And on night No. 2 at the Olympic pool, the swimming gods delivered... redemption.
American butterfly specialist Dana Vollmer completed an eight-year journey back to the top of the podium (she didn't even make the 2008 team). In the 100-meter breaststroke, the recently unretired (and quadrennially disappointed) Brendan Hansen of the U.S. won what he called the "shiniest bronze medal" he'd ever seen.
Even Michael Phelps got back to the podium a night after missing it for the first time in a dozen years. Phelps won a silver medal in a thrilling 4x100-meter freestyle relay that saw the French redeem themselves from their loss four years ago in the same race by less than a one-tenth of a second.
The relay medal was bittersweet for Phelps and the Americans, who won with a world record in 2008 and held an arm's-length lead Sunday night before Yannick Agnel caught Ryan Lochte in the final seconds of the final leg.
Phelps said the U.S. should appreciate the medal but acknowledged: "You don't go into any relay hoping for silver, hoping for bronze."
