On Thursday night, he became the king of swimming, the face of a sport that has taken over the Summer Olympics during a generation that Michael Phelps has swam for gold medals in the age of the Swimming Gold Rush. Once again, as winning is common, he amplified his incremental legacy at the London Aquatics Centre and remarkably is the most decorated Olympian ever, piling up his 20th medal at the 2012 London Games — and as Phelps finishes his outstanding career on top — he can retire from the sport with a bang.
If this is the end, he could wind up with an offer and television deal to broadcast swimming competitions for a TV network, or he may even get an itch and compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, which his mother, Debbie Phelps, is hoping he decides not to call it quits with a sport he’s dominated so well. And at these games, he’s now a 20-time medalist, 16 of them gold, and no doubt will go down as the greatest Olympian of all-time.
This was a race for Phelps to cherish for sure, an individual swim that will send him into retirement on a high note. As he celebrated at the medal ceremonies, again, as always, Phelps stepped onto the podium, smiled as the national anthem blasted out of the loudspeaker and stared into the air and fought back tears as the United States flag rose to the rafters. It marked the first time at these games that he won an individual gold medal, finally looking like the old Phelps we all knew so well in Athens and Beijing.
Four years ago, he stood on the podium every night, as he did today, with gold draped around his neck. Eight years ago, he collected more gold than Scrooge McDuck, and surely, America applauded him for becoming a then-14-time Olympic gold medalist. That was then. This is now. He was finally swimming like a streamlined dolphin, if not better, a human fish darting his way through the water. He had won the 200-meter individual medley and beaten his rival who burned him last weekend, teammate Ryan Lochte.
Now maybe he can attend a Ravens’ home game and feature on the Jumbotron in a video shot and be given a standing ovation. Now maybe he can make a late-night TV appearance with David Letterman. In what could actually be his final Olympics, Phelps is swimming as someone who is refocused and rejuvenated, willing to continue his quest for gold. He is, incredibly, a coveted and exuberant swimmer, be it painstaking training that has been his means to fame and fortune throughout a lustful generation of unthinkable performances and massive records, done brilliantly in the pool from Sydney to Athens to Beijing to London. There still are two more events remaining on his schedule, and by the time competition comes to a close, he can fly back to his hometown of Baltimore with five golds and two silvers in seven races. The race he will remember more than the rest would be the 200 IM at these summer games.
It was payback, in a sense, a way to get even with his teammate. This time around, he edged out Lochte by .63 seconds and won a gleaming gold medal to add to a priceless collection. Amazingly but realistically, Phelps’ long torso helped him paddle through the water. This time around, as expected, he crashed into the wall to secure Olympic gold for likely the last time individually if he doesn’t claim the gold medal in his last individual race and doesn’t chose to come back in four years to have yet another historic feat that he navigates so brilliantly and incredibly.
This time around, as anticipated, he’s not only the most decorated Olympian of all time with 20 medals, but also the first male swimmer to win a third straight 200 IM at the Olympics. In his first event, he was sluggish and lethargic, getting out of the water lost and dazed. But after he was blown out of the water on the night of the 400-meter individual medley by gold medalist Lochte, Phelps never seemed lazy, or complacent, or bored. There were times, such as last weekend, when he looked weary and uninspired but it just so happened that Lochte burned him in The Great Race. And suddenly, he won and made it clear that he’s still the greatest to ever touch water in these Olympics.
He wasn’t here just to get his feet wet, or wasn’t here to be anointed for what he’s done in the past, or wasn’t even here for prestige but arrived to London optimistic and fit to win more Olympic gold. He said he plans to retire, but sometimes athletes get that itch and then decide to come out of retirement to compete again, emotionally missing the sport they truly are fond of committing much of their life to. Phelps, to be straightforward, may deliberate on his retirement and could end up coming back four years from now. But he likely won’t swim in Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the last thing he wanted was to be denied of his individual gold.
The swimming competition is more competitive, with Phelps swimming like he’s obligated to the sport, and he has reigned atop the sport for four straight summer games. More and more swimmers are stroking along to join the chlorine-soaked fun, with Phelps jumping into the water with much inspiration and enthusiasm and having the knack for swimming. For much of these Olympics, it was a slew of nostalgia and greatness. For much of these games, we relished shouting for one of the best and well-accomplished athletes in American history. For much of these swimming pool activities, we savored witnessing Phelps make a splash and transcend to the top of the world — a heartfelt story we’ll dwell on for ages.
This is something we’d be able to tell our children, our grandchildren, and if we’re bless to live long enough, maybe even or great grandchildren. The remarkable achievements in an unparalleled swimming career cannot be duplicated and no Olympic athlete will ever surpass Phelps’ historic record-setting 20 medals. Just when we thought it was the end of an era, he was no longer flat, weary or worn down but had sighed in relief and was finally back to chase greatness. People doubted Phelps about swimming in his fourth Olympics. But it lasted no time. The next day he was back in the water, where he amazed spectators and our fellow Americans, apparently consuming our consciousness. Phelps is not only a 20-time medalist, he’s one of the nation’s popular icons, representing a reflection of nationalism.
This also brings back memories of his historic eight gold medals four years ago. In this day and age, Phelps is obviously not unbeatable, flashing back to the days he’d paddle rapidly through the liquid and out-touch all swimmers for the gold medal. You can’t argue that he’s not among the best. He is among the best, but can’t race as good and hard as he once did. After that lousy performance last week, he swam solid the rest of the way to end his colorful career. He won this race without getting humiliated and worked his long arms and legs to hold the lead, until he had to make the transition to the backstroke.
A weakness for Phelps, Lochte hastily snuck up on him, swimming faster than ever, gaining confidence and suddenly keeping pace with him. But it wasn’t enough, not to beat Phelps, who stayed in the lead and broke away from the other swimmers in the freestyle to win. He touched the wall and then turned his head to look at the scoreboard for the results. As expected, Phelps won the race and Lochte finished second for the silver. When they both reached for the wall, they were fatigued, barely able to climb out of the pool.
We’ll always remember Phelps. We’ll always embrace these particular games, ones he competed in, ones that he enriched the nature of swimming. He will go down as one of the best American athletes the Olympics has ever seen. He’s a champion but he’s also one of the greatest Olympians for generations to come.
Showing posts with label Ryan Lochte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Lochte. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
2012 London Olympics: Phelps Most Decorated Olympian Ever?
Even through his foggy goggles, smiling underwater once he touched the wall, lifting his head out of the water and turning toward the board for confirmation to see where he finished in the race, Michael Phelps knew he had earned a 15th gold medal. It’s because he has the unprecedented talent and enthusiasm ripping his way through the pool like a streamlined, torpedo-shaped dolphin to embark on a swimming voyage under the sea at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It’s because he anchored the United States to a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay Tuesday night, earning the 19th Olympic medal and the 15th gold of his unimaginable career as a famous, world-class Olympian.
Americans waited all week hoping to see Phelps redeem himself after a sluggish fourth-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley when US teammate Ryan Lochte slaughtered him. The American folks waited all week, looking forward to seeing Phelps respond after swimming in the anchor of the 400 free relay but missing out on the second straight gold medal in these games when Frenchman Yannick Agnel charged on the final leg to catch Lochte and beat the Americans. Then Phelps sounded like, well, an exasperated swimmer who hated to lose when he finished far behind Agnel in the 200 free, not even winning the silver or bronze.
And then just an hour before he was back in the pool for a relay, on the same night he won his first Olympic gold in these games, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos chased down Phelps on the final stroke, winning in 1:52.96 seconds, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Phelps. In a moment when he released his frustration, he flung his cap outraged and settled for silver in one of his favorite events, the 200 butterfly, a competition he normally dominates without struggling to defeat other swimmers in for a fatiguing, laborious fight in the pool. Phelps, as good a swimmer as he is, reacted in a positive way when many felt he had come unglued for his tiredness, boredom and laziness. But as it turns out, Phelps came back kicking his legs and lifting both arms forward over his head, and when he reached the wall on the other side of the pool, he performed a solid flip turn to propel through the water for an eventual first-place finish that gave him and his teammates the gold medal.
His opponent Agnel, surely no slouch, had no shot at closing in on Phelps in the final leg. Beyond that, Phelps needed back up from his teammates Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens. So before the race, understanding that history was in the making on the night, they all huddled together. Lochte was standing on the deck cheering on his teammate, Phelps, waving his arms, urging him to propel to the finish. He certainly beat everybody in the water, as usual, and came flying in to the wall for his first gold of the London Games with a staggering time of 6 minutes, 59.70 seconds. The remedy was that Phelps uplifted Lochte, following his struggles in two straight events.
It turned out Phelps wasn’t done giving his best, after all. It turned out he wasn’t bored, after all. It turned out he wasn’t tired, either, as some suggested. What was seen, of course, was a re-energized swimmer, a recharged water creature of some sort and, as Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympian of all-time, he still may not be done with events impending this week. In other words, though he doesn’t have his mind set on returning in 2016 for the Rio Games and is leaning toward retirement once he’s completed a quest, Phelps is not quite ready to change from his speedos and into casual clothing. With 19 gold medals and counting, he’s on pace to get more than 20 medals before these games come to a close. This was an ultimate record for the ages, the most breathtaking event of the whole Olympics, a moment in Phelps’ swimming career that he had reached a crescendo and masterfully achieved the impossible, getting the 19th medal to surpass then-Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s 18 medals from a relay he won easily.
He has a collection of medals, probably on display at his home secured in a treasure chest in a secret room, as he’s the greatest swimmer ever. Phelps fuels up right with Subway sandwiches, and because he eats fresh, he’s energized and fierce occupying himself with a herculean task. Tuesday night at the London’s Aquatic Centre marked the first time Phelps won the gold since he was photographed sucking on a water bong at a college party in South Carolina. We haven’t lost an ounce of curiosity, infatuated with him when populace have watched him dominate the pool over the years, and obviously treated the beloved icon as if he’s a godlike superhero. It’s not debatable, perhaps not even worth wasting a single breath, to discuss whether or not he’s the greatest swimmer ever. His regiment of medals is a testimony to sheer greatness, and trouncing everyone else in these games is glaring that he’s surely No. 1 on the list, at least he is on mines.
By now, closing in to the end of his colorful career, he’s simply the most dominant competitor and the greatest Olympian the sport has ever seen, marked as the G.O.A.T and swam exceptionally to earn that title. Someone of Phelps’ pedigree approaches these games with diligence, persistence and conviction. But he also needed to put in long months, long days and hours of grueling and extensive training to regress into shape. A few attributes to Phelps’ advantage are his long torso and incredible wingspan, and the fact he’s a skilled athlete blossoming into an all-time Olympian great — more famous than Jesse Owens and Mark Spitz, amazingly so. It’s not so shocking come to think of it, when he surpassed Spitz in Beijing at the 2008 Summer Games. Couple that with 14 gold medals he won in the land of the Great Wall of China and even his contributions with the men’s 4X100M freestyle relay team that pulled off one of the unthinkable comebacks in Olympic history four years ago.
The celebration of what he’s reached as far as a unique plateau no other Olympian can ever match is very appreciated, and with all due respect, Phelps deserves cheers. Come now, he’s made every American proud to be an American, as folks debate his place in history and whether he’s the greatest Olympian ever. But there’s no need to argue when his amount of medals separates him from the typical amateur athlete. The medals speak for themselves, not Phelps. The achievements speak volumes, not Phelps. The longevity and dominance in four straight summer games speaks loudly, and I mean loudly. Phelps is a damn good swimmer.
He knows that, you know that, I know that. You can’t deny it. You can’t imagine it. You can only live it. Not a myth. Not an imaginary story. That’s reality.
For now, the nation will continue to watch him pile up medals with three events remaining — the 200 IM, the 100 fly and 4×100 medley relay. As he takes pride in this country, you and I take great pride in him, not only because he’s the most decorated athlete in Olympic history but because he represents our country every four years. Once he decides to leave an ineradicable legacy behind, we’ll talk about Phelps for many years to come.
Americans waited all week hoping to see Phelps redeem himself after a sluggish fourth-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley when US teammate Ryan Lochte slaughtered him. The American folks waited all week, looking forward to seeing Phelps respond after swimming in the anchor of the 400 free relay but missing out on the second straight gold medal in these games when Frenchman Yannick Agnel charged on the final leg to catch Lochte and beat the Americans. Then Phelps sounded like, well, an exasperated swimmer who hated to lose when he finished far behind Agnel in the 200 free, not even winning the silver or bronze.
And then just an hour before he was back in the pool for a relay, on the same night he won his first Olympic gold in these games, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos chased down Phelps on the final stroke, winning in 1:52.96 seconds, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Phelps. In a moment when he released his frustration, he flung his cap outraged and settled for silver in one of his favorite events, the 200 butterfly, a competition he normally dominates without struggling to defeat other swimmers in for a fatiguing, laborious fight in the pool. Phelps, as good a swimmer as he is, reacted in a positive way when many felt he had come unglued for his tiredness, boredom and laziness. But as it turns out, Phelps came back kicking his legs and lifting both arms forward over his head, and when he reached the wall on the other side of the pool, he performed a solid flip turn to propel through the water for an eventual first-place finish that gave him and his teammates the gold medal.
His opponent Agnel, surely no slouch, had no shot at closing in on Phelps in the final leg. Beyond that, Phelps needed back up from his teammates Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens. So before the race, understanding that history was in the making on the night, they all huddled together. Lochte was standing on the deck cheering on his teammate, Phelps, waving his arms, urging him to propel to the finish. He certainly beat everybody in the water, as usual, and came flying in to the wall for his first gold of the London Games with a staggering time of 6 minutes, 59.70 seconds. The remedy was that Phelps uplifted Lochte, following his struggles in two straight events.
It turned out Phelps wasn’t done giving his best, after all. It turned out he wasn’t bored, after all. It turned out he wasn’t tired, either, as some suggested. What was seen, of course, was a re-energized swimmer, a recharged water creature of some sort and, as Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympian of all-time, he still may not be done with events impending this week. In other words, though he doesn’t have his mind set on returning in 2016 for the Rio Games and is leaning toward retirement once he’s completed a quest, Phelps is not quite ready to change from his speedos and into casual clothing. With 19 gold medals and counting, he’s on pace to get more than 20 medals before these games come to a close. This was an ultimate record for the ages, the most breathtaking event of the whole Olympics, a moment in Phelps’ swimming career that he had reached a crescendo and masterfully achieved the impossible, getting the 19th medal to surpass then-Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s 18 medals from a relay he won easily.
He has a collection of medals, probably on display at his home secured in a treasure chest in a secret room, as he’s the greatest swimmer ever. Phelps fuels up right with Subway sandwiches, and because he eats fresh, he’s energized and fierce occupying himself with a herculean task. Tuesday night at the London’s Aquatic Centre marked the first time Phelps won the gold since he was photographed sucking on a water bong at a college party in South Carolina. We haven’t lost an ounce of curiosity, infatuated with him when populace have watched him dominate the pool over the years, and obviously treated the beloved icon as if he’s a godlike superhero. It’s not debatable, perhaps not even worth wasting a single breath, to discuss whether or not he’s the greatest swimmer ever. His regiment of medals is a testimony to sheer greatness, and trouncing everyone else in these games is glaring that he’s surely No. 1 on the list, at least he is on mines.
By now, closing in to the end of his colorful career, he’s simply the most dominant competitor and the greatest Olympian the sport has ever seen, marked as the G.O.A.T and swam exceptionally to earn that title. Someone of Phelps’ pedigree approaches these games with diligence, persistence and conviction. But he also needed to put in long months, long days and hours of grueling and extensive training to regress into shape. A few attributes to Phelps’ advantage are his long torso and incredible wingspan, and the fact he’s a skilled athlete blossoming into an all-time Olympian great — more famous than Jesse Owens and Mark Spitz, amazingly so. It’s not so shocking come to think of it, when he surpassed Spitz in Beijing at the 2008 Summer Games. Couple that with 14 gold medals he won in the land of the Great Wall of China and even his contributions with the men’s 4X100M freestyle relay team that pulled off one of the unthinkable comebacks in Olympic history four years ago.
The celebration of what he’s reached as far as a unique plateau no other Olympian can ever match is very appreciated, and with all due respect, Phelps deserves cheers. Come now, he’s made every American proud to be an American, as folks debate his place in history and whether he’s the greatest Olympian ever. But there’s no need to argue when his amount of medals separates him from the typical amateur athlete. The medals speak for themselves, not Phelps. The achievements speak volumes, not Phelps. The longevity and dominance in four straight summer games speaks loudly, and I mean loudly. Phelps is a damn good swimmer.
He knows that, you know that, I know that. You can’t deny it. You can’t imagine it. You can only live it. Not a myth. Not an imaginary story. That’s reality.
For now, the nation will continue to watch him pile up medals with three events remaining — the 200 IM, the 100 fly and 4×100 medley relay. As he takes pride in this country, you and I take great pride in him, not only because he’s the most decorated athlete in Olympic history but because he represents our country every four years. Once he decides to leave an ineradicable legacy behind, we’ll talk about Phelps for many years to come.
Labels:
2012 Summer Olympics,
Michael Phelps,
Ryan Lochte,
swimming,
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Saturday, July 28, 2012
2012 London Olympics: Lochte’s Swim Drowns Sinking Phelps
He’s not that human fish we once knew, that invigorated Aquaman we were enamored with, in a sense, exhausted and apathetic, no longer a threat to opposing swimmers or even his teammate, Ryan Lochte. Michael Phelps, a 14-time Olympic gold medalist, aims for a 15th gold medal at these Olympics. And as one of the more popular American athletes, he has always been the face of USA Swimming, adored because of his sensational world records and journey four years ago in Beijing.
For those of us who’ve observed Phelps closely in Athens and Beijing, he was supposed to win seven medals in London — not zero, not one, not two, not three, but we strongly felt he’d leave England with all seven, brainwashed to postulate that he’d elevate his ultimate legacy after the folks in the United States were used to him stockpiling medals. An era for the all-time greatest medal winner in Olympic history, no matter how many times he stood on the podium to receive gold medals as our national anthem played, is surely coming to an absolute end.
This isn’t a matter of whether he’s unbeatable in the water against swimmers from other countries, along with countryman Lochte and the rest of the US team diving in to make a sudden splash, not intimidated and not afraid to compete and challenge Phelps to an exhausting and mind-numbing swim. This is a matter of him declining in the darkening stages of his magnificent career, plunging into the deep end of an Olympic-sized pool. The United States has a new athlete to root for, and maybe even the best world-class athlete.
Years ago, Lochte had no shot at beating Phelps, but now he’s a threat as his teammate Phelps is just as vulnerable. While Lochte knew what was at stake, pushing through water and looking stronger for four minutes, Phelps seemed disengaged and uninspired as if he wasn’t ready to swim. He was basically a no show for the night, which Lochte gave Americans a dramatic finish and left one of the greatest Olympians in defeat and shock. The victory for Lochte, without a doubt, cemented his claim to be one of the world’s greatest swimmers and move into the company of legendary athletes. Much has changed for Phelps. If he cannot beat Lochte, then what makes a person think he’s going to defeat him when they meet in a rematch for the 200-meter individual medley next Thursday?
This could be an upstart to Lochte’s rise after making a splash for an Olympic gold medal, which happened because of his turns off the wall and strength to float his way through water. Aside from his achievement, Phelps narrowly qualified eighth in the morning preliminaries. Now he won’t feature on Wheaties boxes, the official cereal of champions, and he won’t appear on Sports Illustrated either, to relive four years ago when he was on the front cover with his 14 gold medals around him. But it’s a different time now, a moment for Lochte to show the world he’s as good as Phelps.
What rivalry are we talking about, again?
It wasn’t even close to a rivalry, although Phelps vs. Lochte wasn’t ever a rivalry when they both share a uniform, and instead was more like a disaster Saturday night at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. There’s no better time, with the fiascoes that Phelps has experienced lately in swimming events, than now to swim home and take off his Speedos, owning more medals than any Olympian. He won’t give up so easy, and even though he seems lethargic and lazy in these games, he’s trained and worked out harder each day to stay in fit and good condition. But it’s not all that healthy for a man to notoriously eats a 12,000 calorie-a-day diet while he has preparations and trains, if true. It’s not easy to painfully watch the greatest US men’s swimmer of all-time suffer a beating, no fun at all.
Unfortunately, he has reached that point in his career, a moment when he is fading out of the equation at the summer games, for which it is someone else’s moment to dazzle in the pool. The king of H2O is our very own Lochte and he finally made it clear to the nation, if not the entire world that he’s the guy to be reckoned with after swimming an event that requires toughness and painstaking training, for which swimmers train and master the art of the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. That’s a lot to handle in one swimming match. Lochte now dominates the sport Phelps once owned, and everyone climbs out of the pool to make way for Lochte. It was not a triumphant moment as Phelps wasn’t ever close to standing a chance against his supposed rival, and climbed out of the chlorinated water startled. It’s the first time, after placing fourth in the men’s 400-meter individual medley, that he dropped his head with hands placed on his hips. Lochte versus Phelps was a stunning beat down, an epic blowout, and a major disappointment.
The first two laps up and down the pool, he was still in the race trailing Lochte by less than a second, and then he began to sink quite like a rubber ducky in a bathtub. The rout came from the instant both men hit the backstroke, and a well-anticipated duel between Phelps and Lochte wasn’t a classic but a race spectators and viewers can forget about as it might have been Phelps’ poorest performance. Where he ran into trouble was on a pair of breaststroke laps, and from then on out, Lochte gained complete control of what had been a tight, tense race. After all of that, Phelps finished fourth. The Brazilian swimmer, Thiago Pereira claimed silver. And then behind him was Kosuke Hagino of Japan winning bronze. Lochte kicked his butt and everybody else’s as well, and strolled onto the pool deck with a huge smile, waving to his family and throwing flowers in the stands. Oddly enough, Phelps followed, while dazed and baffled, passing by Lochte without congratulating his opponent and appeared to be very disgusted with himself for such a humiliating race.
These days Phelps is drowning, and he couldn’t finish the greatest swim ever, falling way behind even before the victory lap. These days Lochte performs a double flip, and it made a splash. And so, on to specifics, Phelps looked like an unsuccessful Olympian and not a 14-time gold medal winner. When it was over, surprisingly and amazingly, he looked like a washed up Brett Favre or Brock Lesnar, who were sent into retirement. Still, despite the upsetting loss, Phelps is favored to grind it out in the upcoming swim events. Four years ago, he owned the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, bringing home a historic eight gold medals.
But now he doesn’t own these Olympics, particularly not in the 400-meter individual medley, finishing four seconds slower than Lochte to stun the crowd and miss out on the silver and bronze. What we can take from these struggles is that he can’t race as fast nor will his body allow him to take on fatiguing swim events. This is a new reality, though Phelps’ place in swimming history ranks up there. Keep in mind, he’s the holder for the most overall Olympic medals won by any male athlete ever. With 14 gold, he has 16 overall and could surpass female gymnast Larysa Latynina of the former Soviet Union, winner of 18 medals, if he can earn at least two.
There is much belief he will shatter Latynina’s record, but what’s not certain is whether he can defeat and compete against his rival Lochte, who remarkably got the best of him on the opening day at the Olympics and surprised the world.
In short, Phelps is not the king of H2O. It’s now Lochte who owns the throne.
For those of us who’ve observed Phelps closely in Athens and Beijing, he was supposed to win seven medals in London — not zero, not one, not two, not three, but we strongly felt he’d leave England with all seven, brainwashed to postulate that he’d elevate his ultimate legacy after the folks in the United States were used to him stockpiling medals. An era for the all-time greatest medal winner in Olympic history, no matter how many times he stood on the podium to receive gold medals as our national anthem played, is surely coming to an absolute end.
This isn’t a matter of whether he’s unbeatable in the water against swimmers from other countries, along with countryman Lochte and the rest of the US team diving in to make a sudden splash, not intimidated and not afraid to compete and challenge Phelps to an exhausting and mind-numbing swim. This is a matter of him declining in the darkening stages of his magnificent career, plunging into the deep end of an Olympic-sized pool. The United States has a new athlete to root for, and maybe even the best world-class athlete.
Years ago, Lochte had no shot at beating Phelps, but now he’s a threat as his teammate Phelps is just as vulnerable. While Lochte knew what was at stake, pushing through water and looking stronger for four minutes, Phelps seemed disengaged and uninspired as if he wasn’t ready to swim. He was basically a no show for the night, which Lochte gave Americans a dramatic finish and left one of the greatest Olympians in defeat and shock. The victory for Lochte, without a doubt, cemented his claim to be one of the world’s greatest swimmers and move into the company of legendary athletes. Much has changed for Phelps. If he cannot beat Lochte, then what makes a person think he’s going to defeat him when they meet in a rematch for the 200-meter individual medley next Thursday?
This could be an upstart to Lochte’s rise after making a splash for an Olympic gold medal, which happened because of his turns off the wall and strength to float his way through water. Aside from his achievement, Phelps narrowly qualified eighth in the morning preliminaries. Now he won’t feature on Wheaties boxes, the official cereal of champions, and he won’t appear on Sports Illustrated either, to relive four years ago when he was on the front cover with his 14 gold medals around him. But it’s a different time now, a moment for Lochte to show the world he’s as good as Phelps.
What rivalry are we talking about, again?
It wasn’t even close to a rivalry, although Phelps vs. Lochte wasn’t ever a rivalry when they both share a uniform, and instead was more like a disaster Saturday night at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. There’s no better time, with the fiascoes that Phelps has experienced lately in swimming events, than now to swim home and take off his Speedos, owning more medals than any Olympian. He won’t give up so easy, and even though he seems lethargic and lazy in these games, he’s trained and worked out harder each day to stay in fit and good condition. But it’s not all that healthy for a man to notoriously eats a 12,000 calorie-a-day diet while he has preparations and trains, if true. It’s not easy to painfully watch the greatest US men’s swimmer of all-time suffer a beating, no fun at all.
Unfortunately, he has reached that point in his career, a moment when he is fading out of the equation at the summer games, for which it is someone else’s moment to dazzle in the pool. The king of H2O is our very own Lochte and he finally made it clear to the nation, if not the entire world that he’s the guy to be reckoned with after swimming an event that requires toughness and painstaking training, for which swimmers train and master the art of the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. That’s a lot to handle in one swimming match. Lochte now dominates the sport Phelps once owned, and everyone climbs out of the pool to make way for Lochte. It was not a triumphant moment as Phelps wasn’t ever close to standing a chance against his supposed rival, and climbed out of the chlorinated water startled. It’s the first time, after placing fourth in the men’s 400-meter individual medley, that he dropped his head with hands placed on his hips. Lochte versus Phelps was a stunning beat down, an epic blowout, and a major disappointment.
The first two laps up and down the pool, he was still in the race trailing Lochte by less than a second, and then he began to sink quite like a rubber ducky in a bathtub. The rout came from the instant both men hit the backstroke, and a well-anticipated duel between Phelps and Lochte wasn’t a classic but a race spectators and viewers can forget about as it might have been Phelps’ poorest performance. Where he ran into trouble was on a pair of breaststroke laps, and from then on out, Lochte gained complete control of what had been a tight, tense race. After all of that, Phelps finished fourth. The Brazilian swimmer, Thiago Pereira claimed silver. And then behind him was Kosuke Hagino of Japan winning bronze. Lochte kicked his butt and everybody else’s as well, and strolled onto the pool deck with a huge smile, waving to his family and throwing flowers in the stands. Oddly enough, Phelps followed, while dazed and baffled, passing by Lochte without congratulating his opponent and appeared to be very disgusted with himself for such a humiliating race.
These days Phelps is drowning, and he couldn’t finish the greatest swim ever, falling way behind even before the victory lap. These days Lochte performs a double flip, and it made a splash. And so, on to specifics, Phelps looked like an unsuccessful Olympian and not a 14-time gold medal winner. When it was over, surprisingly and amazingly, he looked like a washed up Brett Favre or Brock Lesnar, who were sent into retirement. Still, despite the upsetting loss, Phelps is favored to grind it out in the upcoming swim events. Four years ago, he owned the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, bringing home a historic eight gold medals.
But now he doesn’t own these Olympics, particularly not in the 400-meter individual medley, finishing four seconds slower than Lochte to stun the crowd and miss out on the silver and bronze. What we can take from these struggles is that he can’t race as fast nor will his body allow him to take on fatiguing swim events. This is a new reality, though Phelps’ place in swimming history ranks up there. Keep in mind, he’s the holder for the most overall Olympic medals won by any male athlete ever. With 14 gold, he has 16 overall and could surpass female gymnast Larysa Latynina of the former Soviet Union, winner of 18 medals, if he can earn at least two.
There is much belief he will shatter Latynina’s record, but what’s not certain is whether he can defeat and compete against his rival Lochte, who remarkably got the best of him on the opening day at the Olympics and surprised the world.
In short, Phelps is not the king of H2O. It’s now Lochte who owns the throne.
Labels:
2012 Summer Olympics,
Michael Phelps,
Ryan Lochte,
swimming,
Team USA
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