Kevin Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Oh, well - I'll just have to picture you in your usual leotards , then . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 I know this borders me on ugly Americanism but I just love this story from AOL.... BEIJING (Aug. 10) - With history about to slip away and Michael Phelps cheering him on, Jason Lezak pulled up next to the lane rope and set out after hulking Alain Bernard, like a NASCAR driver drafting down the backstretch at Daytona. Only 25 meters to go, half the length of the pool. Every stroke brought Lezak a little closer, a little closer, a little closer, his body seemingly carried along by the Frenchman's massive wake. The two lunged for the wall together. When the result flashed on the board, Phelps was still on course for his record eight gold medals. By a fingertip. Lezak, the oldest man on the U.S. swimming team, pulled off one of the great comebacks in Olympic history Monday morning, hitting the wall just ahead of Bernard in the 400 freestyle relay, a race so fast it actually erased two world records. Few sporting events live up to the hype - this one exceeded it. The 32-year-old Lezak was nearly a body length behind Bernard as they made the final turn, but the American hugged the lane rope and stunningly overtook him on the very last stroke. Wow! "This has been happening my whole career," Lezak said. "People have gotten on my lane line and sucked off of me, so I figured this is the one opportunity in my whole career to do that." Watching on deck, Phelps let out a resounding "Yeaaaaaah!" and thrust both arms toward the roof of the Water Cube. His quest to break Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals had survived what will likely be its toughest test - and almost certainly its most thrilling. The Americans shattered the world record set by their "B" team the previous evening in the preliminaries, touching with a time of 3 minute, 8.24 seconds - nearly 4 full seconds below the 15-hour-old mark of 3:12.23. "Unbelievable," said Phelps, who swam the leadoff leg and then became the team's biggest cheerleader. "Jason finished that race better than we could even ask for. I was fired up. Going into that last 50, I was like, `Aw, this is going to be a close race.' Jason's last 10 or 15 meters were incredible." The Americans won the relay at seven straight Olympics, but watched the Australians and South Africans take gold at the last two games. "You could tell I was pretty excited," Phelps said. "I lost my voice and I was definitely pretty emotional out there." Bernard was the world record holder in the 100, but he surrendered that mark as well. Australia's Eamon Sullivan broke the individual record by swimming the leadoff leg in 47.24 - ahead of Bernard's mark of 47.50. The French star was extremely confident about his team's chances heading into the big showdown. "The Americans? We're going to smash them," Bernard said. "That's what we came here for. If the relay goes according to plans, than we'll be on a roll." Only Bernard didn't count on Lezak and the Americans spoiling those plans. Oh, by the way, Phelps set an American record leading off, 47.51. But it was Lezak's anchor that everyone will remember. He got down and back in a staggering 46.06, the fastest relay leg in history though it doesn't count as an official record. "A fingertip did the victory," said Amaury Leveaux, one of the French swimmers. "It is nothing." Lezak looked at the scoreboard, then leaped out of the water with an emphatic fist pump. "I knew I was going to have to swim out of my mind," Lezak said. "Still right now, I'm in disbelief." While the Americans whooped it up on deck, Bernard clung to the wall, his head down. The swimmer who had talked confidently of beating the Americans - "smashing" them, some media reported -was the last one to leave the pool. "Alain is wounded. When you are the last swimmer in a relay and that you have the opportunity to bring a title of this importance to your country, you don't get out of this unhurt," said Claude Fauquet, France's team director. "But I don't think that Alain lost the race. It's Lezak who won it." (Finally, a good sport). The French were second in 3:08.32 - eight one-hundredths of a second behind. Australia took the bronze in 3:09.91. In fact, the top five all went below the record set Sunday. "I felt I was in the lead," Bernard said. "I knew I had to accelerate, but it got harder." C'est la vie, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 I watched that a few hours ago I never would've expected them to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Mark Spitz does and will rule ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Phelps is going to beat his medal record. The guy is a freaking beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Phelps is going to beat his medal record. Yeah, right! And the Devil Rays are going to win the AL East. Neither one will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Willing to place a wager on both those events happening? If one of them happens, you give me back my lunch money. If both happen, you give me back my lunch money AND fork over the lunch money of the next three newbies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 Some heavy action going on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fish Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 filthy americans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie_sane Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 The Aussies might rain on Phelps' parade yet OH, and because of the damn swimming finals being held in the mornings for the benefit of American tv ratings, I miss the lot because I'm at work So I would be watching the Aussies swimming, but am also trying to watch the mens and womens hockey matches and the tennis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 Willing to place a wager on both those events happening? If one of them happens, you give me back my lunch money. If both happen, you give me back my lunch money AND fork over the lunch money of the next three newbies. Yeah, so what do I get if neither happens? I already have enough lunch money to last me three lifetimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 A lizard's love? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 A lizard's love? No, thanks. Been there, done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 If you win, I'll give you my dinner money as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 Mmmm....okay, deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Anyone out there knowledgeable about women's gymnastics? The uneven bars, specifically. I'm wondering why the distance between the lower and upper bars has increased so dramatically over the years. Used to be the lower bar was close enough that the gymnast could swing her hips around it while holding the upper bar. Now when they're holding the upper bar they can swing their entire bodies in a circle around it without touching the lower bar, and never even have to bend their knees. Any insight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 The athletes are so young and small now that it's possible ?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fish Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 everythings bigger in china Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted August 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Anyone out there knowledgeable about women's gymnastics? The uneven bars, specifically. I'm wondering why the distance between the lower and upper bars has increased so dramatically over the years. Used to be the lower bar was close enough that the gymnast could swing her hips around it while holding the upper bar. Now when they're holding the upper bar they can swing their entire bodies in a circle around it without touching the lower bar, and never even have to bend their knees. Any insight? I don't know much about gymnastics, but I think you already explained the reason yourself... they probably did that BECAUSE now they're able to make full swings around the upper bar without touching the lower one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Farin - remember when I said the little girl looked bored ? ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 There's no way some of those Chinese gymnastics girls are over 16... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 "jiyan Yuyuan" means "fake id" in chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skybluesky Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 I loved that Bella Karolyi just flat out said that last night. Dang, Bella's been at it since Nadia in '76, so he should know. I couldn't believe how badly our girls did on floor exercise. They just could not stay in the mat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Nerves. Plus the fact that, unlike the Chinese, they don't have to worry about getting the crap beat out of them if they mess up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skybluesky Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 True. I couldn't believe it during the qualifying round when the one girl fell on her back after the vault. I've never seen that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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