Long Beach native Jessica Hardy was in the running for a gold medal on Thursday afternoon in the Women's 100m Freestyle Final. She was up against a very tough field, headlined by America's new favorite swimmer, Missy Franklin.
Despite a solid start from Hardy, she did not get a strong push off the wall and fell all the way back to 8th place. She finished 54.02 seconds, a little more than a full second behind the winner. Franklin appeared to be fatigued in the closing meters of the race, and she ended up placing fifth in 53.64.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (can I buy a vowel?) of the Netherlands won gold as she set an olympic record in an even 53 seconds. Aliaksandra Herasimenia (can I buy another vowel?) of Belarus took home silver. Yi Tang of China finished in third and won bronze.
Check out SI's complete medal tracker here.
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