Rebecca Soni of the U.S. holds up her gold medal for the women's 200m breaststroke swimming final at the National Aquatics Center during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 15, 2008. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
Posted on 8/15/2008, 7:02:44 PM by Pyro7480
BEIJING (Reuters) - American Rebecca Soni broke the world record to win the women's 200 meters breaststroke final on Friday to collect her first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics.
Soni surged to victory in two minutes 20.22 seconds, wiping 0.32 off the previous world record set by Australia's Leisel Jones at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Jones, who won the 100 earlier in the week, faded on the last lap to finish second in 2:22.05 while Norway's Sara Nordenstam was third in 2:23.02.
Soni became just the second American female swimmer to win gold in Beijing after Natalie Coughlin won the 100 backstroke.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Rebecca Soni of the U.S. holds up her gold medal for the women's 200m breaststroke swimming final at the National Aquatics Center during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 15, 2008. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
She was lovely last night, very charming, just seemed so nice. And it was a well-deserved win, she worked so hard. Great race.
The race was on last night, so this isn’t a spoiler.
Hasn't this been the absolute WORST coverage? I want to see our athletes. I want to see Americans. Other countries are nice but if you need a filler, we have hundreds of athletes there.
If it wasn't for Bela Karolyi and his wife ranting about the age of the gymnasts, I would have long since thrown a shoe at the tv.
MORE WOMEN”S BEACH VOLLEYBALL!
(yes I do know I am shouting!)
My GF is so mad that she has not been able to stay up till 1 am to watch the women’s gymnastics.
I wish the softball team wore skimpier outfits, Jennie Finch is HOT.
She was on David Letterman’s show years ago. He ended up putting her on top of a building and pitching across the alley to try to break a window on the other side. She got it on the 2nd pitch - right though the window.
She’s a pretty amazing athlete. I wonder how many at-bats it would take me to hit one of her pitches.
6-packs are good ;-)
Doesn’t Kerry Walsh look a little like Ann Coulter?
I'm sure you wouldn't "hit it" unless the count was 2-0.
...think!
Cheers!
Admin, for reference, so I don't post a gazillion pics in return, what *are* the guidelines?
Cheers!
BEIJING -- She was never promised a thing, but she pulled herself out of bed each morning and dove into the pool anyway. She would swim fast -- faster than she had the morning before, but nobody noticed.
| Olympic Report: N.J. Swimmer, Rebecca Soni wins gold |
When Rebecca Soni churned through the water for all those years, logging lap after lap, she swam because that's what swimmers did. She loved it and that was reason enough. The quiet, shy kid, who honed her skills at the Scarlet Aquatic Club in Piscataway, never imagined anything else, especially not these past few unforgettable days with the world watching and especially not this moment. Three days after Soni picked up her first Olympic hardware, the Jersey girl had the swim of her life Friday in a gold-medal performance that had people scrambling to find Plainsboro on a map. Soni had a stunning 200-meter breaststroke victory in a world-record time of 2 minutes, 20.22 seconds, edging nemesis Leisel Jones of Australia. When it was over, the 21-year-old Soni let out a celebratory scream, raised her right hand in victory and took a few deep breaths of relief. "It just kind of flowed, it just kind of happened," a soaked Soni said in the aftermath. "It felt great. I just tried to stay relaxed and not rush through the water, keep my stroke strong and power it to the end."
"She's a pretty good competitor," Jones said. "I knew she was going to go faster. She showed that in the heats and semis. It's the Olympic Games, people live to go faster. ... I gave it everything. I couldn't have done anything more. I dug really deep. She was just better on the day, and you can't control that."
The 200-meter breaststroke was Soni's strongest event, but the swimming world still didn't give her much of a chance to topple Jones. The Australian had beaten Soni days earlier to claim gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, but it was Soni's turn to shine this time. "I definitely thought I could (win), but wasn't overconfident," Soni said. "It worked out good." With one piece of Olympic hardware in the bank, Soni, a star at Southern California, was swimming free and loose in her strongest event.
But Soni, whose family now lives in Arizona, only earned a spot in the 100-meter breaststroke after Jessica Hardy, who won the event at the Olympic Team Trials, tested positive for a banned substance and withdrew. Soni, who finished fourth in the event at Trials, was added instead of third-place finisher Tara Kirk, who had not qualified for another event. "It was unfortunate the way it played out with Jessica Hardy not attending the Olympics due to the positive drug test," Speedling said. "But I knew Rebecca would medal once she got the call that she would be swimming the 100." Soni's career, of course, almost ended before she had a chance to swim on the world's biggest stage. She underwent surgery last year to remove scar tissue near her heart that caused rapid heartbeats, and the procedure minimized the problem.
Medalists:
Plainsboro's Rebecca Soni raced to a stunning 200-meter breaststroke victory in a world-record time of 2 minutes, 20.22 seconds, edging nemesis Leisel Jones of Australia. This came three days after she earned a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke
Irvington's Cullen Jones won a gold medal for the U.S. in the 4x100 relay - a sensational race people are still buzzing about.
Mount Holly's Matt Emmons won silver in the 50-meter prone rifle. Emmons also will compete in the 50-meter air rifle positions qualifications round Saturday at 9 p.m. EST
Continue reading "NJ Olympians update: With four medals (and counting) Jersey ranks 18th in the world" »
Post a comment | View commentsBEIJING -- She was never promised a thing, but she pulled herself out of bed each morning and dove into the pool anyway. She would swim fast -- faster than she had the morning before, but nobody noticed. When Rebecca Soni churned through the water for all those years, logging lap after lap, she swam because that's what swimmers did. She loved it and that was reason enough. The quiet, shy kid, who honed her skills at the Scarlet Aquatic Club in Piscataway, never imagined anything else, especially not these past few unforgettable days with the world watching and especially not this moment.
Three days after Soni picked up her first Olympic hardware, the Jersey girl had the swim of her life Friday in a gold-medal performance that had people scrambling to find Plainsboro on a map. Soni had a stunning 200-meter breaststroke victory in a world-record time of 2 minutes, 20.22 seconds, edging nemesis Leisel Jones of Australia. When it was over, the 21-year-old Soni let out a celebratory scream, raised her right hand in victory and took a few deep breaths of relief. "It just kind of flowed, it just kind of happened," a soaked Soni said in the aftermath. "It felt great. I just tried to stay relaxed and not rush through the water, keep my stroke strong and power it to the end."Continue reading "Plainsboro's Soni wins gold medal in 200 breaststroke" »
Plainsboro's Rebecca Soni got off to a record start in the 200-meter breast, advancing to the semifinals with an Olympic record 2:22.17.This is considered the best event for Soni, who won the silver in 100-meter breast.Australia's Leisel Jones, who won the 100, won her heat in 2:23.51. But don't make too much of the times; advancing to the next round is the only goal in the prelims.The semifinal heats will go off tonight at 11:02 and figure to be part of NBC's prime time coverage. Post a comment | View comments See more in Jersey athletes, Rebecca Soni
Plainsboro native Rebecca Soni came on strong in the second 50 meters to earn a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke Tuesday. Soni, racing in Lane 5, finished in 1:06.73, second to Leisel Jones of Great Britain, who won the gold in 1:05.17. Post a comment | View comments See more in Breaking news, Jersey athletes, Rebecca Soni
Post a comment | View commentsBEIJING - Rebecca Soni conquered her nerves, dove into the water at the National Aquatics Center and advanced to tonight's 100-meter breaststroke finals in what could turn into a memorable first-time Olympic experience for the Plainsboro native. Inside the place known as the Water Cube, Soni won her heat in 1 minute, 7.07 seconds and pumped her left hand to the crowd with her sights on gold now.
Soni swam the fourth-fastest time -- 1 minutes, 7.44 second - in the prelims to earn one of the 16 semifinal spots.
Continue reading "Plainsboro's Soni makes 100-breast final" » Post a comment | View comments See more in Rebecca Soni
BEIJING - Rebecca Soni shook off the first-time Olympian jitters, dove into the water and overcame her first obstacle by advancing to tonight's 100-meter breaststroke semifinals in what could turn into a memorable fortnight for the Plainsboro native. Soni finished with the fourth best time in the seven preliminary heats -- 1 minutes, 7.44 seconds -- to earn one of the 16 semifinal spots.
"I felt pretty good for a prelim swim," said Soni, who will swim in the semifinals Monday morning local time. "I was probably a little more nervous at Trials, but definitely (I was nervous). It's been a pretty cool experience so far." Continue reading "Plainsboro native Rebecca Soni advances to 100-meter Breaststroke Semifinals" » Post a comment | View comments See more in Rebecca Soni
Born: March 18, 1987
Ht: 5'7"
Event(s): 200m breast, 100m breast
Jersey Connection: Plainsboro native
Star-Ledger Archives:
Soni gets 2nd event
Spirited Soni the one and only
Plainsboro native Soni headed to Beijing
All eyes on Soni, on way to China
The Star-Ledger's Olympic reporter M.A. Mehta says:
"The Plainsboro native is a legitimate gold medal contender in the 200-meter breaststroke. The USC student will have her hands full against Australian superstar Leisel Jones."
LOL!
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