SULLIVAN UPSTAGED BY FRENCH GIANT

BEIJING, CHINA, August  14: Eamon Sullivan has claimed silver in the glamour event of the swimming program - the men's 100 metres freestyle - at the National Aquatics Centre.

Sullivan led early but was overhauled by massive Frenchman Alain Bernard in the shadows of the wall, the Australian touching in 47.32 to Bernard's 47.21. American Jason Lezak and Brazilian Cesar Cielo Fihlo tied for third in 47.67.

Fellow Australian Matt Targett was seventh in 48.20. DAVID LYALL AOC REPORTS...

It was only Australia's third medal in the event in the last 24 years - Ian Thorpe's bronze at the Athens Games and Mark Stockwell's silver in Los Angeles the others. Mike Wenden was the last Australian to claim gold in the sprint - winning at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.

A composed Sullivan was upbeat after the emotionally draining effort, paying tribute to Bernard.

"I'm very happy," Sullivan said. "I always come out of my races knowing I gave it everything and tonight's no exception. I gave it 100 per cent and I just wasn't good enough."

"Full credit to Alain, he swam a great race and swum me out of it and he deserves to win."

With the win Sullivan has broken the mould for sprinters, the slight Western Australian weighing in at 78 kilograms, much less than Bernard and the rest of his rivals.

Sullivan's medal winning effort is remarkable considering the fragility of his body. The 22-year-old has had three hip operations, ankle surgery, a succession of shoulder, back and rib injuries and more than 20 cortisone injections.

The fact that he is even able to compete against athletes of the calibre of Bernard and Pieter van den Hoogenband is a credit to his medical support staff and the patience and persistence of he and his innovative coach Grant Stoelwinder.

He made his Olympic debut in Athens as a relay swimmer but spent the bulk of 2005 injured, even missing selection on the Australian team for the FINA World Championships that year. Since then he has come on in leaps and bounds, he and Stoelwinder figuring out how best to manage Sullivan's fragile body. Ominously for Sullivan's rivals it is still a work in progress.

He has raced all over the world during the past three years, spending more time away than home in Perth. One of the things swimmer and coach devised was the need for more race practice and less traditional body damaging training.

The plan has worked but no one is more aware of the struggles he as faced than Sullivan himself.

"That's why I'm so happy with being where I am despite coming second by that sort of margin," Sullivan said.

"It's been a long tough four years for me battling injuries and all sorts of things, internal and external from swimming and if you asked me a couple of years ago if I'd be in a position like this there wouldn't be any chance in my mind that I could be here.

"I'm very happy to have performed so well in my first [individual] Olympic final."

Sullivan and Bernard have exchanged world records almost at will this year.

Between them they have broken the 100m world record five times in less than five months. The Frenchman broke it twice at the European Championships in March before Sullivan lowered it leading off Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay team on Sunday. Then yesterday the pair exchanged the record again, Bernard snaring it in the first semi-final, Sullivan wrestling it back in the second.

They have also broken the 50m freestyle world mark four times this year, three times for Sullivan and once for Bernard.