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Active.com 2008 Olympics

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Jesse@Active

With Michael Phelps mania sweeping the nation, I find myself pulling more for Ryan Lochte in tonight's 200 Individual Medley.

 

Granted it's a huge long shot. He's got the 200 Back finals against Aaron Peirsol 39 minutes beforehand -- a race either man can win. And the IM field includes, oh yeah, Michael Phelps. But for Lochte to win would take an amazing swim, perhaps leading to a race more exciting than the recent 4x100 free relay.

 

Not to mention that Lochte, a talented IM swimmer, must sort of resign himself to finishing behind Phelps for the rest of his life.

 

I like Michael Phelps. I have nothing against him. I love watching him swim. But him breaking Mark Spitz's single-Games gold medal record isn't really that important to me and how much I enjoy watching Olympic swimming.

 

Frankly, I'm kind of turned off the Speedo LZR. It's a little too technological for swimming, I think. Now if Phelps stepped up on the block without a cap or goggles, sporting a mustache and wearing just a tiny Speedo, a la Spitz -- that would be amazing.

 

Phelps' toughest test is going to come against Ian Crocker in the 100 fly. Both men are probably going to be incredibly amped up for it. Crocker swam a slow 51.95 in the qualifying heat (compared with Phelps' 50.87), about a second and a half off his own world record. Maybe he's just conserving energy.

 

But I can't help but think, "How amazing would it be to see Ryan Lochte pull off an upset in a race that Phelps seemingly owns?"

 

Besides, maybe he's waiting for just that kind of swim to break out the grillz he sported at the 2007 Worlds in Melbourne:

 

AP Photo/Mark Baker

505 Views Tags: olympics, olympic, michael-phelps, ryan-lochte, 2008_beijing_olympics, butterfly, ian-crocker, mark-spitz, individual-medley, backstroke


Comments (3)
Aug 15, 2008 11:38 AM mike@active mike@active    says:

Couldn't you find a bigger picture of him??

 

But in all seriousness, yes, its wrong to root for Lochte in the 200 IM.  He's a GREAT swimmer, but diminishing Phelps' potential achievement in these games doesn't seem like a good idea. 

 

That said, I'm more interested in seeing the races of his teammates like Lezak and Peirsol.  NBC has managed to mention Phelps in just about every race, whether or not he's swimming, and I am ready for him to break this record and give others the limelight. 

 

And since I'm writing this post AFTER the 200 IM has taken place, I can say "neener neener".
Aug 15, 2008 11:48 AM duckgirl24 duckgirl24    says in response to mike@active:

I say ROOT for LOCHTE and CROCKER. 

 

I love watching great swimming and watching Phelps but it is getting overkill.  The swim suits yes are also a really big downfall as world record after world record while awesome...just not the same.  Imagine what the old time swimmers would have done with these things!  Yes things...technology

 

I do think Phelps will take the 200IM.  Lochte has had a stomach bug and doesnt seem as sharp as Phelps.  HOwever PHELPS looks exhausted so who knows!  I do want Lochte to win one of his races.  I think Coach Troy wouldnt be all that happy if he didnt. Though Piersal.well he is amazing

 

Rambling obviously...but love how strong it is.  Oh and what about the other guy..not the american....he might take it all in the 100 fly.
Aug 15, 2008 1:19 PM Jesse@Active Jesse@Active    says:

Whatever, Mike. You know you made that photo your desktop wallpaper.

 

I was definitely rooting for Lochte in the 200 Back. When he won, it looked like his parents were more emotional than he was.

 

And speaking of swimming technology, let's add this to the equation: the pool. It's said to be a "fast pool", but has there been a final where a world record hasn't been broken? I'd estimate that half of the finals have at least two people or relay teams that swim faster than the thin green line! What happened between then and now where all of a sudden Olympic swimmers have gotten significantly better as a whole? Have we entered a new age of aquatics, where the goal isn't to just win the race, but go as fast as humanly possible?

 

Well, tonight it's Crocker vs. Phelps. Maine vs. Maryland. Clam bakes vs. Crab cakes. Stephen King vs. Edgar Allen Poe. "You can't get theah from heah." vs. "Strong deeds, gentle words." (OK, that first one might not actually be Maine's state motto, but it should be. Try asking for direction up there, you'll see what I mean...)

 

It should be an fun race. Phelps is such a strong second-half swimmer that Crocker benefits from it only being a down-and-back.

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