Event Previews - The Water Cube - Controversies
Welcome to SeriousSwimmer.com's Beijing Swimming Preview. Here you will find an in-depth analysis of each event that will be swum in the pool at the 2008 Olympic Games. You'll learn about the athletes strengths, weaknesses, motivations, past results and expected performances. We'll detail some of the key matchups between the USA and Australia, the two dominant teams in the sport, as well as some of the most intense rivalries that will be played out on the world stage. Content is being added rapidly, so keep checking back frequently for updates. Each day before the competition a preview of the night's events will be provided so you know when to be watching, where to be watching and who to be watching. Additionally, relay previews will be added once the games start.
New Page: Michael Phelps vs Mark Spitz
8/16 - The Finish
What a way to win 7. That finish was unreal, I thought he took one too many strokes. I thought, why? Why in this race of all races does Phelps make the mistake of taking too many strokes. He definitely cut that stroke short, pulled his arms out before they normally do and surged for the wall. Cesar lifted his head. He should have tucked his head and kicked. It is official, Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer ever.
Tonight is the last night of swimming in the Water Cube. There are four finals and that is that. There are two individual events and then it gets closed out with two relays. First 5 time Olympian Dara Torres and Kara Lynn Joyce compete with the rest of the world in the Women's 50 Free. I originally didn't think Dara had a chance in the 50 to medal honestly, but she put up a decent time last night. Then on the complete opposite end of the spectrum Larsen Jensen will take on the great Grant Hackett in the Men's 1500 Free. Larsen took 8th in the prelims so I hope he has a lot of energy left over.
We'll the finish the Olympics with a pair of relays. The Women's 400 Medley Relay goes first. The Aussies I assume have to be favorites, defending Olympic & World Champs, and they hold the WR set in Melbourne last year. The Americans have a strong team, but Dara will need a lead going into the Free to hold off Trickett. The Men's 400 Medley Relay is the 8th event for Phelps, and the one where he'll set himself apart and end all discussions about Spitz. It's a stacked relay, and it should be fun to watch.
8/15 - Seven, Hoelzer, Fastest Man Alive
Are you pumped? I'm freakin' pumped! That was a great night of racing last night. And tonight is the 7th final for Phelps. I really wanted Lochte to succeed, and he did. I'm glad it was the 200 that Peirsol dropped this games, he still has the streak in the 100. Natalie worked her way in for a bronze.
The Men's 100 Fly is probably the hardest individual event Phelps has. He doesn't hold the WR in it. It stands at 50.40 set by Ian Crocker in 2005. Ian Crocker has also gone a 50.76 which is the second fastest time in history, that Mike Cavic tied here in Beijing. So there are two men who have swum faster than Phelps has ever in this event as his fastest time ever was the 50.77 he put up at Worlds. It's appropriate though, Phelps's toughest race is the one that comes up as swim number 7. Who is ready to scream at the TV some more tonight?
The Women's 200 Backstroke features America's Margaret Hoelzer against her former roommate at Auburn, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Conventry. Conventry held the WR until Hoelzer broke it at trials. There's not an outright feud between these two women, but they do have something of a rivalry going on after parting ways with different coaches in Texas. In addition, youngster Elizabeth Beisel put up the second best time in semifinals and will be right next to Coventry in the final which is good for her. She figures to be a medal contender.
Then we'll finish with a pair of opposite finals. The 800 Freestyle for the women where unfortunately neither American qualified for the final. I'm sure Katie Hoff is a bit disappointed with this Olympics even getting two individual medals, but Kate Zeigler didn't make a single final, and Zeigler has the fastest time ever among the current athletes (we need to exclude Janet Evans to compare today's athletes). After the 800 will be the ultrasprint, the Men's 50 Freestyle. Garrett missed the cut for the final so America will be represented solely by Ben Wildman-Tobriner.
Finally, after the men's ultrasprint will be the Women's 50 Free semifinal showcasing 41-year-old Dara Torres. It's just a semifinal, but the race is so short that you still gotta go out and put up a good time, there's too little room for error to relax. Kara Lynn Joyce, Jessica Hardy's replacement, also made it to the semifinals.
8/14 - Lochte doubles vs Phelps & Peirsol
What Michael Phelps is doing is extremely difficult. What Lochte is going to try to do tonight might be harder. Ryan Lochte has perhaps the toughest double of the games. He starts his night with a final against WR holder Aaron Peirsol in the Men's 200 Backstroke. It just so happens that Lochte also holds the World Record. Peirsol hadn't lost the 200 close to 7 years before Worlds last year in Melbourne where Lochte beat him and broke Peirsol's WR. At trials in Omaha this year Peirsol beat Lochte in finals and tied the WR. Peirsol really knows how to bring it home, so don't count him out even if he is back by a bunch with a 50 to go. Then, less than half an hour later, Ryan Lochte will compete against the great Michael Phelps in the Men's 200 IM, where Phelps is the WR holder. Very difficult double, a half hour isn't even enough time to warm down.
Phelps has two more individual events, and although everyone was talking about how the 400 IM was his hardest individual event, it is just a grueling event. I think his two hardest, and I said this coming into the games, will be the 100 Fly where fellow American Ian Crocker owns the WR and the 200 IM where Ryan Lochte can challenge him for gold. If Phelps makes one mistake in the 100 Fly, Crocker will probably win that event. Setting the WR in that race will be very difficult. At trials in the 200 IM, Lochte finished just 0.42 behind Phelps. Combine this with the fact that these two individual events are his last, and these two races will prove very difficult indeed.
There are two other finals tonight. Amanda Beard failed to make it to the semifinals of the Women's 200 Breaststroke, so the defending Olympic gold medalist from Athens will not be in the finals tonight. America instead will be represented by Rebecca Soni who took silver in the 100, but the 200 is her better event. Regardless, Lethal Leisel Jones is again the heavy favorite for gold. The last final of the night is the Women's 100 Freestyle. WR holder Libby Trickett shockingly finished 9th in the semifinals and would have been out of the race had the Chinese swimmer who won the second heat not been disqualified. That DQ for a false start moved Trickett up into the 8th position and so we are set to see some outside smoke, perhaps a WR, from lane 8. Natalie Coughlin leads the field with the fastest time in semis, setting her up nicely for yet another Olympic medal, but she'll have to do it shortly after the back semifinal. Finally there are 3 semifinals tonight: Men's 50 Free, Women's 200 Back and Men's 100 Fly.
8/13 - Breast, Women's Fly, Sprint & Relay
Tonight's finals lead off with the Men's 200 Breast in which Kitajima will only lose if something catastrophic happens. Brendan Hansen was expected to be in this race but took 4th at trials. Instead Scott Spann won and Eric Shanteau took 2nd. Shanteau was diagnosed with testicular cancer a week before trials, didn't expect to make the team but now that he has he is postponing surgery until 8/20 in order to compete. The Women's 200 Butterfly final will feature two American new comers, Elaine Breeden and Kathleen Hersey try to topple the favorites Aussie Jessicah Schipper and China's Zige Liu put a great time in semis. Unfortunately Garrett Weber-Gale didn't make the finals of the Men's 100 Free. I wish they did a post-race interview with him, his eye looked all messed up and swollen after that race. Jason Lezak takes on the big sprinters from France and Australia in this event. The last final of the night will be the Women's 800 Free Relay where we could the see the US take gold with yet another World Record. There will be 4 semifinals tonight, but who knows if they will show on the TV or not. We have the Women's 100 Free, Men's 200 Back, Women's 200 Breast, and Men's 200 IM featuring Michael Phelps (I bet they show that one).
8/12 - Phelps Flies, Hoff Doubles w. Natalie
I hate to call any event easy in the Olympics, but tonight is the final for the Men's 200 Butterfly which will be Phelps's easiest final (see how I didn't actually call it easy). Again he has a final about an hour before the relay as the evening will be closed out with the Men's 800 Free Relay. Katie Hoff has a killer program, I don't know how she is doing it, but she is racing 4600 meters in Beijing. Tonight she has two finals. The first final of the night is the Women's 200 Freestyle, where she will face off against Italy's Federica Pelligrini with fellow American Allison Schmitt. Then just before the relay she has the Women's 200 IM final with fellow American Natalie Coughlin who took gold last night in the backstroke. Kirsty Coventry and Stephanie Rice will again be in the mix trying to claim some Olympic hardware as their own. Finally we have 3 semifinals tonight: Men's 100 Free, Women's 200 Fly, and Men's 200 Breast. Let's hope they show each on television this time.
8/11 - Phelps, Coughlin, Peirsol & Jones
Tonight is a bunch of short race finals. I'm still electrified by that relay final last night. If you missed it, be sure to catch it. Tonight we get another of Phelps's 5 individual events, the Men's 200 Free where he is the WR holder and favorite for gold. We will also get to see both backstroke sprints. Aaron Peirsol has commented that the trials of the Men's 100 Back was the most competitive race and was deeper than the Olympics final will be. He's right, but that won't make gold easy. Natalie Coughlin will try to do something that has never been done and be the first to defend Olympic gold in the Women's 100 Back. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe broke Coughlin's WR in the semi-finals of this race, making them the only two women under 59 ever. The last final of the night will be the Women's 100 Breast where Australia's Leisel Jones is the heavy favorite to win. Americans Rebecca Soni and Megan Jendrick (who was named Megan Quann when she won gold in Sydney) will try to challenge the field for podium positions. Tonight there will be 3 semifinals: Women's 200 Free, Men's 200 Fly, and Women's 200 IM.
Watch the 400 Free Relay on NBCOlympics.com.
8/10 - Laure, Hansen, Trickett & Relay
Tonight is one race I have been anticipating for far too long. The Women's 400 Free will showcase some of the worlds fastest women in the water, and there will be some energy in the pool that just won't be there in other races. Check out the event page for why I love this race so much. Brendan Hansen failed to qualify in what might have been his best event, the 200 Breast, and so tonight is his only chance to exercise his demons and beat Kitajima for Olympic gold in the Men's 100 Breast. Libby Trickett will begin her quest for an Olympic individual hat trick in the Women's 100 Fly. The last event of the evening will be the Men's 400 Free Relay. Michael Phelps is going for 8 gold medals in one games, and it is an achievement that he will be solely glorified for, yet it is an achievement he cannot do on his own. This is the first of 3 relays that he requires the performance of his teammates to help him on his journey. In addition to the finals, there are four semi-finals tonight: Women's 100 Back, Men's 200 Free, Women's 100 Breast, and Men's 100 Back.
8/9 - First Night of Competition
It all begins tonight with the final of the Men's 400 IM. Lochte will give Phelps a run for his money, but has a better chance of challenging him in the 200 IM. Phelps set the OR in prelims, but his time wasn't all that fast, actually a little faster than he wanted probably. The women will also swim 400 IM tonight and this will be a race to remember as Katie Hoff and Stephanie Rice battle for the WR and the gold; also watch for youngster Elizabeth Biesel from America to get on the podium. The Men's 400 Free final where Grant Hackett looks to bring gold back to Australia now that Ian Thorpe is out, but he'll face competition from Americans Larsen Jensen and Peter Vanderkaay. The other final tonight is the Women's 400 Free Relay. There are two semi-finals tonight: the Women's 100 Butterfly and the Men's 100 Breaststroke.
Eight Eight Eight - Opening Ceremony
Tonight is the grand ceremony to kick of the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing. Competition however has already begun. I was watching women's soccer on television the other night just giddy for the swimming to begin. Swimming itself begins today, well, our today. Beijing is currently 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time. At 6:30am China Time on 8/9 they will be swimming the heats of Men's 400 IM, Women's 100 Fly, Men's 400 Free, Women's 400 IM, Men's 100 Breast, and the Women's 400 Free Relay. Ironically, these events will be taking place while we are watching the Opening Ceremony as that happened at 8am ET today. Checkout the controversies page for more information about the scheduling of the swimming events. Tonight though, on your couch, it's about the ceremony. Tomorrow night, get ready to watch some WRs fall as America's two big stars (Phelps and Hoff) start to shine.