The Australian team coming in fourth in the 4×100 freestyle relay was as big a surprise for me as Michael Phelps finishing fourth in the 400 Individual Medley.
On paper, they should have won this event hands down, even easier than they did last year in Shanghai. In the Aussie trials in March James Magnussen and James Roberts became the fastest two men in textile suits ever, and the rest of the field was just impressive.
But when it comes to execution things can change, and the awesome pressure of representing your country at the Olympic Games can either pump you up and get the best out of you or just crush you, especially when you are expected to win on your debut.
The team, as did the whole world, expected Magnussen to deliver a comfortable lead after the first leg as he did in the world championships in Shanghai. But when he handed over second in a disappointing 48.03 the whole plan just fell apart.
And when that happens you start messing up small technicalities, (changeovers, starts, turns), that cost you valuable fractions of seconds that end up costing you the race.
By the same token, since Beijing, the French have been favoured to win this relay with their team including powerful sprinters like former world record holders Alain Bernard and Fred Bousquet, but they never managed to get it together.
They lost to the US in Beijing and in the World Championships in 2009 and then to Australia in 2011. They finally managed to win on Sunday when they were least expected to, I believe this is partially because the pressure of winning was lifted off their shoulders.
That said, there are some swimmers that perform better in relays. I was one of those myself, call it patriotism, call it team spirit, I am not sure, but for some reason there is a lot more adrenaline flowing through the body on the relays than on individual events.
Nathan Adrian seems to be the type, he led off the Americans with a personal best in textile of 47.89, which I am pretty sure he won’t achieve in the individual race.
Also Yannick Agnel finished emphatically for France in 46.74, bringing home the long awaited win, and I think we all remember what Jason Lezak did in Beijing four years ago.
No matter how well you do the math, there are some elements that you simply can’t factor in your calculations.
*Elhamawy is an ex-swimmer for Egypt’s acclaimed Gezira Club.
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