Aug. 17, 2004
ATHENS - Agnes Kovacs, reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 200m breaststroke, had another world-class performance Tuesday in Athens finishing fourth in the women's 200m individual medley final. Kovacs, who is competing in her third Olympic Games for Hungary, captured the gold in the 200m breaststroke and finished fifth in the 100m breaststroke in Sydney (2000).
Kovacs, who finished eighth overall in the semifinals to earn a spot in the event final, impressed the world yet again with a strong performance, swimming over a second faster than her time one day prior. With a time of 2:13.58, she finished fourth, barely missing her second Olympic medal. Kovacs will hit the water again Wednesday as she tries to defend her crown in the 200m breaststroke. She holds the school record for Arizona State in the 200 breaststroke, 200 IM and the 400 IM.
Former Sun Devil swimmer Gavin Meadows finished fourth in the 4x200m freestyle relay Tuesday for his home country of Great Britain, one spot shy of an Olympic medal. Meadows was a member of the second all-time fastest relay team in ASU history as well as holding the seventh all-time top time in the 500 freestyle.
Still to compete in the Olympic Games is Sun Devil diver Joona Puhakka (Finland), the reigning 3-meter NCAA Champion. His competition begins Monday, August 23.
The swimming events at the Summer Games run through August 21 while the diving events will be contested through August 28.
2004 Olympic Summer Games, Athens, Results:
Agnes Kovacs - Hungary
200m IM Finals: 4th - 2:13.58
200m IM semi-finals: 8th - 2:14.68
100m breaststroke: 10th - 1:09.12
Gavin Meadows - Great Britain
4 x 200 freestyle relay: 4th - 7:12.60
Petra Banovic - Croatia
200m freestyle: 32nd -- 2:04.24
100m IM: 25th - 2:20.83
Florencia Szigeti - Argentina
200m freestyle: 25th - 2:03.29
David Kolozar - Hungary
200m butterfly: 25th - 2:01.89
Ahmed Hussein - Egypt
100m backstroke: 31st - 56.86