Popov — Will he be the Man Friday?

SYDNEY: Russian sprint king Alexander Popov, robbed of his 100m Freestyle crown by flying Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband on Wednesday night, launched his final bid to create Olympic history in Thursday morning’s 50m qualifiers. Popov must win Friday night’s final to become the first male swimmer to win the same title at three successive Olympics, after failing in last night’s 100m.

And the world-record holder led Van den Hoogenband in the qualifiers when he clocked 22.15, 0.51 sec off his own world mark, to edge ahead of the newly crowned 100m and 200m Dutch champion, in 22.32. "I feel a bit sleepy. It was hard to sleep after doping control because I drank too much," said Popov.

The Russian finished overall third, with Van den Hoogenband fifth, behind Poland’s Bartosz Kizierowski, fastest in the qualifiers in 22.05, with Gary Hall Jr of the United States second in 22.14. The swimmers were clearly exhausted from the gruelling Olympic swim schedule which now also includes semi-finals.