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2012 London Olympic Games
Early word on the street, at least from my sources, is that Usain Bolt has been training like a maniac. He is once again heavily favored to repeat his wins in the 100 and 200, but there's a surprise!
It is also being blurbed that he's going to run on the 4x100 relay as well. If so, this could be the most exciting track relay race in Olympic history.
Y'all be good now.
Last edited by Adelphos; 06-21-2012 at 02:54 PM.
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Since I commented on Phelps and Lochte the other day, and since I compared Phelps to Spitz, and rated Spitz higher, it is only fair that I say now that my respect for Phelps has shot way up. I'll have more to elaborate on regarding this next week after the American Olympic Trials have been completed and we actually know who will be swimming what for the USA.
In the meantime, Phelps has stated he will swim the 400 IM. That is far and away the most grueling race in swimming, and for those who don't know, even though it's only a 400 meter race, it makes a Triathalon feel like a tip-toe through the tulips. And I know what I'm talking about, as I have experience in both.
Phelps won the 400 IM in Athens and Beijing. He is still the WR holder.
IMO, he has exhibited a tremendous amount of courage by entering this event and putting his reputation on the line when he doesn't have to, especially since there are several very capable swimmers of taking him down.
In any event, here's the real kicker - it is CONCEIVABLE - not likely, mind you, but CONCEIVABLE that if Phelps does actually qualify next Monday for the 400 IM, i.e., if he finishes 1st or 2nd in the Trials next Monday, and if he qualifies to swim the other events he's entered to try to swim those events in London, and if he then goes on to win the 400 IM in London, it is is CONCEIVABLE - not likely - but CONCEIVABLE that Phelps could win 7 gold medals this time, one less than the 8 he won in Beijing.
Even if he doesn't win 7, if he wins the 400 IM, it will indicate to me that he's got his heart back, that his head is screwed on straight, and thus he is still likely to win 5 or 6 gold medals, even if he doesn't make to the 7.
But he's got to go through some of the toughest swimmers in the history of the sport to get there, including his good friend and teammate Ryan Lochte.
The conclusion of the Olympic Trials at the end of next week will tells the swimming world a lot.
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Wow, my hat's off to you, Scott. So you've actually tip-toed through the tulips? You and Tiny Tim, huh? I learn something new every day on these forums!Originally Posted by Adelphos
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Yep. It was in Holland one time. There they were, all lined up in fields of rows, and something just moved me to rise up on my toes and start tipping through them!Wow, my hat's off to you, Scott. So you've actually tip-toed through the tulips? You and Tiny Tim, huh? I learn something new every day on these forums!
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By the way, since we were talking about Armstrong, I haven't really been following his case, as I said, but I just heard on the news that even though he has never failed a SINGLE drug test, he has nevertheless been banned from the Iron Man Triathalon.
That just don't seem right to me.
Also, when I was comparing swimming's 400 IM to a Triathalon, I was talking about a generic Triathalon, i.e., 1 mile swim, 10K run, etc., not something like the Iron Man.
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Was swimming your best sport, Scott? You also did track, right?
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Actually, no, I never ran track, except I did some track workouts for my swimming, just as I lifted weights for swimming. Oddly enough, my other main sport was golf.
Of course, with swimming, at least in California where I did most of my swimming, goes Water Polo, so I played Water Polo as well.
I almost went to college as a golfer, but I chose swimming instead for a number of reasons.
But I like almost all individual sports, and of course some team sports, too.
Down your alley, FWIW, the two most exciting moments in Olympic history for me are, first, the 4x100 freestyle swimming relay I posted the video of the other day, and secondly, the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid. I suspect you would place the latter first, but either way, both were utterly spectacular.
Maybe we'll see something similar in London!
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Yup, I agree with you; those were both spectacular moments in Olympic history. And because of my love of hockey and the incredible underdog aspect of the US Hockey team, I would give that first place. But the 4x100 relay was unbelievable in its own right.
Interestingly, the very first game the US Hockey team played at Lake Placid that year was against Sweden. The US was trailing late in the game by a score of 2-1. The US pulled the goalie and scored to tie the game with 27 seconds remaining. That too was very exciting. And it started them off on that whole miracle run.
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Even though I started this thread, I’m not going to comment much since this really isn’t the place to detail an athletic venue.
I’m definitely not going to comment on last night’s swimming, which was utterly incredible to me, because if I were to write one comment I’d have to write a whole slew of comments on the subject.
But since this is primarily a Bible-based forum, I thought I would pass this on, which to me is both enriching and sometimes quite funny.
Actually, it happens every four years, at every summer Olympics, and it happens like clockwork.
Where does it happen at the summer Olympics?
It happens largely in the Track & Field venue (wrt American media coverage), although it occurs in other venues as well, but not nearly as much as in Track & Field.
What happens?
After the race, when the winners are standing there with the commentator, and the commentator begins to ask them about their race and how they feel about it, a great many of the Track & Field athletes start giving glory to God, and start praising the Lord, and quoting Scripture, and so on.
And the commentator in many cases, especially in the past, seems to be awkward in the moment, as ofttimes the commentator just doesn’t quite know how to respond to some of the faith-based statements that are made. Sometimes in the past this could be pretty entertaining, although the commentators are less awkward today than in the past because most of the commentators now are former Track & Field athletes themselves, who used to do the same thing.
But if you watched the Track & Field Trials last Saturday and Sunday, you got to see a good dose of this. It was, as I said, both enriching and entertaining.
And, FWIW, I suspect we’ll see a bit more of it in the Track & Field venue in the upcoming games in London.
By the way, here’s a possible feature request to make searches in BibleWorks even faster:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406297,00.asp
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Couldn't help it. I must go on record as saying that I'm very proud of Phelps. He was a class act athletically in Beijing, and he's been a class act in his character in London. Plus he's shown why he's a champion. My congrats to all of them.
If I had had in my entire body the amount of talent that these Olympians have in their little finger tips, well, I still wouldn't have made to the games. -
But these USA swimmers have overcome some notable obstacles and have prevailed. Standing ovation.
Now let's see what they can do on the track.
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