He looks a tad
rusty since Beijing
Michael Phelps
Worst Start Since Beijing
LONDON -- Michael Phelps almost failed to qualify for the
final in the first of his seven events, and Olympic champion Park Tae-hwan was
reinstated after being disqualified for a false start in a dramatic opening to
swimming at the London Games on Saturday.
"That one didn't feel too good," Phelps said after
squeaking into the final in the 400-meter individual medley by seven-hundredths
of a second.
Park touched the wall first in his 400 freestyle heat and
was surprised by his disqualification, saying, "I don't know why"
after he walked off the deck.
South Korea appealed to swimming's governing body, which
reinstated Park after a video review, FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu
told The Associated Press.
Park and Phelps were not the only surprises of the morning
at the Aquatics Centre, where Queen Elizabeth appeared briefly. Paul Biedermann
of Germany, the world-record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, failed to make
the final.
"That's the Olympics," said Canadian Ryan
Cochrane, who initially took the last spot in the 400 freestyle final but was
knocked out when Park was reinstated. "It's always a surprise, every
single heat. You just have to focus on your own race."
In Beijing, Park became South Korea's first swimming gold
medalist. He also won the world title in Shanghai last year.
Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his 400
IM heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world
record of 4:03.84 set four years ago in Beijing, when Phelps won a record eight
gold medals.
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