the first couple of swimming days have left me tired and breathless. the 4x100 relay was crazy!! anyone else following the games?
Best swim race I have ever seen, hands down. Lezak’s last 25 meter close was insane.
Oh yeah and btw, the US men’s soccer team got the shaft in penalty time.
We’re actually watching them due to the fact that my son became interested in them because BMX is now part of the games. He races BMX and is excited about them being in the Olympics and that has lead to him watching (and us) more of the games. Plus who couldn’t get excited about Michael Phelps and his quest for 8 gold medals. That dude is out of this world!
Lesak’s performance was nothing short of amazing - talk about a “mission first” kind of guy!
I was a competitive swimmer at a fairly high level between the ages of 5 and 18 so I’m all over the summer Olympics. It’s nice that Phelps is doing what he’s doing so that swimming gets more attention than it did for a while.
However, it’s a shame that the first thing the NBC announcers said after Lezak’s inhuman swim was that Michael Phelps’ chances were still alive for 8 medals. That man should have gotten much more attention than he did for that swim.
I don’t know how many people really appreciate how insane it is to make up a body length deficit in 50m of freestyle at the Olympic level (against the fastest 100m freestyle swimmer in the world, no less). Even the other US team members didn’t think it was possible. He came off of that wall at 50m like a torpedo. Consider that the difference between an Olympic level and a high school national champion level 100m free is only a handful of seconds. Those are how thin the margins are in an event like that.
ETA: Here’s the video of the race if anyone cares to watch it. The race starts around the 2:00 mark.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0811_hd_swb_hl_l0194
Was flipping through radio channels this morning and the announcer described it like being down half a lap, on the last lap, at Daytona and getting the win. Don’t know if that is accuracte, but it was compelling imagery.
These are the results from the 2007 world championships in the men’s 100m freestyle. The number after their name is their birth year, then after the country it’s reaction time, 50m split time, and final time. The difference between first and sixth place is less than 4 tenths of a second. Three guys got the exact same time. Take a moment to think about that! Relay split times tend to be a little faster because you can do a rolling start - as long as your feet are still on the blocks when the guy in front of you touches then you’re good. Lezak’s split yesterday of 46.06 is unreal.
- LEZAK Jason 75 USA 0.73 23.09 48.51Q
- MAGNINI Filippo 82 ITA 0.72 23.50 48.60Q
- VAN DEN HOOGENBAND Pieter 78 NED 0.79 23.55 48.72Q
- HAYDEN Brent 83 CAN 0.78 23.31 48.79Q
- SULLIVAN Eamon 85 AUS 0.66 23.02 48.86Q
- NEETHLING Ryk 77 RSA 0.72 23.14 48.87Q
- CIELO FILHO Cesar 87 BRA 0.71 23.42 48.87Q
- SCHOEMAN Roland 80 RSA 0.64 22.90 48.87Q
I’m sure this is completely pointless, but my wife and I have decided to completely boycott the Olympics. The OIC is such a corrupt organization and China (well, we all know about China). There just seem to be so many things wrong with this Olympics I just can’t see giving it any time in my life. Sucks for the athletes (actually, I’m sure my little boycott doesn’t effect them in the least). But I think all of this just legitimizes China in a way that shouldn’t be supported. Anyway, my .02 worth.
LEZAK’s swim was out of this world!! but as for personally boycotting the Olympics, it would seem justifiable, but i’m not cheering the IOC, i’m cheering for all athletes. We’re rooting for the Americans, of course, but it’s a time to appreciate hard work, and commitment, and dedication from every gifted athlete from every nation and their families.
It was amazing to watch the 4x100 freestyle. My wife swam in HS in Japan competitively so she likes to watch all the swimming.
With regards to the Olympics and China etc. I was not in favor of the Olympics being awarded to China, but since they were, being a realist, I am watching to support the US and other countries’ athletes. Boycotting hurts no one but myself and my family.
I have been impressed with the proper behavior of the Chinese fans and stuff. And the games themselves have been put on very well…
I still try and avoid most made in China products. While a few product lines I have are made in China[1], unfortunately, most aren’t and I have refused actual AR parts lines (Leapers, etc – I ended up with a couple of CAA parts that are made in China by accident but won’t be reordering those parts) and optics lines made in China. Just say NO to Chinese products sold under American names.
Chad
[1] After Michaels of Oregon sold out to Bushnell, Bushnell seems to have moved the Bore-Snake production to China (I do not think that Michaels was making them in China but could be wrong). CED (Competitive Edge) products have always been made in China but they have no equivalents. Dillon’s electronics (ears, scale, calipers) are made by CED.
I am happy anytime American citizens strut their stuff for the world - good on 'em. However this Olympics is a scam to boost church persecuting, dissent quashing, freedom subverting China - screw them six ways to Sunday. I wish that earthquake had hit city hall instead of that school. China doesn’t deserve the increased legitimacy hosting the games gives them. They can have legitimacy when they stop running their country like an ant farm. Not trying to be a killjoy, but this Olympics makes me sick!:mad:
Anything that involves judging seems to be scammed in favor of China.
That said, kudos to these 3 ladies on last night’s silver medal performance. They had a tough night, and China should be reprimanded for using gymnasts who are clearly under the age limit. What a scam…cant trust china to do anything right…
Shawn Johnson
Nastia Liukin
Alicia Sacramone
And obviously, this man needs no introduction
Heck, I’d have a hard enough time walking along the balance beam from end to end without falling 
Kudos to them all. The women’s gymnastics team was wonderful to watch and it was very sad to watch the few mistakes they made.
China’s sports programs are machines that suck kids in and spit them out when they are no longer useful. Starting at age 3 they take the kids away from their families to begin training. While I agree that a few of the China women’s team looked under age, what about the human cost for such “machines”? Much like the old Soviet and East German and other East Block machines spit out athletes.
Kudos also to the US Shooters and the medals they have gotten. I wish they would show the shooting on TV
you can watch the men’s, women’s, and trap doubles, on NBCOLYMPICS.COM
they had the entire matches online. it was even better because there were no commercials!
I am avoiding that website so that I can get some work done 
Would be nice to get prime time exposure or even day time exposure for the shooting sports and I would have an excuse to watch while watching with the family.
You know what is most inspiring, is the collection of athletes representing the US. They cover a broad spectrum of the makeup of the country. And the inspiring part: they include the sons and daughters of former Soviet Olympians, a Chinese athlete who represented China in the past and came to the US and stayed and opened up his own gymnastics studio and is now a coach for the US team, etc. And probably many more similar stories I am not familiar with… All these people came to the US to have a better life for themselves and their families and they or their children now proudly represent the United States.
They did not come here and keep their old language and traditions and flags. They came and became Americans and now represent America to the world. For all its warts and problems, the best country in the world.
sorry folks, but i can not say anything good about this Olympics, there is wide spread cheating by the Chicoms and nearly everything they do is fake.
individual effort by the Americans is the only thing i see is NOT fake
lots of individuals and competing countries are not faking it. just because one country may be cheating, don’t let it discount the efforts of ALL the other competitors from ALL the other countries.
This is weird but have lived a few miles away from every female US All-Around Olympic Gold Medal Champion at the time they won…