Monday, August 11, 2008

Let the Trojan medal count begin


Forty-one past, present, and future Trojans are competing in the Beijing games, and it didn’t take long for one of those athletes to pick up a medal. Larsen Jensen, a recent graduate of USC, swam to a third place finish and bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, edged by China’s Lin Zangh for the silver. Jensen was a silver medalist in the 2004 Athens games, participating in the 1500-meter freestyle event. Though he placed third, Larsen’s Beijing time of 3:42.78 established a new American record for the event, breaking his own U.S mark for the third time. Jensen remains a favorite in the 1500-meter freestyle scheduled for August 15th.

Rebecca Soni grabbed another medal, claiming the silver in the 100-meter breaststroke. Soni was a replacement for Jessica Hardy on the Olympic roster, after Hardy was disqualified from competition for failing a drug test for performance enhancement.

Note: Placing 5th in the 400-meter freestyle event was Larsen Jensen’s former USC teammate, Ous mellouli. Swimming for the nation of Tunisia, Mellouli’s time of 3:43.45 did not earn him a medal, but it established a new African record.

Fight On!

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