The Energy of Michael Phelps

I could post another entry explaining that Michael Phelps is sick, but he’s not.  He now has seven gold medals this olympics in seven races.  However, when winning his 7th gold medal, Michael Phelps did NOT set a World Record.  (Just an Olympic Record.  How embarassing, eh?)

Seriously though, today, Michael Phelps wasn’t so much sick as lucky or having karma on his side.  (I have my own theory on this, but I don’t think you can handle it.  Okay, fine, here it is in a nutshell – Phelps won because of energy.)  Anyway, whatever you call it, Michael Phelps won the 100 meter breaststroke by one one-hundredth of a second – or a finger nail – after trailing by about half a body length with about 15 meters to go.

Michael Phelps is Six for Six

In a time of 1:54:23, Michael Phelps won the 200 meter individual medley.  Not only did he just win his sixth gold medal (in six events), Michael Phelps swam to World Records in every single gold medal performance.  He is the epitome of anomaly.  Six races, six gold medals, six world records.  Wow.

Michael Phelps is Sick

And by that, I mean, he has AIDs. And by that, I mean, he has the AID of some silly magical powers. And by that, I mean, Michael Phelps is super crazy silly. Here’s Michael Phelps’ schedule:

Win the 200 meter freestyle in World Record time – breaking the previous World Record (which, by the way, was his) by a full second.

Pose for pictures and talk to the media after tying a career gold medal record of 9. (Bye bye Carl Lewis and Mark Spitz.)

Stretch at the Olympic medal stand. While others are cherishing the fact that they made it to the Olympic medal stand (you know, those silver and bronze medalists), Michael Phelps is stretching in preparation for his next race – in 30 minutes.

Perhaps, Michael Phelps pukes in the bathroom next – at least, that’s all he really has time for.

Then, he races in a 200 meter butterfly semifinal (an hour after breaking a world record) and doesn’t just make it to the final, but WINS the semifinal. Cuz, why not, it’s Michael Phelps.

Not to mention the drug tests, which, I hear, can take hours.

So, quick re-cap:

Win race, media talk, stretch at the medal stand, win race, stretch at the medal stand, drug test, repeat.

United States Olympic Trials – Running and Swimming

Tyson Gay Ran Away – With a wind aided 100 meter dash, Tyson Gay ran for a World Record 100 meter dash of 9.68 seconds, but the wind aiding means the record does not count.

World Record Does Not Equate to First Place – In the men’s 400 meter individual swimming medley, Ryan Lochte broke Michael Phelps’ World Record 4:06:22, but Phelps out swam him with a 400 meter individual medley time of 4:05:25, besting his old world record by almost an entire second.

Another World Record Falls – Is it the new swimsuits?  The new Olympic Trial swimming pool in Omaha, Nebraska?  Or, are the United States just that good at swimming.  In the women’s 400 meter individual medley, Katie Hoff set a world record with a time of 4:31:12, beating the previous world record of 4:31:36.

Continuing Coverage…

Check out more information on the United States and the 2008 Olympic Games.