Gary Hall has a great shock of hair which he often wears in the Don King style, with a big pair of sunglasses underneath. He looks goofy, but Hall is a class act and at these Olympics he has emerged from under the shadow of his famous swimming father.
Not an easy thing to do. Hall was carried around the pool deck at the Montreal Olympics by his father. Mark Spitz was best man at his parents' wedding.
Last weekend, when the US 4x100 relay team were beaten for the first time in Olympic history, Hall came to the press tent and spoke with both pride and graciousness for 20 minutes. He made no excuses. He didn't stint on the praise for the Australian performance which had beaten his team. He made many friends.
Last night Hall had his reward, a gold medal. He and his team-mate Anthony Ervin caused a small shock and together made swim history by stretching their fingertips to the wall at precisely the same instant at the end of a sensational 50-metres freestyle sprint.
The two Americans train together in Phoenix and, unlike the previous night's shared bronze between Dara Torres and Inge de Bruijn, this one was between friends. "I don't mind sharing the gold medal podium," said Hall. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, a guy I train with every day. It was like another day in practice out there."
"We've had a tie for the gold medal," said Ervin. "I said to Gary that it couldn't have ended better for us." The splash and dash, as Hall calls the 50-metres, is one of the glamour races of the Games having been dominated for the last two Olympiads by the charismatic Russian, Alexander Popov. Last night's field included Popov, Michael Klim and the turbo-charged Dutch swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband.
Ervin and Hall touched the wall at exactly the same time of 21.98 seconds to share the gold medal, van den Hoogenband took bronze, while the great Popov could claim only sixth.
Klim finished outside the medals in the 50-metres race and his difficult Olympic week continued in the 100-metres butterfly, a race which he was strongly fancied to win. Klim and fellow Australian Gieff Huegill went away from the field early and led at the split in world-record time, but were swallowed by Lars Froelander of Sweden, who finished with an astonishing final 20 metres to give Sweden its first swimming medal.
Europe has generally spoiled the week for the Australians. Being beaten by Americans is just about tolerable. Nobodies with unpronounceable names is a different matter
Diana Mocanu, a 16-year-old Romanian and the youngest competitor in the field, had an easy win in the women's backstroke, swimming a strong final 100 metres to finish in 2.08.16, over two seconds ahead of Roxana Maracineanu of France. Mocanu had already won the 100-metres backstroke event earlier in the week.
More satisfaction for Dublin coach Peter Banks as he watched his charge Brooke Bennett retain her Olympic 800-metres freestyle title. Bennett had won the 400metres freestyle earlier in the week. Last night she finished in 8.19.67, comfortably ahead of Yana Klochnova some three seconds behind. Kaitlin Sandeno of America was third.
No such luck for one of Bennett's training companions, Chantal Gibney of Dublin, who bowed out of the Games. Her swim of 27.46 in the 50-metres freestyle heats wasn't enough to get her to the next round.
Lastly, Inge de Bruijn, who pocketed the 100 butterfly and freestyle titles earlier this week, eyed the 50-metres freestyle title by setting a world record in the semi-final.
She swam 24.13 to take 0.26 off her own record. She had already broken the 100 butterfly world record here. De Bruijn, a finalist in one event in 1992 (she came last), has now broken 11 world records this summer. The Games have now seen 13 world record swims.
