USA Today · Aug 13, 2016
Ervin pulls off Olympic swim victories 16 years apart
(Photo: The Associated Press)RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Anthony Ervin finally has an Olympic gold medal to replace the one he sold 16 years ago.
The 35-year-old American won the men's 50-meter freestyle at the Rio Games on Friday, capping a night of upsets in the pool.
Ervin improbably touched first in 21.40 seconds — a hundredth of a second ahead of defending champion Florent Manaudou of France. Teammate and former training partner Nathan Adrian claimed bronze.
"It's surreal, kind of absurd," Ervin said. "When I touched and turned around and saw the '1' next to my name, I kind of smiled and laughed."
Katie Ledecky, his 19-year-old teammate and multiple gold medalist, marveled at Ervin's feat.