Three Swimmers, One Spot in the Semifinals

Leon Neal/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAmy Smith, top, talks with Sarah Blake Bateman after the swim-off in the 50-meter freestyle on Friday.

LONDON – The 50-meter freestyle is the Olympic swimming program’s simplest event. Dive in. Swim hard. Stretch for the wall.
Until it gets complicated.
Kara Lynn Joyce of the United States was forced into a swim-off Friday morning after she was part of a three-way tie for the final spot in the semifinals of the event. Joyce’s time of 25.28 seconds tied her with Amy Smith of Britain and Sarah Blake Bateman, a Florida native who swims for Iceland. But two of the three would have to be eliminated before Friday night’s semifinals.
Ties are not uncommon in swimming – Sun Yang of China and Tae-hwan Park of South Korea shared the silver medal after posting the same time in the 200-meter freestyle final – and neither are swim-offs. There had been two previous ones in these Games, though one was canceled after a Japanese racer withdrew to preserve his energy for his other event.
Still, the curiosity, the short distance and the presence of a British swimmer made Friday’s swim-off an exciting end to the morning session.
The 50 free was an all-or-nothing proposition in London for Joyce, a three-time Olympian; it was the only event she swam at the United States trials, and her time there – 24.73 seconds – was good enough to earn her a chance to add an individual medal to the four relay silvers she earned in Athens and Beijing.