Rebecca Soni 100 Meter Breaststroke, Beijing Olympics (video)

NJ's Rebecca Soni earned a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke tonight in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics. Video is here, can't figure out how to embed it.

Rebecca Soni 100 Meter Breaststroke, Beijing Olympics (video)
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Rebecca Soni won the Olympic lottery Tuesday night.

In an event in which she didn't qualify for the Summer Games, an event that broke her heart at the Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb., where she finished fourth, in an event in which she wasn't expected to medal, the 21-year-old Plainsboro native captured a silver medal, her first Olympic medal.

Moments after Michael Phelps accepted his third gold medal of the Olympiad for a world-record performance in the 200-meter freestyle, Soni, swimming in lane 5, finished second to the world's best, Leisel Jones of Australia, in the 100-meter breaststroke at the National Aquatics Center.

Fifth midway through the race, Soni closed strongly to finish in 1:06.73. Jones swam in 1:05.17, an Olympic record, and Mirna Jukic of Austria took the bronze medal in 1:07.34.

"I don't even know how I feel yet," Soni said. "It's still registering. Who could ask for more? It's pretty incredible. I wasn't ready to swim this event a few days ago, so to get in was nice, but then to win a medal is incredible."

In effect, Soni was playing with house money in this event. She did not qualify for this swim at the Olympic Trials, but, as a member of the team for the 200-meter breaststroke, she was placed in the 100-meter swim when Jessica Hardy, the top U.S. qualifier, tested positive for clenbuterol, a banned anabolic agent, and withdrew from the Games.

Hardy faces a two-year ban for the violation...

Rebecca Soni 100 Meter Breaststroke, Beijing Olympics (video) coming soon