American swimmer Anthony Ervin took gold in the 50 meter freestyle as a 19-year old at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, finishing tied with fellow American Gary Hall Jr. But after leaving the sport for eight years he returned to make the United States swim team in 2012, and Friday night he won his second Olympic gold in the 50 free.
Ervin finished the sprint in 21.40 seconds, beating the defending Olympic champion Florent Manaudou of France by one one-hundredth of a second. Two Americans won medals in the race, with Nathan Adrian taking bronze with a time of 21.