Duje Draganja Croatian Olympic Silver 2004

Missed gold by one-hundredth of a second.
Duje Draganja of Croatiacelebrates his second place in the 50 meter freestyle final at the Olympic Aquatics Center in Athens August 20, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games (news - web sites) swimming competition. REUTERS/Yves Herman
 

Gold medallist Gary Hall (R) of the U.S. and silver medallist Duje Draganja of Croatia celebrate after the 50 metre freestyle final at the Olympic Aquatics Center in Athens August 20, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games (news - web sites) swimming competition. REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell

 

50-meter freestyle medalists from left; Bronze medalist Roland Mark Schoeman, of South Africa, gold-medalist Gary Hall, of the United States, and Silver-medalist Duje Draganja, of Croatia stand on the podium at the Olympic Aquatic Centre during the 2004 Olympic Games (news - web sites) in Athens, Friday, Aug. 20, 2004. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

It was an especially sweet victory for the irreverent Hall, who was upset about being left off a couple of U.S. relay teams. Swimming as though he had something to prove, he recovered from a slow start to touch in 21.93 - beating Croatia's Duje Draganja by one-hundredth of a second. Hall ripped off his cap, threw up his arms in a defiant pose and climbed out of the pool to take a bow. He plans to be back in 2008. "Why not?" he said, savoring the 10th medal of his career. "Defiance. It's fun."