London, England – Allison Schmitt took the lead after the first turn and was off.
The American swimmer won the women's 200-meter freestyle Tuesday night with an Olympic record, picking up her first career gold and third medal here in London.
Schmitt was fourth after the first 50 meters but led each of the last three touches and now has four career Olympic medals. It was the first gold after a silver and two bronze.
"I got a whole collection of them now," said Schmitt.
She easily beat Camille Muffat of France by 1.97 seconds, finishing in 1 minute, 53.61 seconds to shave more than a second off Federica Pellegrini's Olympic record from 2008. The time was also a new American record.
Australia's Bronte Barratt was third, 2.20 seconds back, while American Missy Franklin missed a bronze medal by .01 seconds after winning her first gold Monday night in the 100 backstroke.
Franklin had barely qualified for Tuesday's final, getting the last spot out of the semis just minutes before she hit the pool for the 100 back. Which meant she had to swim in lane 8.
"I am definitely not used to the outside lane," said Franklin, who had the lead at 50 meters but lost one spot at each of the last three touches. "It was difficult to bring my emotions down after last night."
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
