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OHSportsFan
Fan of Ohio Sports in Indy
Way to bring home 8 golds for the United States of America, Michael!
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This has been a real treat to witness - the second most amazing thing I've ever seen in sports (behind Lance Armstrong's run of Tour de France wins). Congratulations to him, and also to all of the other US swimmers - especially the other men in the relays with Phelps who spilled their guts out there and never seemed to get upset about where the spotlight shined most of the time.
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jlb1705;1231634; said:
Whats nice is how humble he has been, and how he has been making sure that he lets everyone knows, he could have never done this without his teammates.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Phelps' golden quest: A little luck, some drama and legendary talent
BEIJING -- On a sticky Sunday morning when history and mythology were intertwined, a 23-year-old swimmer with the slack-jawed smile and an acute sense of the moment churned through Lane 4 of the Water Cube and into sports immortality and the common currency of the English language. In rewriting swimming and Olympic history with his eighth gold medal, Michael Phelps was rewriting the dictionary. As backstroker Aaron Peirsol, who started the 4x100 medley relay, would say, "The term Spitzian might be outdated now by the Phelpsian feat."
The popular phrase used to be "Herculean" -- Phelps surpassed Mark Spitz's record of seven Olympic gold medals but is only two-thirds of the way to Hercules' all-time mark of 12 labors -- but Hercules merely had to muck the Augean Stables, capture the Cretan Bull and take some golden apples of the Hesperides. Golden apples, gold medals. Tomato, tomahto. You tell me the grander accomplishment: completing the labors in those mythical days of B.C. or Phelps performing his prodigious feats in 2008 NBC? Hercules did not have to do 17 swims in nine days, overcome a trash-talking French relay team in the 4x100 freestyle relay, battle through malfunctioning goggles in the 200-meter butterfly final, out-touch a mouthy U.S.-trained Serbian in the 100 fly by 0.01 or do any of this before a global audience.
"It still is an amazing feat," Phelps said of Spitz's seven-for-seven in 1972. "It will always be an amazing accomplishment in the swimming world and also the Olympics. Being able to have something like that to shoot for ... it made those days when you were tired and didn't want to be there, [when] you just wanted to go home and sleep [through] the workout, it made those days easier. I'd look at him and say, 'Well, I want to do this.' It's something I've wanted to do, and I'm thankful for having him do what he did."
Phelps wrote this amazing tale, but others tell it far better. They are his Greek chorus, the ones who were only too happy to comment and bear witness. (Phelps' body language -- his joy on the pool deck after the U.S. overtook France in the freestyle relay, for example -- is a far better quote than he is.) Rather than resentment at being subsumed by all things Phelps, they seemed happy to breathe in the same chlorine fumes, to warm themselves in the glow of his reflected glory.
For Australian breaststroker Liesel Jones, having a walk-on in the Phelps epic surpassed even her own two golds and one silver medal in Beijing. "In an era of such great swimmers, I think (watching Phelps win eight gold medals) has been my highlight," she said. "I couldn't care less about my own swims."
"I just don't think there is a perspective for him," said Simon Burnett, British anchor of the 4x100 medley relay freestyle, when asked to put Phelps in perspective. "He's beyond everything we know. In Athens when he was going for eight golds, I said it would never happen -- not in this day and age with semifinal swims and the competition level. Phelps has taken every expectation and broken it. He seems to be the only guy who sees the impossible as possible, and that's what makes him the best. Once he crosses the threshold, other people are able to foresee it happening. If he can do it, we can do it. But he's always one step ahead of us."
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continued
Entire article: Phelps rewrites record books -- and dictionary - Michael Farber - SI.com
BEIJING -- On a sticky Sunday morning when history and mythology were intertwined, a 23-year-old swimmer with the slack-jawed smile and an acute sense of the moment churned through Lane 4 of the Water Cube and into sports immortality and the common currency of the English language. In rewriting swimming and Olympic history with his eighth gold medal, Michael Phelps was rewriting the dictionary. As backstroker Aaron Peirsol, who started the 4x100 medley relay, would say, "The term Spitzian might be outdated now by the Phelpsian feat."
The popular phrase used to be "Herculean" -- Phelps surpassed Mark Spitz's record of seven Olympic gold medals but is only two-thirds of the way to Hercules' all-time mark of 12 labors -- but Hercules merely had to muck the Augean Stables, capture the Cretan Bull and take some golden apples of the Hesperides. Golden apples, gold medals. Tomato, tomahto. You tell me the grander accomplishment: completing the labors in those mythical days of B.C. or Phelps performing his prodigious feats in 2008 NBC? Hercules did not have to do 17 swims in nine days, overcome a trash-talking French relay team in the 4x100 freestyle relay, battle through malfunctioning goggles in the 200-meter butterfly final, out-touch a mouthy U.S.-trained Serbian in the 100 fly by 0.01 or do any of this before a global audience.
"It still is an amazing feat," Phelps said of Spitz's seven-for-seven in 1972. "It will always be an amazing accomplishment in the swimming world and also the Olympics. Being able to have something like that to shoot for ... it made those days when you were tired and didn't want to be there, [when] you just wanted to go home and sleep [through] the workout, it made those days easier. I'd look at him and say, 'Well, I want to do this.' It's something I've wanted to do, and I'm thankful for having him do what he did."
Phelps wrote this amazing tale, but others tell it far better. They are his Greek chorus, the ones who were only too happy to comment and bear witness. (Phelps' body language -- his joy on the pool deck after the U.S. overtook France in the freestyle relay, for example -- is a far better quote than he is.) Rather than resentment at being subsumed by all things Phelps, they seemed happy to breathe in the same chlorine fumes, to warm themselves in the glow of his reflected glory.
For Australian breaststroker Liesel Jones, having a walk-on in the Phelps epic surpassed even her own two golds and one silver medal in Beijing. "In an era of such great swimmers, I think (watching Phelps win eight gold medals) has been my highlight," she said. "I couldn't care less about my own swims."
"I just don't think there is a perspective for him," said Simon Burnett, British anchor of the 4x100 medley relay freestyle, when asked to put Phelps in perspective. "He's beyond everything we know. In Athens when he was going for eight golds, I said it would never happen -- not in this day and age with semifinal swims and the competition level. Phelps has taken every expectation and broken it. He seems to be the only guy who sees the impossible as possible, and that's what makes him the best. Once he crosses the threshold, other people are able to foresee it happening. If he can do it, we can do it. But he's always one step ahead of us."
.
.
.
continued
Entire article: Phelps rewrites record books -- and dictionary - Michael Farber - SI.com
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
See article: Golden boy Michael Phelps eager for his own bed - Yahoo! News
Re: Phelps plans to return to the pool in plenty of time to get ready for next year's world championships in Rome, where he'll start to tinker with the program that worked so well in Athens and was even better in Beijing. He plans to dump the 400 individual medley, the most grueling race on his schedule, and would like to take on some shorter events.
The 100 freestyle is the most likely addition. "He thinks it'll be a little easier," Bowman said. "He's more naturally suited for longer distances. It'll be change for him, but I think it'll be a good one."
Four years from now, Phelps has every intention of returning for the London Games, where he'll be able to add to his already remarkable record.
Anyone think he can win nine in 2012?
Re: Phelps plans to return to the pool in plenty of time to get ready for next year's world championships in Rome, where he'll start to tinker with the program that worked so well in Athens and was even better in Beijing. He plans to dump the 400 individual medley, the most grueling race on his schedule, and would like to take on some shorter events.
The 100 freestyle is the most likely addition. "He thinks it'll be a little easier," Bowman said. "He's more naturally suited for longer distances. It'll be change for him, but I think it'll be a good one."
Four years from now, Phelps has every intention of returning for the London Games, where he'll be able to add to his already remarkable record.
Anyone think he can win nine in 2012?
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exhawg
Mirror Guy
ScriptOhio;1231933; said:Anyone think he can win nine in 2012?
He should still be in his prime and might even be able to make himself more powerful over the next four years. Especially if he focuses on speed rather than distance by dropping the 400 IM. That being said I don't know if he can pull off winning all of his events again. 2 of his 8 races were down to the wire this time and if we've learned anything from being OSU fans it's hard to get everything to go right every time. if he can work on his speed he might want to try some of the 50's.
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