Swimming

[rlangmit]

The biggest event of the 2008 Games. Kudos to NBC for using their influence to get swimming in the morning, so we could watch it live. They knew they had a real life drama with Michael Phelps' continuing quest for eight gold medals, and man, did it deliver!

• Venues: Water Cube (pool) and Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park (open water)
  
• Commentators: Dan Hicks, Rowdy Gaines, and Andrea Kremer (pool); Craig Hummer and Rowdy Gaines (open water). Dan and Rowdy are one of the best Olympic duos--especially Rowdy, whose voice gets really high whenever something exciting happens!
  
• Phelps won his first gold easily (over 2 seconds) in the M 400 IM. Hungarian László Cseh took silver. Ryan Lochte of the U.S. got fourth.
  
• Park Tae-Hwan won South Korea's first swimming medal with gold in the M 400 free. American Larsen Jensen got bronze.
  
• In the women's 400 IM, Stephanie Rice of Australia won gold, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe silver, and American Katie Hoff bronze. Rice took the WR from Hoff, who maybe was a bit disappointing? (Don't say that to Victoria.)
  
• The Netherlands beat out the U.S. (silver) and Australia (bronze) in the W 4x100 free. The U.S. team contained Natalie Coughlin (who has won a medal in every Olympic event she's entered) and Dara Torres (who is 41).
  
• The W 100 fly was won by Aussie Libby Trickett, while American Christine Magnuson took silver.
  
• Brendan Hansen had a chance to avenge his Athens loss to Kosuke Kitajima in the M 100 breast, but he sucked and got fifth. Kitajima won again.
  
• The W 400 free contained drama. Defending champ Laure Manaudou lived a tabloid lifestyle after her win in Athens. After she broke up with her boyfriend, lewd pictures of her appeared online, and her boyfriend started dating rival Federica Pellegrini. Neither finished in the medals. Instead, Katie Hoff blew a lead at the last second to settle for silver.
  
• The M 4x100 free was probably the best event of the entire Olympics. The final team consisted of Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones (an African-American in a sport devoid of them), and Jason Lezak. This was Phelps' toughest event in the chance for eight golds, partially because he didn't have all the control. In the leadoff leg, Phelps set an American record, and Eamon Sullivan set the WR. Going into the last leg, the French had a second lead over the Americans, with (previous) WR holder Alain Bernard up for the French. Bernard had previously said, “The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.” Well, that must have fired up Lezak, because he swam the fastest relay split in history to come back for the win. A great race in its own right, but by keeping the Phelps story alive after such an early scare, even better. Even Rowdy got into it, mocking the French: "Who's talking now?" The image of Phelps screaming with delight is one of the iconic ones of the whole games, but it's Lezak who was the hero here.
  
• Phelps had an easier time winning the M 200 free over Park Tae-Hwan and Peter Vanderkaay (whom Victoria's brother used to swim against in HS).
  
• In the W 100m back, Natalie Coughlin seemed to have trouble staying straight in her lane, but she managed to get the gold, beating out Kirsty Coventry (having a great Olympics) and American teammate Margaret Hoelzer, former roommate of Coventry.
  
• The U.S. went 1-2 in the M 100 back, as easy-going Aaron Piersol defended gold and Matt Grevers took silver.
  
• Aussie Leisel Jones finally got an individual gold in the W 100 breast. American Rebecca Soni got silver.
  
• Katie Hoff only got fourth in the W 200 free, leading to more charges of disappointment (from me). Federica Pellegrini took gold.
  
• Phelps again beat Cseh--but not by as much this time--in the M 200 fly. He got water in his goggles during the race and couldn't see.
  
• In the W 200 IM, Stephanie Rice again took gold, Coventry silver, and an American bronze--but this time it was Coughlin. Hoff got fourth (again).
  
• The Americans won the M 4x200 free relay as well, but that was MUCH easier than the 4x100. Five golds for Phelps.
  
• Hansen didn't even qualify for the team in the M 200 breast, and Kitajima defended that title too.
  
• China went 1-2 in the W 200 fly. What, they can swim too? This was a slight lull in American swimming dominance.
  
• In the M 100 free, Alain Bernard got some redemption, beating out Eamon Sullivan for gold. Jason Lezak tied for bronze.
  
• The U.S. (including Coughlin and Hoff) got bronze in the W 4x200 free relay, behind Australia and China. It was Stephanie Rice's third gold medal.
  
• Rebecca Soni beat out Leisel Jones (silver) in the W 200 breast.
  
• In the M 200 back, Ryan Lochte got his first individual gold, beating out defending champ Piersol, who got silver.
  
• In the M 200 IM, Phelps got gold #6, beating out Cseh again. And Lochte got bronze...again.
  
• In the W 100 free, Britta Steffen of Germany beat out Trickett (silver) and Coughlin (bronze, always medaling!).
  
• In the W 200 back, Kirsty Coventry finally got a gold, beating out former roommate Hoelzer (silver).
  
• In the M 100 fly, Phelps went for gold #7. I was behind real time and had been called by everyone in my family, so I knew something interesting happened--I hoped he wouldn't lose! He seemed about to as he got to the wall just after Serbian Milorad Čavić. Or did he? The sensor came up with Phelps first--by 0.01 second!! I went crazy, Phelps went crazy, Rowdy went crazy, and Mrs. Phelps disappeared behind another spectator. (She originally was watching the board holding up 2 fingers.) Replays still made it look like Phelps lost (which the Serbians used to protest), but a great photo from SI showed that Phelps did indeed touch first. Čavić glided too long, and Phelps took an extra half stroke--both mistakes, but Phelps got luckiest. Wow, what drama!
  
• Janet Evans' 19-year-old WR in the W 800 free was finally beaten by gold medalist Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain.
  
• The M 50 free was won not by Bernard (bronze) or Sullivan (a disappointing sixth), but by César Cielo Filho of Brazil.
  
• In the W "splash and dash," Dara Torres almost defied age to win gold...and then lost by 0.01 second to Steffen! Poor Dara still has no individual gold, but what an accomplishment anyway! And she was a class act, going over to an official during the semifinal introductions to let them know a competitor's suit had ripped and she was changing. Maybe it was a little overplayed by Dan and Rowdy, but it was still nice.
  
• Aussie Grant Hackett failed to threepeat in the M 1500 free, getting silver behind Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia.
  
• The U.S. (featuring Coughlin, Soni, Christine Magnuson, and Torres--almost right after her 50 free race) took second to Australia in the 4x100 medley relay.
  
• And in the final event, Peirsol, Hansen, and Lezak helped Phelps get record gold #8! Woo hoo! I love the medley relays, by the way--they are like a greatest hits of the meet.
  
• And on a non-medal note: American swimmer Eric Shanteau was diagnosed with testicular cancer, but came to the Olympics before having surgery so he could live his dream.
  
• Open-water swimming was new to these Olympics and TOTALLY BORING. Unlike a long foot or bike race, you can't even see the people--they are just blobs in the water.
  
• The women's race featured amputee Natalie du Toit, who competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics. She finished 16th of 24.
  
• Before I finish--I have to mention how weird "feeding stations" are in open-water swimming.
  

The end!