French swimmer Alain Bernard finally lived up to his words as he won the most-expected race and beat his arch rival and world record holder Australian Eamon Sullivan on Thursday morning at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Bernard won the men's 100m freestyle in 47.21 seconds, beating Sullivan who finished 47.32 seconds. American Jason Lezak and Brazilian Cesar Filho Cielo shared the bronze clocking 47.67.
"The 100 meters favorite, it's me," Bernard told journalists upon his arrival in Beijing.
"I've always said that 10 to 15 swimmers could be on the podium, but physically, I'm on top. I'm fitter than I was at the French championships, fitter than I was at the European championships."
However, Bernard's sweet champion dream was shattered when he suffered a heartbreaking failure Monday morning at China's National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube.
The confident Frenchman was outswum by American swimmer Jason Lezak in the final leg for men's 4X100m free relay and surrendered the title to the Americans with only 0.08 seconds.
The crestfallen 25-year-old said he had taken all the responsibilities on his shoulder which made the defeat even bitter for him.
"I really took the 100m (Freestyle) Relay to my heart and felt personally responsible, ...but my coach reminded me that a relay has four people, so one single person can't carry all the weight, that helped me," Bernard said.
"Bernard is a champion, but he has to learn how to deal with defeat and, when he has learnt that, to spring back. That is the sign of a real champion," French coach Claude Fauquet said.
Fortunately, Bernard did learn.
The world record, in Bernard's words, danced, as he traded with Sullivan in the heats and semifinals for men's 100m free.
Sullivan already lowered record of 47.50 that Bernard set at the European Championships this March to 47.24 in the free relay on Monday morning.
Bernard then lowered it in the first heat of the semifinals, clocking 47.20, with Sullivan following in the next heat in 47.05 five minutes later.
Talking about his win over Sullivan in the final, Bernard said he was still in a way of "can't believe it".
"I still can't believe it, this is a huge victory over myself," Bernard said, stressing that he ccould have remained beaten down and shut off from everyone.
Bernard said his coach told him to stay true with himself, and he wanted to be the one who can grasp his destiny in his own hands.
"I had to get back into the proper mind set after the 4X100 ( meters Freestyle Relay) and find again the good sensations that I had in the heats."
"I was stressed and experiencing bad sensations (after the relay) but I managed to recover these good sensations in the heats (of the 100m Freestyle)," the Frenchman said.
"To bounce back after the relay takes a lot of guts, full credit to Alain, he was the better man on the day," said Sullivan, who was already in a mindset to take his revenge at men's 50m free race.
(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)