Category: Swimming (Page 4 of 5)

      Couch Potato Alert: 8/15

      August 15, 2008 /

      – I do not know if you heard but Brett Favre has un-retired. And he will be playing this season in New York for the Jets. Sorry ESPN, his first game back will be on the NFL Network on Saturday at 8 p.m. EST. Maybe Rachel Nichols can give updates from the sidelines on Favre’s progress in grasping the Jets offense for ESPN News.

      – The men’s 100-meter finals in track & field take place on Saturday evening. It could be the most competitive event at the Olympics, as all of the contenders have beaten one another in the past. Asafa Powell of Jamaica was defeated by USA’s Tyson Gay at the World Championships so badly that he disappeared from the scene. His countryman, Usain Bolt, returned the favor by beating Gay this past May. All three will run in Beijing, and it might just be the best 10 seconds of the Olympiad.

      – Michael Phelps is on target to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at one Olympic competition. The 100-meter butterfly is this evening, with the 4 x 100 medley relay wrapping up the swimming competition (and Phelps’ quest) on Saturday night.

      – The top matchup in baseball this weekend could be a possible playoff preview between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. Both teams made significant additions to improve their chances of playing into October, so this should be a good series.

      Couch Potato Alert, General Sports, MLB, NFL, Swimming, Television, The Olympics

      Michael Phelps still has a familiar hurdle to overcome

      August 15, 2008 /

      Michael Phelps goes for seven gold medals tonight when he swims the 100-meter butterfly, the only event in which he doesn’t hold the world record. The race is a short one, so any mistake could cost him the win. Throw in the fact that American Ian Crocker is a serious threat and you have the makings for a very interesting race.

      But the story doesn’t stop there.

      Crocker has held the record since July 26, 2003, when he broke it at the World Championships, and has since lowered the mark twice. Before Crocker, Phelps held the record for one day — his reign lasting from semifinals until finals the next night, when Crocker took the record, and the world title.

      Phelps got revenge in Athens, beating Crocker by .04 of a second for his fifth gold medal. That left Crocker with silver to add to his bronze, which he earned earlier in the week when a poor swim on the 4x100m freestyle relay left the favored U.S. team in a disappointing third.

      The next day Phelps, having earned a spot on the 4x100m medley relay by winning the 100m fly, announced he would cede his spot to Crocker. Phelps would earn a medal anyway for his butterfly swim in the preliminaries, and gave Crocker, who was the world-record holder and more experienced relay swimmer, the chance to earn gold.

      “He was the fastest 100m butterflyer, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to get up and get his gold medal,” Phelps said.

      Crocker and his teammates won and, with Phelps shouting from the stands, shattered the world record. After the medal ceremony, in a moment that didn’t go unnoticed, Crocker and Phelps shared a hug as the team walked by.

      “It was an opportunity that it’s hard to say thank you for,” Crocker said after the race. “And I just wanted to do it justice by going out and giving it my best shot.”

      So, theoretically, if Crocker were to deny Phelps his seventh gold medal by winning the 100-meter butterfly, he could offer up his spot in the 4x100m medley relay and allow Phelps to have a chance to tie Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympiad.

      It would be only fair after what Phelps did for Crocker back in 2004, right? If Crocker wins the butterfly, he’s under no obligation to give up his spot in the relay, but my guess is that he’d be under tremendous pressure to do so.

      It has been a storybook Olympics for Phelps, but tonight’s race could be the toughest test he’s faced so far. If Crocker wins, he’ll have his own test to face, a moral one.

      Swimming, The Olympics

      Still Golden: Phelps Wins Sixth in 200 IM

      August 15, 2008 /

      Another day, another gold medal, and another world-record swim for Michael Phelps.

      He dominated from the starter’s gun to the final touch, as Phelps captured his sixth gold medal in Beijing by winning 200-meter individual medley race with a time of 1:54.23. He also set his sixth world record by breaking the old mark of 1:54.80 which he set last month at the U.S. trials.

      Ryan Lochte had only a 29-minute rest between the 200-meter backstroke and 200 IM, and it showed. He could not keep up with Phelps’ pace and had to settle for the bronze medal. Lochte’s consolation prize was a world record and his first career individual gold medal in the backstroke. He edged American teammate Aaron Peirsol with a time of 1:53.94 to break the world mark they shared together.

      Next up for Phelps is the 100-meter butterfly finals on Friday evening and if all goes according to plan, the record-breaker will come on Saturday evening in the 400-meter relay, a race that the Americans are heavily favored to win.

      General Sports, Swimming, The Olympics

      Michael Phelps’ Wednesday Schedule

      August 14, 2008 /

      Anyone who is paying any attention to the Olympics has heard that swimmer Michael Phelps is trying to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympiad. This involves 17 races over seven days and he usually has at least three swims per day. As an example, here’s his itinerary for Wednesday:

      6:30am – Wake Up
      6:45am – Breakfast
      7:30am – Bus to Pool
      7:45am – Arrive at Pool
      8:00am – Stretch
      8:30am – 2400M Warm Up
      10:18am – 200 Fly Final
      10:30am – Warm Down 1000M
      10:59am – 200 Fly Medal Ceremony
      11:16am – 4×200 Free Relay Final
      11:30am – Warm Down 300m
      11:38am – 4×200 Free Medal Ceremony
      11:55am – Warm down 800m
      12:15pm – Press Conference
      12:45pm – Doping Control Test
      1:45pm – Bus to Olympic Village
      2:00pm – Lunch
      2:30pm – Rest
      4:00pm – Team Meeting
      5:00pm – Bus to Pool
      5:15pm – Arrive at Pool
      5:30pm – Stretch
      5:45pm – Warm up 2400M
      8:55pm – 200IM Prelim
      9:10pm – Warm down 800M
      9:45pm – Bus to Olympic Village
      10:00pm – Dinner
      11:00pm – Bed

      Imagine doing that for a week straight!

      Swimming, The Olympics

      The Gold Standard Has Risen: Phelps All-time Winningest Olympian

      August 13, 2008 /

      A daily double, as Michael Phelps became the winningest Olympic athlete by capturing his 10th and 11th career gold medals.

      He began his day by setting a world record in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:52.03, and later set a blistering pace of 1:43.31 to lead the U.S. freestyle relay team to a world record in the 800-meter. The Americans became the first team to break the seven-minute barrier with a time of 6:58.56, which shattered the old mark by more than four seconds.

      He joked with reporters on his equipment malfunction in the first race. During the butterfly, his goggles became water-filled, and Phelps shrugged off the victory knowing that he could have done better. He is now halfway toward dethroning Mark Spitz and winning eight gold medals in one Olympiad.

      Everyone wanted a glimpse at history, as the U.S. Basketball team cheered from their poolside seats. LeBron James posed for photos with Phelps’ mom prior to the competition.

      General Sports, Swimming, The Olympics

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