London 2012 Olympics: USA set new Olympic record in freestyle relay

THE UNITED States won the women’s 4x200 metres freestyle gold yesterday with by setting an Olympic record time after a brilliant anchor leg from Allison Schmitt.

Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer, Shannon Vreeland and Schmitt won in a combined time of 7mins, 42.92secs, ahead of both Australia and France. Great Britain, whose team included Hannah Miley, finished fifth in a creditable time of 7:52.37.

Australia led after the second and third changeovers but Schmitt, who won the individual 200 freestyle final, took the lead and surged away to win.

Schmitt, Franklin and Vollmer all collected their second golds in London after Franklin won the 100 backstroke and Vollmer the 100 butterfly.

It was, however, a brave swim from Great Britain’s Caitlin McClatchey, Rebecca Turner, Miley and Joanne Jackson, who finished ahead of China, Italy and Japan.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Jemma Lowe was a highly-creditable sixth in the 200 metres butterfly final last night as China’s Jiao Liuyang added the Olympic title to the World Championship gold she won last year.

Lowe had squeezed into the final in eighth place but she gave it a real go, turning third at halfway and battling down the final length to touch in 2:06.80.

Rebecca Soni set a new world record of 2:20 in the semi-finals of the 200 metres breaststroke.

Ryan Lochte, who was conserving his energy for one of the most brutal challenges in Olympic swimming, safely navigated his way into the final of the 200 metres backstroke.

Lochte won his semi-final in a time of 1:55.40 to qualify for today’s final second fastest overall behind his American team-mate Tyler Clary.

Clary won his semi-final in 1:54.71, nearly seven tenths of a second ahead of Lochte.