Franklin, 17, finished with an incredible time of two minutes, 4.06 seconds — three-quarters of a second faster than the previous record, set by Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe at the 2009 world championships in Rome in a now-banned bodysuit.

“I can’t believe what just happened,” gushed Franklin, after breaking a record that had stood for three years. “I knew I was giving it everything I had because I couldn’t feel my arms or legs and I was just trying to get my hand to the wall as fast as I could.”

With her 200m backstroke win, Franklin has now won three gold medals, as she also captured first in the 100 backstroke as well as being part of the first-place team in the 4×200 freestyle relay.

Her fourth medal, a bronze, came in the 4×100 freestyle relay.

“She’s an amazing competitor, she’s always having fun but she really knows how to tune in when she needs to,” said third-placed American team mate Elizabeth Beisel.

According to the WSJ, Missy Franklin’s win in Friday’s 200-meter backstroke marks the first time an American woman has won the event since 1972, and the third time in history.

The teenage swimming superstar still has one race left under her belt as she competes for gold later tonight in the women’s 4×100 medley relay.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mel Stewart talks about Missy’s chances at winning her final event of the 2012 London Games.

Missy Franklin Sets World Record In 200m Backstroke, Wins Third Gold is a post from: The Inquisitr

A six-minute tribute to the victims of the London subway terror attacks of July 7, 2005, was cut from the American broadcast of the London Olympics opening ceremony.

The NBC network showed a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps instead

Choreographer Akram Khan told the BBC that he felt “disheartened and disappointed” by the NBC decision against airing his performance for U.S. television viewers.  He added that “I am really sad that I couldn’t show the work in America, and that really upsets me, because I don’t think it’s any less or more than any of the other pieces.”

Of its programming decision, NBC has said that it was attempting to tailor the 2012 Summer Olympics broadcast for the American audience. It also said that it wasn’t aware of that the performance of “Abide With Me,” by the singer Emeli Sandé, that featured Khan and 50 dancers, was specifically a tribute to the 52 innocent persons killed in the suicide bomb attack that occurred a few days after London was named the host city for the 2012 Games.

Time offered this assessment of the 7/7 tribute controversy:

True, there was some disagreement over whether the segment was actually, literally a tribute to terrorism victims. The official program of the opening ceremonies describes that section of the program as a general tribute to “loved ones who couldn’t be with us.” But the commentary on the BBC telecast of the ceremony referenced it as a 7/7 tribute, and from the coverage in the British press, the symbolism and staging of the event seemed to clearly, if not officially, reference the 2005 attack.

But it also doesn’t really matter. Specific or general, a tribute to the missing seems like precisely the most sensitive section of a ceremony to edit out. And besides that, given the stranglehold NBC maintains on content for an event its audience has a massive interest in, why edit anything out? It may have been a long ceremony, as they always are, but there was plenty of time to air the song rather than have Ryan Seacrest interview athletes…

Perhaps NBC’s decision is less than surprising in the context that IOC officials have refused to even observe a moment of silence for the Israeli athletes murdered during the 1972 Munich Games.

Here is the footage from the London Olympics opening ceremonies broadcast that wasn’t aired on U.S. television:

Watch the London Olympics Opening Ceremony Footage Censored By NBC [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Michael Phelps nearly missed his first opportunity at an Olympic medal this morning when he barely qualified for the 400 IM.

Phelps took the eight and final spot this morning by winning his heat against Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh. Phelps touched Cseh out by just .07 seconds.

Phelps may have barely qualified for a spot in tonight’s race, but the multi-medal Olympian said that he’s still hopeful about his chances tonight.

Phelps said:

“A final spot is a final spot…. The only thing that matters is getting a spot in. You can’t win a gold medal from the morning…. I didn’t expect those guys to go that fast in the heats.”

Phelps’ teammate Ryan Lochte qualified in the third spot overall but was still unsatisfied with his performance.

Lochte said:

“My first race is always the worst one… I’m glad I got the cobwebs out.”

Lochte also said that people shouldn’t count Phelps out of tonight’s race.

The American swimmer added:

“You can’t count him out…. Even though he just squeaked in eighth, he’s a racer. We’re going to do everything we can to go 1-2 tonight.”

USA Today notes that American fans expected the 400 IM to be a head-to-head showdown between Phelps and Locthe tonight, but after the qualifying session Japan’s Kosuke Hagino seems to be the man to beat. Hagino qualified for the first spot with a 4’10.01 time, a national record.

Do you think Michael Phelps will add to his medal count tonight?

Michael Phelps Qualifies For 400 IM Final By .07 Seconds is a post from: The Inquisitr