USA's Anthony Ervin Wins Gold At Rio Olympics In 50-Meter Freestyle

Anthony Ervin of the United States reclaimed the mantle of fastest man in the water on Friday by taking the Olympic 50 meters freestyle gold medal 16 years after he first won it, and by the slimmest of margins.I kind of laughed. Its almost absurd I was able to do it again, said Ervin of his immediate reaction to seeing his name with the number one against it.Frances Florent Manaudou, the defending champion, finished second and just 0.01 seconds behind the 35-year-old veteran, who won in 21.40 seconds in a splash and dash down the pool. Nathan Adrian of the United States took the bronze in the shortest and fastest race on the program. He also finished third in the 100 freestyle on Wednesday.The entire field was separated by just 0.68 seconds, with Ben Proud of Britain finishing fourth.Ervin, at 35 the oldest swimmer to win a mens individual gold, won his first title in a dead-heat in the same event with team mate Gary Hall Jr at the 2000 Sydney Games. Both touched out in 21.98 seconds.He later sold that medal to raise money for relief efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.American swimmer Anthony Ervin overcomes grueling hardships to wins gold medal at age 35 https://t.co/7oZpZ906U0 pic.twitter.com/Pnv1QTh3yN BI Sports (@BI_Sports) August 13, 2016 Asked earlier in the week what he would do if he won another, Ervin had replied: I dont know. Im living in the moment, man.Heavily tattooed, and as the oldest man on the U.S. swim team making 31-year-old Michael Phelps look comparatively young, the Californian gave up competitive swimming in 2003 but returned for the 2012 Games in London.Fridays medal was his second gold from Rio, the first coming in Mondays 4x100 freestyle. He also has a 4x200 freestyle silver from 2000.If anything, I was a little bit slower than I thought I was going to be, he said.(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)For more Olympics coverage:Disappointed North Korean Says He Is Not A Hero For Winning SilverFiji Wins First Ever Olympic Gold, Immediately Declares Public HolidayStraight Writer Blasted For Outing Olympians In Daily Beast PieceQueen Simone Biles Claims Her Olympic Crown At Last -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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