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olympic
 Posted:
Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:07 am |
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2008 Olympics
The Golden Boy Wins First Gold
Michael Phelps won his first medal of the Olympic Games on Sunday in Beijing.
And, of course, it was Gold!
The U.S. swimmer smashed his own world record, comfortably winning the 400 metres individual medley gold medal in four minutes 03.84 seconds.
This is the first of a potential record-breaking eight gold medals at the Olympics for Phelps.
It was Phelps's seventh career Olympic gold medal and ninth overall as he chases down Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record of seven golds at one Games.
Let's hope he does it all!
He's already made history today.
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| SavannahStar
Posted:
Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:45 am |
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We watched him win the gold last night.....how awesome!!! It was so exciting. They did an interview with his mom before the race.....had me in tears. She is such a support to him, his biggest fan. Stuff like that gets me teary eyed.
I love the Olympics. Sorry I missed the Opening Cermony. Heard it was fabulous.
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| pax
Posted:
Sun Aug 10, 2008 2:30 pm |
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Those human interest stories are great. I'm not watching these summer Olympics but hope to watch the winter ones. I'm angry at the Chinese government for lying about human rights while violently crushing dissent. Go USA, go athletes from every country. Chinese government -- screw you.
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Posted:
Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:52 am |
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Lezak, Not Phelps, Puts on a Show
By KAREN CROUSE
Published: August 10, 2008
BEIJING — Would Michael Phelps’s bid for eight gold medals in the Beijing Games dissolve in a pool at the Water Cube on Day 3 of the swimming competition? The answer was a resounding No.
Not over Jason Lezak’s 32-year-old body.
Lezak, swimming the anchor leg of the United States’ 4x100-meter freestyle relay, hit the water a half-second after Alain Bernard of France, the world-record holder in the 100 freestyle. He made up ground, but with 25 meters remaining it appeared as if he would run out of pool. Trailing Bernard by half a body length, Lezak put his head down and surged to the wall.
It was a photo finish. When the water settled, the giant video scoreboard showed that Lezak had outtouched Bernard by 0.08 of a second. Phelps’s pursuit of Mark Spitz’ record of seven swimming gold medals in one Olympics remained alive with a little help from his mates. Lezak’s split, 46.06 seconds, was the fastest 100 split ever, 0.73 faster than the previous mark.
“His last 50 meters were absolutely incredible,” Phelps said. “He had a perfect finish.”
Lezak’s teammates were not surprised. “Jason is the most phenomenal closer I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Cullen Jones, who swam the third leg.
After Lezak touched, Phelps, who swam the first leg, raised his arms and let out a primal scream. Garrett Weber-Gale, who swam the second, came up from behind him and swallowed him in a hug.
The United States was timed in 3 minutes 8.24 seconds, shattering by nearly four seconds the world record that its B team had set the previous night.
France won the silver in 3:08.32. Australia, which got a world-record leadoff leg from Eamon Sullivan, was third.
It was a stunning result, more so given that Phelps arrived at the starting blocks for the relay Monday with a lackluster morning swim behind him.
In the semifinals of the 200 freestyle, the second of his five individual events, Phelps never held the lead in his heat, botched his finish and qualified fourth with a time that was two seconds slower than what he clocked at the United States Olympic Trials in July and one second slower than his target number.
“I just wanted to save as much energy as I could for the relay,” Phelps said afterward, between labored breaths.
He and his teammates knew they had to be at their best if they were to win the gold after being denied in the last two Olympics. As thunder rumbled over the bubble wrap ceiling of the National Aquatics Center, Phelps stepped to the blocks.
The quartet of Jones, Nathan Adrian, Ben Wildman-Tobriner and Matt Grevers gave Phelps and Co. the swimming equivalent of the pole position — Lane 4, in the middle of the pool — by qualifying first in the heats Sunday night. In the process, they gave everybody the time to shoot for, eclipsing by 0.23 of a second the world record with a clocking of 3 minutes 12.23 seconds.
The squads from France and Australia also finished under the existing record of 3:12.46, setting up a final that delivered all the bang of a fireworks show.
At the Olympic trials, Lezak, Weber-Gale and Phelps posted sub-48 second swims, which until the Games had been matched this year by only two others — Bernard and Sullivan.
Lezak, Weber-Gale and Phelps sat out Sunday’s preliminaries to conserve energy. In what proved to be a competition within the competition, the four Americans who did swim were essentially racing one another for one spot.
Jones, a Bronx native who grew up in New Jersey, won the honors by clocking the fastest split, a 47.61 on the second leg. In 2006, Jones became the first African-American to break a long-course world record when he was part of the United States relay team that set the global mark that fell Sunday night.
All eyes on Monday were on Phelps, but the pressure was on the French, who had never medaled in the event and were trying to win their country’s first swimming relay gold.
In the heats, the French had rested their two fastest swimmers, Bernard, who broke the world record in the 100 freestyle twice in March, and Fabien Gilot, who has the sixth-fastest time in the world this year.
Asked Sunday how he would handicap Monday’s final, Phelps said, “Who knows? I have absolutely no idea.”
The uncertainty of the outcome was a decided departure from 1972, when Spitz counted three relays among his seven golds. In those days, United States’ dominance meant there was never much drama in the relays. Going into the ’72 Munich Games, the Americans had won every Olympic gold awarded in the 4x100 freestyle and medley relays and 8 of 13 in the 4x200 freestyle.
Since then, the rest of the world since has caught up to the United States, the globalization of the sport reflected most dramatically in the relays. In 2000, the Americans were upset by Australia in the 4x100 freestyle and in 2004 they finished third behind South Africa — which returned for its defense unchanged from 2004 — and the Netherlands.
Returning the Olympic crown in the event to the United States was a high priority, Phelps said. “A couple of days ago we had a guys-only meeting where we shared some stories going back and forth about the hopes we have for this meet,” he said.
The French had made their hopes public. Their trash talking might have been their undoing as it motivated the Americans. “It fired me up more than anything else,” Phelps said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/sports/olympics/11swim.html?em
Jason Lezak
http://www.jasonlezak.com/
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Click your heels together...
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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| olympic
Posted:
Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:38 am |
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| SavannahStar wrote: | We watched him win the gold last night.....how awesome!!! It was so exciting. They did an interview with his mom before the race.....had me in tears. She is such a support to him, his biggest fan. Stuff like that gets me teary eyed.
I love the Olympics. Sorry I missed the Opening Cermony. Heard it was fabulous. |
agree.......after the obsessive rules of the chinese, i'm glad we even have the number of athletes participating.. 
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Posted:
Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:04 pm |
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Phelps typical 23-year-old _ 'til he hits water
United States' gold medal winner Michael Phelps reacts during the medal ceremony for the men's 200-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. (AP Photo / David J. Phillip)
By PAUL NEWBERRY –
BEIJING (AP) — In some ways, Michael Phelps is just your typical 23-year-old.
He hates getting up early. He wolfs down enormous amounts of pizza. He loves texting with friends, listening to hip-hop on his iPod, or just cruising around in a pimped-out ride.
Then he dives in the water.
Nothing typical there.
In winning the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps etched his name alongside the winningest Olympians with the ninth gold of an already brilliant career that shows no signs of slowing down. He'll only be making a brief stopover, saying hi to a group that includes Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis, then moving on.
Phelps has two more finals Wednesday — the 200 butterfly and the 800 free relay — and will be an overwhelming favorite in both races, already holding the world record in each. By lunchtime, he'll likely to be in a league of his own with 11 gold medals.
That would leave him with only one other thing to do before he leaves China: win all eight of his events to take down Spitz's record of seven golds at the 1972 Munich Games.
As of Tuesday, Phelps was 3-for-3 in Beijing — all of them with world record times.
"It might be once in a century you see something like this," teammate Aaron Peirsol said. "He's not just winning, he's absolutely destroying everything. It's awesome to watch."
To hear him talk, you wouldn't know it. He's turned a gathering of the world's best swimmers into his own personal meet, just him against the clock, easily lugging along the weight of history.
When Phelps climbed out of the pool after his latest dominating win matched Spitz, Lewis & Co., he unzipped his skintight suit and ambled over to chat with his coach.
"Well, you're tied," Bob Bowman reminded him.
"That's pretty cool," Phelps replied.
Ho-hum.
Phelps races to win, then moves on. He doesn't pause to appreciate the moment. There'll be plenty of time for that later.
"It's his physical ability, it's his ability to race, it's his ability to keep focused, to get excited when he needs to and to come down when he needs to come down," said Mark Schubert, head coach of the U.S. team.
Phelps didn't even know until earlier this year that he could become the winningest Olympian ever coming off of his six-gold performance in 2004. It took him just four days in Beijing to pull into a tie with Spitz, Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi.
"To be tied for the most Olympic golds of all time, with those names, in Olympic history ...," Phelps said, before pausing and letting out a slight chuckle.
"The Olympics have been around for so many years, that's a pretty amazing accomplishment."
He's sure not going to get all worked up about it, though. He'll leave that to others.
"If you're not involved in the sport, I'm not sure you can fully appreciate it," said Jack Bauerle, who coaches the U.S. women's team. "He is way past anything you have seen. He is incredible."
Away from the pool, Phelps is a creature of habit. He struggles to wake up in the morning, and loves to take naps in the middle of the afternoon. He usually gets two massages a day and takes ice baths to help his body recover from the grueling schedule. He feasts on gargantuan amounts of pasta and pizza between races.
"Lots of carbs," he said.
When it's time to race, there's no one better. Which is why it's hard to imagine anyone beating him in Beijing.
"I don't think Michael will let his guard down until the last relay race," said his mom, Debbie Phelps. "I don't think he has a comfort zone at all until the whole meet is over, the whole Olympic Games. He will not let his guard down because there's always someone out there."
Or not.
Phelps dominated the 400 individual medley and cleared his toughest hurdle when the 400 free relay team, anchored by Jason Lezak, pulled off an astonishing comeback over the last 25 meters to beat the French by a fingertip.
No one was close to him in the 200 free, either. Phelps made a perfect dive off the blocks and already had a clear lead by the time his body — perfectly suited for swimming with its long torso, large wingspan and big, flexible feet — re-emerged from the water.
Shortly after the first flip turn, he already was a full body length ahead. Phelps steadily pulled away and touched the wall in 1 minute, 42.96 seconds, breaking the mark he set at last year's world championships by nearly a full second.
By the time silver medalist Park Tae-hwan lunged for the end of the pool, Phelps was already looking at the scoreboard.
"I can copy him, but I don't think I could be as good as Phelps," said Park, a gold medalist himself in the 400 free. "It is my honor to compete with him."
His performance is even more remarkable when one considers the workload he takes on at a meet such as this: 17 races covering more than two miles, often against swimmers who specialize in one or two events.
"They've been resting all week and just gearing themselves up for one race, where every time Michael gets up on the block, he has to gear himself up for his performance that night or that morning," Debbie Phelps said.
Nothing spurs Phelps on more than defeat. The fear of failure defines all the great ones, from Michael Jordan to Tiger Woods, and there's nothing different about this guy.
In the 200 free, he avenged his only individual loss at the last Olympics. Phelps, only 19 then, finished third on that warm Greek evening behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband in what was quickly dubbed the "Race of the Century." Four years later, he has no equal.
"I hate to lose," he said. "When I lose a race like that, it motivates me even more to try to swim faster."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gFplrVkFHMmZVeqU2EsPWGSytXNgD92GR8RG3
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| olympic
Posted:
Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:11 pm |
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Overall Medal count
9.................gold
7.................silver
9--------------bronze
total 25
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Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:13 am |
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Phelps Adds 2 More Gold Medals
From left, Ricky Berens, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps react to their world-record victory in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
By JASON STALLMAN
BEIJING — The United States 4x200-meter freestyle relay team smashed the world record on Wednesday morning, helping Michael Phelps keep his gold-medal streak alive. The relay victory, in 6:58.56, helped Phelps earn his fifth medal of these Games, as he attempts to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one event, which Spitz set in 1972. Earlier in the night, Phelps had earned his fourth gold medal with a world-record performance in the 200-meter butterfly.
Phelps swam the opening leg, giving his teammates a substantial advantage. Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay continued to add to the lead, becoming the first relay team to break the 7-minute barrier, and beating the old record of 7:03.24.
Competing in the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday morning at the Water Cube — an inhospitable place to anyone who has dared dive in with Phelps — he captured his fourth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics and continued his march toward a record eight golds. He had less than an hour to take the podium and then rest before his next event, the 4x200 freestyle relay, scheduled for 11:19 a.m. local time. Phelps finished in 1 minute 52.03 seconds, topping his world record of 1:52.09. Laszlo Cseh of Hungary won silver in 1:52.70, and Takeshi Matsuda of Japan took bronze in 1:52.97.
If Phelps remains unbeaten, on Saturday morning he will catch Mark Spitz, who holds the record with seven golds at the 1972 Munich Games, and will pass him on Sunday morning in the 4x100 medley relay.
With each lap in the pool, Phelps has commanded more attention on the Olympic Green and around the world. NBC, the Olympics rights holder in the United States, knew such a run of golds would be great theater, so it prevailed on the Games’ organizers to hold swimming finals in the mornings in Beijing to capture live prime-time audiences in the States. The time of day has not appeared to matter to Phelps, who will be the heavy favorite in each of his remaining races.
In the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday, he left the field far behind and crushed his own year-old record. Sixteen months after becoming the first swimmer to crack the 1:44 barrier, he was the first to go under 1:43.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/sports/olympics/13michaelweb.html?ref=sports
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| olympic
Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:26 am |
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cause for celebration.......... 
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
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Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:40 am |
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| olympic wrote: | | cause for celebration.......... |
 
Cheers, olympic!
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Click your heels together...
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Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:44 am |
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Michael Phelps celebrates with his mother, Debbie, after winning the gold medal
and setting a new world record in the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay.
Last edited by resigned on Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:45 am |
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From left, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay celebrate their
gold-medal win in the 4 x 200-meter relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
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Click your heels together...
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Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:48 am |
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Michael Phelps throws his bouquet into the crowd during the medal ceremony for the 200-meter butterfly.
Phelps won gold, setting a new world record with a time of 1:52.49.
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Click your heels together...
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Posted:
Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:57 am |
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Michael Phelps is congratulated by bronze-medal winner Takeshi Matsuda (Japan) after winning
the gold in the 200-meter butterfly with a world-record time of 1:52.03.
It was Phelps' 10th career gold, making him the winningest Olympic athlete of all-time.
________________ 
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Click your heels together...
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| olympic
Posted:
Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:23 am |
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win baby win...........swim baby swim!.....
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
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| olympic
Posted:
Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:29 am |
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Day six----United States Medal count
10...............gold
8 ...............silver
13................bronze
31................total
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| SavannahStar
Posted:
Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:46 am |
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| resigned wrote: |
Michael Phelps celebrates with his mother, Debbie, after winning the gold medal
and setting a new world record in the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay. |
Being a mother myself (to a 23 year old!).......this photo is just classic. Love it!
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**SuperStar**
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Posted:
Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:35 pm |
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| SavannahStar wrote: |
Being a mother myself (to a 23 year old!).......this photo is just classic. Love it! |
I thought you would! 
Isn't it great? Notice the bouquet to his Mom's left....I bet he gave her the first one that he won that day and then he was nice and threw the second in the crowd.
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Posted:
Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:26 pm |
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Michael Phelps makes it 6-for-6
Michael Phelps congratulates teammate Ryan Lochte after winning the 200 IM Friday in Beijing.
Six down. Two to go.
Michael Phelps made it six gold medals — and six world records — in as many tries at the Beijing Olympics, blowing away Ryan Lochte and the rest of competition once again to take the men's 200-metre individual medley on Friday.
The American smashed his own mark by 0.57 seconds, clocking one minute 54.23 seconds at the National Aquatics Centre to successfully defend his Olympic title.
Phelps needs just two more victories to break Mark Spitz's 36-year-old standard of seven gold medals at a single Games.
Following his victory in the 200 IM, Phelps took a step toward matching Spitz's mark by winning his semifinal heat in the 100 butterfly.
Laszlo Cseh of Hungary finished a distant second in Friday's 200 IM with a time of 1:56.52.
Lochte, the defending silver medallist who was considered stiff competition for Phelps after edging his teammate and pal for the top qualifying time, faded to the bronze medal in 1:56.53.
Lochte's chances may have been hurt by a gruelling schedule: he captured the 200 backstroke in world-record time about a half hour earlier.
Keith Beavers of Orangeville, Ont., finished seventh in 1:59.43 in his final competitive race.
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/swimming/story/2008/08/14/olympics-phelps-day-seven.html
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Posted:
Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:53 pm |
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This photo made in 1993 shows U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps at age 8.
(Photo provided by North Baltimore Aquatic Club / August 14, 2008)
Michael Phelps, at 18 years of age, poses for a Chicago Tribune photo shoot prior the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
(Tribune photo by Chris Walker / April 6, 2004)
Michael Phelps prior to the men's 400-meter individual medley final.
(AP photo by Mark J. Terrill / August 10, 2008)
Michael Phelps prepares for the men's 400m individual medley final in Beijing, China
(Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante / August 10, 2008)
200m Individual Medley - August 15, 2008
(L-R) Silver medalist Laszlo Cseh, gold medalist Michael Phelps and bronze medalist Ryan Lochte pose on the podium
(Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)
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Posted:
Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:12 am |
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Eight things you might not know about Michael Phelps
When the whole world is writing about someone like Michael Phelps, you tend to get a lot of overlap. If you've been following the Olympics by now, you probably know the basics. Phelps grew up just outside of Baltimore, and battled ADHD as a kid. He was raised, mostly, by his mother, Debbie, a middle school principal. He adored and idolized his two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary, and they're the main reason he became a swimmer. Michael's father, Fred, wasn't around enough (in Michael's opinion) after Fred and Debbie got divorced when he was 9 years old. Father and son have a chilly relationship, and do not speak often, if at all.
You might feel like you've heard those details hundreds of times by now. I decided to rack my brain and try to come up with eight things you might not know. Eight, as you've probably heard, has special significance this week in China, so that's the number we're shooting for. Some are about his personality, some about his equipment, and some are just answers to silly questions I get all the time. But as you watch what could go down as one of the greatest sporting achievements in history, at the very least, you'll be able to explain to your friends why he wears two swim caps in the pool (which is the most frequent question I'm asked about Phelps).
1. HE WEARS TWO SWIM CAPS TO SMOOTH OUT THE WRINKLES FROM THE FIRST:
This is actually something a lot of swimmers do, and it's probably more psychological than anything. The goal is to make your head as smooth as possible and thus able to move through the water faster. When races are decided by hundredths of a second, swimmers will try to get any advantage. Mostly, it simply feels more secure. It's a way to keep your goggles tighter to your head as well, but it can also cause problems. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps goggles filled up with water. Normally a swimmer can try to rip them off their face if that happens, but not when you're wearing two swim caps.
2. ERIK VENDT, NOT RYAN LOCHTE, IS PROBABLY HIS CLOSEST FRIEND IN SWIMMING:
Phelps and Lochte are pals -- they have a shared interest in music, women, life -- but they never talk about swimming. They're too competitive. Vendt, who trained with Phelps the last two years in Michigan, was one of his closest confidants during this difficult year that included uneven training and a broken wrist. They're also roommates during most swim meets. "He's helped me through a lot of tough times (at Michigan)," Phelps said. Other than relay finishes in Athens and Beijing, the most intense yelling I've ever seen Phelps do was one day poolside at the Missouri Grand Prix in Columbia, Mo. Vendt was threatening the American record in the 1,500, and Phelps was bellowing at the top of his lungs, trying to urge Vendt on throughout the race.
Phelps, who considers himself completely non-political, often finds himself in the middle of political discussions because Vendt, a ardent Ron Paul supporter, is a political junkie and he and fellow Club Wolverine swimmer Davis Tarwater, who trends liberal, love to argue politics before practice with coach Bob Bowman, (who trends conservative and is a McCain supporter). "They go at is right from the start of practice," Phelps says. "They're always like 'Did you see Hillary (Clinton's) speech last night?' and I'm like 'What do you think?' "
3. HE WEARS DIFFERENT SUITS FOR DIFFERENT EVENTS BECAUSE SOME SUITS ARE DESIGNED FOR CERTAIN STROKES:
When you watch Phelps swim the freestyle events, he usually wears the kind of Speedo LZR Racer that has straps over his shoulders and goes all the way down to his ankles. But when he swims an event where he needs to perform the butterfly stroke, he only wears the LZR Racer pants. There is so much shoulder motion required for the fly, he feels more comfortable without something over his shoulders. You'll also see him in the relays immediately unzip his suit and pull it off his shoulders and down around his waist. It's not a vanity thing; he's not trying to show off his abs for the cameras. It's because the suits are ridiculously tight (they're designed to compress your body) and most swimmers want to unzip as soon as possible.
4. HE ALMOST NEVER READS ANYTHING WRITTEN ABOUT HIM:
Some swimmers obsess over their own press. Write a harsh word about them and they'll let you know it. Phelps stopped reading stuff written about him long ago. Bowman, on the other hand, reads everything. "I'm a big Google guy," Bowman says. He'll print things out and show them to Phelps for motivational purposes, like comments by Ian Thorpe earlier this year that Phelps couldn't win eight gold medals. It was immediately hung in his locker in Ann Arbor. "That kind of stuff literally makes me insane," Phelps says. "It fires me up so much." He does, however, occasionally go on the Internet when he wants to find a picture of himself that he can e-mail to his mom. He can usually remember what he was thinking that exact moment it was taken. "I just like how intense I look," he says.
5. IT'S MOSTLY HIP HOP ON HIS IPOD BEFORE RACES, BUT NOT ALWAYS:
Phelps has been listening to 'Lil Wayne this week, an American rapper from New Orleans. He's also a big fan of artists like Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and, of course, Jay-Z. But occasionally he'll mix things up and listen to some techno. Though it was often written that Phelps listened to Eminem's "Till I Collapse" before every race in Athens, Phelps says that's not true. "It's a different song for every meet," he says.
6. HE SPENDS A LOT OF HIS FREE TIME AT HOME PLAYING VIDEO GAMES:
He plays a lot of Madden, but he also plays Halo pretty frequently as well. One week, he played so much Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf on his Nintendo Wii, he came to practice with a sore shoulder, and Bowman said if that ever happened again he was taking the video game console away. Video games are one of his favorite escapes, and if he wants to play them, no one is going to stop him. This is especially true of girlfriends or potential girlfriends. "If I want to play video games, I'm playing video games," he says. "If I want to sit around and watch TV, I'm watching TV. No one is changing my mind. I'm pretty easy to get along with, just don't tell me I can't do something."
7. HE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW MANY STROKES IT TAKES FOR HIM TO GET FROM ONE END OF THE POOL TO THE OTHER:
When Phelps' goggles filled with water in the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday morning, he didn't freak out like most swimmers would have, even though he couldn't see more than a few meters in front of him. He simply knew how many strokes it would take to get to the wall, and was counting in his head. You can look at that two ways. Either he's an android who drills so often that he can break world records when he's on autopilot, or he's like Ludwig van Beethoven, a virtuoso so in tune with his art, he and was able to compose and perform music even after he went completely deaf.
8. HE LIKES TO FALL ASLEEP WITH THE TELEVISION ON:
When you spend half your life in hotel rooms all around the world, the familiar sounds of ESPN or The Discovery Channel can provide some small measure of comfort. When he dreams, it's not of gold medals. It's often of numbers. Before the U.S. Olympic trials, the number 3:07 kept popping into his dreams. After he thought about it, he knew what it meant: He wanted to go 3:07 through the first 300 meters of the 400-meter individual medley. Split it like that, and he could close strong. It would be the perfect race. At trials, he was 3:08 through 300 meters. He set a world record, barely holding off Ryan Lochte. He was pleased, but he knew he could have gone faster.
His first race of the Beijing Olympics, he told Bowman he wanted it to be the last 400 IM he ever swam. Bowman agreed, reluctantly, but only if he set another world record.
Phelps did, blowing away the old mark, finishing in 4 minutes, 3.84 seconds. It looked, in every sense, like the perfect race. He didn't see the point in swimming it again.
He didn't mention it at the time, so it was easy to overlook, especially with all the buzz surrounding his first gold medal. But it's almost eerie looking back at his splits.
At the 300 meter mark, he was 3:07.05.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/specialevents/blog/
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Click your heels together...
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 27706
Location: "Onboard" pathenry's desk
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Posted:
Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:22 am |
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The mystery of the showering divers
Over the last three nights, NBC has led its primetime Olympic coverage with synchronized diving. According to the stacks of letters that have poured into the Fourth-Place Medal Investigative Unit Headquarters, you've all been watching but are baffled by one facet of the competition. In that case, you're in the right place. After successful forays into the cases of Cullen Jones' disappearance and the identity of the hot Paraguayan, Fourth-Place Medal will today tackle the mystery of the showering divers.
After completing a dive, competitors swim to a ladder, climb out of the pool and head immediately to a bank of showers that sit adjacent to the diving boards. Then, in full view of the crowd and NBC cameras, they shower off. Divers keep their suits on, of course, usually appearing only to rinse off their hair and arms. Oftentimes, the divers will receive their scores while still showering off. What's the purpose of this?
Theories have ranged from 'to get the chlorine off' to 'they want to have fun' -- seriously, that last one is a direct quote from NBC's diving analyst, Cynthia Potter. Neither are the reason.
Divers shower in between each dive to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperature of the pool water and the air are usually different (the pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees). This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub.
Mystery: solved. (Although we're still a bit unclear as to why the showers are out in the open.The water cube cost over $200 million to build. They couldn't have put a privacy wall in?!)
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 1683
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| olympic
Posted:
Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:47 am |
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7. HE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW MANY STROKES IT TAKES FOR HIM TO GET FROM ONE END OF THE POOL TO THE OTHER:
and
At the 300 meter mark, he was 3:07.05.
confident and determined young man!
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 1683
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| olympic
Posted:
Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:33 pm |
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Rifles Romeo & Juliet
Warning: the following item makes no mention of Michael Phelps, men's or women's gymnastics, Michael Phelps, USA Basketball, Michael Phelps, beach volleyball, or international scandals, contrived or otherwise (or Michael Phelps).
A few weeks ago, FPM's Pat Imig told us about Katerina and Matt Emmons, a pair of Olympic shooters who met during the Summer Games in Athens four years ago and were married in June, 2007. Shooting for the Czech Republic, Katerina captured the first gold medal of the Beijing games when she won the 10 meter air rifle. She followed that with a silver in the 50 meter three positions rifle.
Matt, an American who lost his chance at two golds when he shot the wrong target in Athens, took silver yesterday in the men's 50 meter rifle prone position. He has a chance to equal his wife's record tomorrow in the 50 meter three positions competition. For the sake of marital harmony, I know I'm cheering for him. ("Matt, honey, could you polish the medals, please? Both of mine are getting a little dusty.") To be fair, Matt won gold and Katerina bronze in Athens, so exactly what the score is depends on whether you are counting golds or total medals.
Meanwhile the Emmons have become media darlings, the TomKat and Brangelina of the Olympic Village (MattKat? Matterina? Help me out here.) Olympic shooters usually manage to dodge the swarming paparazzi, but the "Rifle Romance" has climbed to Spunky Gymnast levels on the adorable scale (just one step below Puppies and Cooing Baby). After all, when you are first introduced in Athens and your second date is in Bangkok, that's not just meet cute, it's meet jet set. Not bad for a guy from Jersey and a girl from Plzen.
Everyone roots for newlywed couples anyway, and this "Green Card" meets "The Rifleman" has set the press corps abuzz. Best headline I've seen so far has to be "Shot through the heart."
We've seen Olympic marriages before. Al Joyner was a triple jump champion but was maybe better known as the late Florence Griffith-Joyner's husband and coach. Bart Conner and and Nadia Comaneci married 15 years after she scored perfect 10s in Montreal. And throw an ice cube at any Winter Games, and you'll hit a married figure skating pair. But having a husband and wife competing in the same sport for different countries might be unprecedented. If only there were mixed doubles, then things could get really interesting.
Shooting, like archery, equestrian and sailing, is a sport for athletes of all ages. Oscar Swahn, the oldest Olympic champion ever, won a gold medal in 1920 when he was 72. So we could be hearing about Team Emmons for awhile. I hope it works out because let's face it, a domestic disturbance between these two could turn into "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" pretty quickly (I know, I know, enough with the Brangelina already).
So many questions come to mind. To answer a few, they live in both countries, they are staying together in the Czech quarters in the Olympic Village, she's a Libra and he's a Pisces. So why aren't they staying in the American quarters? And will there be any pressure from either side to switch to the other's team? Can you imagine the situation if, say, Liu Xiang was dating Allyson Felix?
And now a question for the FPM Investigative Unit in the Summer Games of 2028: What nation will the offspring of Team Emmons represent?
Last edited by olympic on Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 1683
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| olympic
Posted:
Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:35 pm |
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United States' silver medalist Matthew Emmons
United States' silver medalist Matthew Emmons gestures during medal ceremonies after the men's 50 meters rifle prone final round at the Beijing 2008 O - Friday August 15, 07:19 AM
lympics in Beijing, Friday, Aug.
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 1683
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