Thread: Phelps poised to become winningest Olympian ever

Phelps poised to become winningest Olympian ever
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer
1 minute ago

BEIJING - Michael Phelps joined a stellar cast, including Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis, to become one of the winningest Olympians ever by grabbing his ninth gold medal.

Phelps dominated once again at the Beijing Games, winning the 200-meter freestyle with a third straight world record Tuesday morning. His latest gold medal adds to an already remarkable career that shows no signs of slowing down and leaves him tied for most in Olympic history.

This was the "Race of the Century" at the Athens Games four years ago, when a 19-year-old Phelps took on the 200 free just so he could compete with Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. He touched third that night. In China, he has no equal.

Racing out of lane six, he quickly surged to the lead and led by a full body length halfway through the second of four laps. Phelps was nearly two seconds ahead of the field when he touched in 1 minute, 42.96 seconds, breaking the mark 1:43.86 he set at last year's world championships.

Phelps is now 3-for-3 in Beijing, keeping him on course to beat Spitz's 36-year-old record of seven golds in a single Olympics.

Along the way, he'll take care of some other historical landmarks.

Phelps's ninth career gold tied him with Spitz, Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi for the most wins in Olympic history.

The mark isn't likely to be shared for long. Phelps will go for his fourth medal of these games and 10th overall on Wednesday in the 200 butterfly, yet another event in which he holds the world record.

In the semifinals of the women's 200 free, Katie Hoff advanced with the second-fastest time of 1:57.01. The 19-year-old American, who's like a little sister to Phelps, is still trying to win her first gold medal after settling for bronze and silver in her first two events. She still has three more individual races, plus a relay, to make up for that void.

Slovenia's Sara Isakovic was the top qualifier at 1:56.50.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080812/...vuS3UvJnWs0NUE


Phelps breaks 200 free world record for third gold
20 minutes ago

BEIJING (AFP) - American swimming marvel Michael Phelps won his third gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with another world record swim in the 200 metres freestyle final on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old world champion smashed his own world record by 0.90sec in a time of one minute 42.96 seconds.

It was his ninth Olympic gold medal overall after he won six at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Phelps is bidding to win eight golds at a single Games and beat the 1972 record of seven set by American Mark Spitz.

South Korea's Park Tae-Hwan won the silver in an Asian record of 1:44.85 with American Peter Vanderkaay third in 1:45.14.

"That's great. I just wanted to be out on my own which I had done by the 100 metres mark, that was my goal," Phelps said. "I was out in open water and I was in the middle, which makes it difficult for the other guys to see me. I knew Park would have a strong last 50 metres, so I had to keep my focus and concentration."

Phelps won the 200m freestyle event which eluded him in Athens when he was a bronze medallist behind Australian Ian Thorpe.

He won his other two gold medals in the Beijing pool in the 400m medley and 4x100m freestyle relay.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080812....zmLlwwOSSFs0F

boy it sure has been exciting watching Phelps and all the swimmers this year they are breaking records all over the place

Originally Posted by Bahet

I've never seen so many records being broken. They aren't just breaking them - they are SHATTERING them. It's absolutely amazing! They are breaking records at trials, breaking them again in finals, and breaking them again when going for medals.

yep has been the most exciting games in a long time

Did you all watch the relay for the gold? OMG it was so exciting. And the men's gymnastics last night was fantastic.
But this Phelps guy is out of this world! I know the commercials say he is not part fish, but I have my doubts lol.
GO USA!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by meltodd69

Did you all watch the relay for the gold? OMG it was so exciting. And the men's gymnastics last night was fantastic.
But this Phelps guy is out of this world! I know the commercials say he is not part fish, but I have my doubts lol.
GO USA!!!!!!!!

I know so freaking exciting here watching all the games.....swimming of course is my favorite.........I too think he is part fish lol

Phelps wins 10th, 11th golds of Olympic career
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer
1 minute ago

BEIJING - A daily double. Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals — and five world records in five events at the Beijing Games.

A day after etching his name alongside Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis with gold No. 9, Phelps set a standard all his own when he won the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday morning. An hour later, he swam the leadoff of a runaway victory by the U.S. 800 freestyle relay team, which shattered the old world mark by more than 4 seconds.

In his individual event, Phelps had a problem with his goggles. But that didn't keep him from touching first.

No such worries in the relay. Seemingly impervious to fatigue, the gangly American set a blistering pace of 1:43.31 that got the Americans rolling toward a winning time of 6:58.56 — the first team ever to break the 7-minute barrier.

"Come on! Come on!" he screamed at teammates Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay.

The previous record of 7:03.24 was set by the Americans at last year's world championships. Russia took the silver, more than five seconds behind the Americans, who mainly had to make sure they didn't jump in the water too soon. Australia won the bronze.

"Safe start! Safe start!" Phelps yelled at Berens before he dove in.

After a six-gold performance at the 2004 Athens Games, Phelps needed only five days in Beijing to surpass Spitz, Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi as the winningest Olympian ever.

Phelps is now all alone at the top of the career golds list, with three more chances to stretch his lead before he leaves China.

In his signature stroke, Phelps was second at the first flip, then pushed it into another gear, his long arms gobbling up huge chunks of water as he literally sailed along atop the surface. He finished in 1:52.03, breaking his mark of 1:52.09 from the 2007 worlds.

Phelps barely smiled as he looked at the board, breathing heavily and hanging on the lane rope. Hungary's Laszlo Cseh really pushed it at the end, but settled for silver in 1:52.70. Japan's Takeshi Matsuda took the bronze in 1:52.97.

Phelps rubbed his eyes and said climbing from the pool, "I can't see anything." A pair of leaky goggles kept him from even seeing the wall as he touched.

"My goggles kept filling up with water during the race," Phelps said. "I wanted a world record, I wanted 1:51 or better, but in the circumstances not too bad I guess."

Still, he had two more golds and two more records before lunchtime, leaving him just three wins away from beating Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single games.

He's also keeping pace with Spitz on the record front. Spitz set world standards in all of his wins at Munich; Phelps is now 5-for-5 in China.

Everyone wanted to get a look at history, including the U.S. men's basketball team. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were among those cheering on Phelps from poolside seats. James posed for pictures with Phelps' mom, Debbie.

Three worlds records fell before Phelps even walked on deck the first time.

In the semifinals of the 100 free, Australia's Eamon Sullivan and France's Alain Bernard played takeaway with the record Sullivan set two days earlier.

In the first heat, Bernard won in 47.20 to knock down Sullivan's mark of 47.24 from the leadoff leg of the memorable 400 free relay. That record lasted all of two minutes. Sullivan won the second heat in 47.05, setting up a thrilling showdown in Thursday's final.

"Records don't mean much," Sullivan said. "They don't win medals at the end of the day, unfortunately. But it gives me confidence that I can swim my own race under pressure."

American Jason Lezak, who chased down Bernard in the relay, advanced to the final with the sixth-best time, 47.98. The other U.S. swimmer, Garrett Weber-Gale, failed to advance.

Then it was Federica Pelligrini's turn in the women's 200 free. The Italian broke the mark she set a day earlier in the semifinals, winning gold in 1:54.82. The old record was 1:55.45.

Sara Isakovic of Slovenia claimed the bronze in 1:54.97, and China's Pang Jiaying thrilled the home fans by passing Katie Hoff on the final lap to take bronze in 1:55.05.

Hoff's disappointing day wasn't done.

In the 200 individual medley, she again finished in the first spot that doesn't give a medal. Australia's Stephanie Rice completed her IM sweep with another world record, her time of 2:08.45 erasing the mark of 2:08.92 set at the Australian trials in March.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe took the silver in 2:08.59, also below the previous world record. Natalie Coughlin of the U.S. won the bronze in 2:10.34, her third medal of the games, beating Hoff by 34-hundredths of a second.

"It's a big surprise for me," said Coughlin, who only began swimming the IM a few months ago. "Any medal in an event that is not on your (regular) program is great."

The glamorous Rice, wearing big green earrings that matched her country's colors, added to her victory in the 400 IM.

Then there's Hoff, who looked to be one of the big stories of the game when she qualified in five individual events — the same number as Phelps.

The 19-year-old, who says Phelps is like a big brother, has yet to match his success in the water. In her first two races, Hoff settled for a bronze and a silver, which look pretty good after Wednesday. Now, she's got only one more event — the 800 free — to win an individual gold.

"I would have liked to medal, but I got my first personal best of the meet and I think that's a good effort," Hoff said after the 200 free. "I can't be upset with that, and I'm just moving on to the next heat."

An inspiring Olympic story came to an end in the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke.

Eric Shanteau, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer just before the U.S. Olympic trials and put off surgery until after the games, failed to advance to the final.

He finished sixth in his semifinal heat and 10th overall, 13-hundredths of a second out of the last spot into the final.

Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, trying for his second straight sweep of the breaststroke events, cruised along as the top qualifier at 2:08.61. He already won the 100 with a world record after taking both golds in Athens four years ago.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080813/...8PsHRUaC.s0NUE

Michael Phelps is not the greatest Olympic athlete in history
Despite Phelps' medals and records, the quick recovery time and new technology of swimming dwarf his achievements. Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi and others rank higher.
By Philip Hersh Special to The Times
8:20 AM PDT, August 14, 2008

BEIJING -- Could everyone please stop hyperventilating about Michael Phelps?

Yes, he now has won more gold medals than anyone in Olympic history.

No, that does not make him the greatest Olympic athlete in history.

In fact, he doesn't even make my top five.

He is No. 6 with a bullet, moving up the charts like a hot pop song.

Ahead of him?

1. Carl Lewis, U.S., track and field.

2. Paavo Nurmi, Finland, track and field.

3. Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, gymnastics.

4. Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, Germany, kayak.

5. Steven Redgrave, United Kingdom, rowing.

Why is Phelps sixth?

It is easy to win multiple medals in swimming.

The sport is far more forgiving on the body than track or gymnastics.

And Phelps does not yet have the long-term record of the others.

Lewis won nine gold medals, four in the 1984 Olympics and four straight in one event, the long jump.

Nurmi won nine gold medals at distances from 1,500 to 10,000 meters over three Olympics. He likely would have won more had he not been declared ineligible after 1928 under rules that demanded Olympians be amateurs.

Latynina won nine gold medals and 18 total medals over three Olympics.

Fischer-Schmidt won her first of eight gold medals in 1980 and her last 24 years later as a 42-year-old mother of two. She won three for the old East Germany and five for the unified Germany. She won in singles, doubles and fours. She also won four silvers.

Redgrave won gold medals in five consecutive Olympics while rowing in three different boat types.

I asked Phelps on Thursday if winning the most golds makes him the greatest of all time, and he sounded like a man wisely focused on the present. "I have no idea," he said. "I just get in the water and swim. That's the only thing I think about."

I asked Olympic historian David Wallechinsky the same question, and he ranked Nurmi and Lewis as co-leaders. "I think Phelps needs one more Olympics to join them," Wallechinsky said.

Over 12 years, Lewis won two gold medals in the 100 meters, one in the 200, two on the sprint relay and an unprecedented four straight in the long jump, an event in which the impact on the body of the run-up and takeoff has been likened to falling off a truck at 25 mph.

"What Lewis did is extraordinary. He is No. 1," said France's Marie-Jose Perec, one of three runners to win the 200 and 400 meters in the same Olympics.

"You can't compare track and swimming. In swimming, you can recover. You can do five races in a day and get world records in all of them. That's impossible in our sport."

Don't try to argue that Phelps has been part of world-record performances in his first five events.

New pool and suit technology have made swimming's world records meaningless, with 18 record performances through Thursday in the Olympics alone. Just four world records have fallen in track and field all year.

Swimming allows an athlete to race two finals in 29 minutes, as U.S. Olympian Ryan Lochte planned Friday morning.

Track and field is so much more physically demanding that neither Allyson Felix nor Sanya Richards dared a 200-400 double after the Olympic schedule put the second round of the 200 within three hours of the 400 final.

"Swimming is pressure off your body, where we are pounding on it," Felix said.

Swimming offers three relays with the risk of a false start minimal. Some sprinters run both of track's longer relays, the 400 and 1,600, but the exchanges on the sprint relay are so dicey Lewis lost a certain medal in 1988 when other U.S. runners botched a baton pass in a preliminary round.

If Olympic track had an 800-meter relay, an event in which Lewis was part of a world-record performance, he probably would have won at least two more gold medals.

Three of swimming's four strokes -- everything but the breaststroke -- might as well be the same. Otherwise, how could backstroker Matt Grevers say he barely trained that stroke before winning an Olympic silver medal in the 100? Nearly every good freestyler can be a good butterflyer, and vice-versa.

You don't see any 100-meter runners in the mile, or any milers in the long jump.

Don't get the wrong idea. Track athletes have great respect for what Phelps has accomplished.

"It's inspiring to watch in amazement at everything he's doing," Felix said.

But he's not the most amazing Olympian ever.

Hersh covers the Olympics for The Times and the Chicago Tribune.


http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,6214465.story



Someone who is dissing Phelps ?! :

Seriously, I am happy for him, I am proud of him... but there are quite a few other atheletes who are also in the Games this year

Phelps wins 7th gold by 0.01 seconds
2 hours, 56 minutes ago

BEIJING - Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic of Serbia to the wall to win the 100-meter butterfly Saturday, tying Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a single Olympics.

With his arms fully outstretched, the American touched in 50.58 seconds, breaking Cavic's Olympic record of 50.76 set in the semifinals.

Cavic, who was still in mid-stroke at the wall, took the silver in 50.59, a mere 0.01 seconds behind Phelps. Andrew Lauterstein of Australia earned the bronze in 51.12.

It was the first race of these games in which Phelps didn't set a world record.

Crocker, the world record-holder, was fourth in 51.13.

Phelps won the event four years ago in Athens, and Crocker finished second.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080816/...ooUfUtqtms0NUE

woohoo he just got #8

It's 8: Phelps passes Spitz with another gold
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer
6 minutes ago

BEIJING - Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.

Jason Lezak held on to the lead Phelps gave him, anchoring the United States to a world record in the 400-meter medley relay against an Australian team that did its best to spoil history.

But Phelps, with a big hand from three teammates, would not be denied. He eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music and texting with his buddies.

"I don't even know what to feel right now," Phelps said. "There's so much emotions going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom."

Debbie Phelps was sitting in the stands at the Water Cube, tears streaming down her cheeks, her two daughters sitting with her.

Even though the Americans have never lost the medley relay at the Olympics, the latest gold was hardly a breeze. When Phelps dived into the water for the butterfly — the third of four legs — the Americans were third behind Japan and Australia.

But Phelps, swimming the same distance and stroke that he used to win his seventh gold a day earlier, powered back to the front on his return lap, passing off to Lezak with the Americans in front.

Australia's Eamon Sullivan tried to chase Lezak down and appeared to be gaining as they came to the wall. But Lezak touched in 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds — Phelps' seventh world record in his personal Great Haul of China.

The Aussies took silver in 3:30.04, also under the old world record, while Japan held on for the bronze.

"Nothing is impossible," Phelps said. "With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that's something I learned and something that helped me."

Phelps patted breaststroker Brendan Hansen on the head and threw his arms in the air after Lezak finished, though the Americans still had to wait a couple of tantalizing minutes for the official results to be posted. Aaron Peirsol swam the leadoff leg for the Americans.

Finally, it flashed on the board.

World record.

Gold medal No. 8.

On deck, a beaming Phelps slapped hands with his teammates and thrust his arms toward the Water Cube roof. The winning swimmers locked arms as if they were in a football huddle about to break for a play.

Phelps, meanwhile, couldn't stop smiling.

"Without the help of my teammates this isn't possible," said Phelps, who won five individual races and three relays in Beijing.

"I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit," he said. "For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had. I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/...Z8GK8JUXas0NUE