Haydens last?
Freestyle sprinter Brent Hayden qualified comfortably for the semifinals in his 100-metre event Tuesday morning at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Swimming in the eighth and last heat, Hayden clocked 48.53 seconds to finish third in his heat and fifth overall.
I just got to race no matter what, said Hayden, 28, the 2007 world champion and 2011 world silver medallist. Im holding nothing back because I made that mistake in Beijing. Tonight could be the last time I race the 100 freestyle so I have to race like it is my last race.
The swimmer trains with the national team at the University of B.C. The semifinals were Tuesday evening in London after the Couriers print deadline. The race for Olympic gold goes Wednesday.
Dickens PB
In the mens 200-metre breaststroke preliminaries, Scott Dickens won his heat by an impressive margin with a time of two minutes, 10.95 seconds to finish 13th overall and advance to the semi-finals Tuesday night in London. He beat his own personal best by 1.5 seconds.
I really cant ask for anything more. I just wanted to leave it all in the pool. I was in so much pain at the last 150 metres but I pushed through it, said Dickens, an Ontario swimmer who trains in Vancouver. This is not my best event so I really couldnt ask for anything more, especially on this stage which is the most stressful environment you can be in.
In the 100m breaststroke semifinal on Saturday, Dickens touched the wall in 1:00.16, last in his heat and didnt qualify for the final.
Soccer quarterfinals
The national womens soccer team came from behind to tie Sweden 2-2 Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinal knockout stage. Melissa Tancredi scored both goals, including the equalizer in the 84th minute. Canada pressed hard in the closing minutes, but couldnt find the net for the go-ahead goal to clinch the win.
The Canadians lost 2-1 to world champion Japan in their opener, beat South Africa 3-0 in their second game and finish their group stage round with four points.
Their quarterfinal opponent and venue wont be determined until the final set of womens matches are played Wednesday.
Lowden in the hunt
Hunter Lowden and sailing partner Gordon Cook started confidently in the 49er class. On the second day of competition, they led the fleet for three laps but lost several boat lengths to finish third. After Tuesdays fourth day of racing, they sit in 17th position overall, one minute, 37 seconds behind the American leaders. Racing continues for 11 more days. Lowden trains out of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.
Pospisil match point
The Canadian tennis doubles pair of 39-year-old Daniel Nestor and 22-year-old Kitsilano resident Vasek Pospisil defeated their Romanians opponents 6-3, 7-6(9) in the opening round. On Tuesday they played a Serbian pair for a shot at the quarterfinals but the game continued past the Couriers deadline.
Nestor is searching for a second Olympic medal after winning gold alongside Sebastien Lareau at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. This is Pospisils first Olympic Games.
