Gators in the Olympics - Aug. 12 Report
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | General
The U.S. Women's Soccer team's 4-0 victory over New Zealand Tuesday clinched the Group G win for the U.S. Athletes with ties to the University of Florida were in action in women's soccer and swimming in Tuesday, Aug. 12 Summer Olympic action.
Soccer
The United States Women's Olympic Team scored a pair of goals in each half as the U.S. defeated New Zealand 4-0 at the Shenyang Olympic Stadium in the final day of group play. The U.S. won Group G and now advances to the quarterfinals.
Former Gator All-American Heather Mitts made her third consecutive start of the 2008 Olympic Games on the U.S. backline, playing 63 minutes before being subbed out with the U.S. leading 4-0.
Four different players scored for the U.S. Tuesday - Heather O'Reilly (27th minute), Amy Rodriguez (43rd minute), Lindsay Tarpley (56th minute) and Angela Hucles (60th minute).
The U.S.'s 4-0 win combined with Japan's 5-1 victory over Norway leapfrogged the U.S. over Norway for the top spot in Group G. Next up is a quarterfinal matchup with Canada on Friday, Aug. 15 in Shanghai Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 a.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on USA Network. Fans can also follow along live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker.
Swimming
Gator alum Ryan Lochte (U.S.) claimed Gold as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay alongside U.S. teammates Michael Phelps, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay. The quartet smashed the World Record with a time of 6:58.56 becoming the first 800-meter freestyle relay to ever swim under the seven minute mark. Lochte split 1:44.28 as the second leg of the relay, swimming the third-fastest split in the final heat of the event behind Phelps and Filippo Magnini of Italy. Russia (7:03.70) and Australia (7:04.98) garnered silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Lochte will add Tuesday's gold medal to his 2008 Olympic Games collection after reeling in a bronze medal earlier in Olympic competition in the 400-meter IM.
Adam Sioui (Canada) and Canadian teammates Brian Johns, Rick Say and Andrew Hurd raced to a prelims time of 7:08.04 in the 800-meter free relay, good for a fifth-place seed going into finals of the event. Sioui's Canada counterparts returned a 7:04.66 finals time to finish fifth overall in the final event.
Shaune Fraser (Cayman Islands) led the way for the Gators in Aug. 12 individual swimming action, clocking a career-best time of 49.56 in preliminaries of the men's 100-meter freestyle. Fraser tied Ukraine's Yuriy Yegoshin for the 36th-place spot out of the 64-man field.
Follow results of Tuesday evening Olympic swimming semifinal and final action HERE.
National Records Set by Gators at 2008 Olympic Games:
| Gator | Country | Event | Record | Time | Place |
| Bradley Ally | Barbados | 400-meter IM | Barbados National Record | 4:14.01 | 10th |
| Shaune Fraser | Cayman Islands | 200-meter free | Cayman Islands National Record | 1:48.60 | 26th |
| Omar Pinzon | Colombia | 100-meter back | Colombia National Record | 55.11 | 26th |
| Adam Sioui | Canada | 200-meter fly | Canadian Record | 1:57.45 | 25th |
| Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 100-meter back | European Record & British Commonwealth Record | 59.38 | 4th |
| JB Walsh | Philippines | 200-meter fly | Philippine National Record | 1:59.39 | 29th |
2008 Gator Medalists:
| Gator | Country | Event | Time | Medal |
| Ryan Lochte | U.S. | 400-meter IM 800-meter free relay | 4:08.09 6:58.56 | Bronze Gold |
| Dara Torres | U.S. | 4x100-meter free relay | 3:34.33 | Silver |
-Go Gators-
