.”

Australia’s Emily Seebohm, who nearly broke the world record in the heats, was inconsolable after swimming slower in the final and finishing second ahead of Japan’s Aya Terakawa.