Is it Wrong to Root for Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM?

Jesse@Active — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:06:23 GMT

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

Record Marks Set At U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials

Active Sara — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:24:27 GMT

It was an impressive weekend in the pool for Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff as both captured world records at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.

You know it’s going to be an exciting meet when Phelps and Ryan Lochte jump in the pool. The two friends and rivals continued to push each other to new heights this weekend in the 400 IM and were neck and neck for the majority of the race. In the last 20 meters Phelps pulled away from Lochte to set a new world record with a finish of 4:05.25. Lochte came in less than a second later with a finish of 4:06.08. Both times beat Phelps’ previous world mark of 4:06.22. I have no doubt that the two competitors will be eager to go stroke for stroke again in August at the Beijing Games. It will be an exciting event that I will be sure to watch in a few short months.

Katie Hoff also broke a record on Sunday in the 400 IM with a finish of 4:31.12. Her time beats the previous world mark of 4:31.46 set March 22 by Stephanie Rice of Australia.

It should be a great year for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team!

Blog Posts From Active.com 2008 Olympics Tagged With michael-phelps

Is it Wrong to Root for Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM?

Record Marks Set At U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials