Streamlined News: April 18, 2012

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 18. WE'RE 100 days away from the start of the London Olympics, and the New York Times is reporting that NBC will stream every event at the Olympics live on their website NBCOlympics.com. This is a major change in NBC's policy that tried to have as many people as possible watch the Olympics on TV, but after the Beijing Olympics, in which only half of the United States were able to watch swimming live on television, NBC decided to make every sport available live in some fashion. Early plans are still in place to bring most of the swimming finals live on television in London, and NBC is also airing the US Olympic Trials live on TV each night.

Missy Franklin is in New York City today as part of a big celebration by the US Olympic Committee to mark 100 days to London. Times Square has been redesigned to look like an Olympic village, and Franklin is there to generate interest in the upcoming Games, including an appearance on The Today Show.

Olympic champions Sammy Lee and Greg Louganis, along with 2012 Olympic hopeful Brittany Viola, are also in New York as part of the celebration, ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ on Tuesday, and later that evening, Louganis helped light the Empire State Building with red, white and blue lights. Lee will also be honored at a special ceremony to commemorate his first diving gold medal, which he won at the 1948 London Olympics.

South Africa added a few new names to the list of Olympians, including three for what could be a strong men's 800 freestyle relay, based on the results of today's 200 freestyle final. Darian Townsend won the event with a 1:47.88, just six hundredths of a second off the FINA A cut. Sebastien Rousseau and Jean Basson were second and third, both of them swimming under 1:49. Townsend could find himself in the 200 free in London, if South Africa decides to use the 1:47.64 he swam at the USA nationals in December.

Chad Le Clos, who swam a 1:47.2 in yesterday's 200 free semifinals to add that event to Olympic program, scratched the 200 free final to concentrate on the 200 fly semis later in the session. Le Clos didn't need to push himself too hard in the 200 fly today, but went a 1:55.30 anyway, the third-fastest time in the world so far behind Takeshi Matsuda and Nick D'Arcy. Le Clos is now set for three individual events in London, with the 200 IM and 100 fly yet to be swum this week.

Charl Crous won the 100 back final today with a 54.17, two hundredths faster than he swam in yesterday's semifinals to put himself on the Olympic team.

After being unable to get paperwork submitted in time to represent the United States at this Olympics, Vlad Morozov is now going to London as a member of the Russian Olympic team. Morozov was second in the 100 back today at the Russian Olympic Trials with a 53.93, just two hundredths of a second behind Arkady Vyatchanin, who won bronze in this event in 2008. The times put Vyatchanin and Morozov just outside the top 10 globally in the event.

Also in Moscow, Yulia Efimova put up a 1:06.92 in the 100 breast semifinals, the fifth-fastest time in the world, and Danila Izotov won the 200 free final with a 1:47.96 as the top six in that event all swam within three tenths of each other, setting up great 800 free relay potential for Russia.

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