The U.S. picked up a gold medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle relay on Wednesday by setting a new Olympic record at 7:42.92. The U.S. team defeated Australia by 0:1.49 and France by 0:4.57.
Colorado's Missy Franklin started the race for the U.S. and was outstanding for the first 100 meters, completing it in 55.87 seconds. She did slow down during the second 100 meters, but when it was time for the change, Dana Vollmer entered the pool in third place, behind France and Australia. Vollmer and Shannon Vreeland kept the U.S. team steady over the next 400 meters and remained right there with Australia and France, who switched positions.
Allison Schmitt took to the pool last, but she got off to an outstanding start and just blew past her competition for the new Olympic record. China set the world record in 2009 with a finish time of 7:42.08.
Missy Franklin now has three medals. The other two are a gold in the 100 meter backstroke and a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
For more, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver and check out SB Nation's 2012 Summer Olympics hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.
