I found this video of the Today Show, where the US Women’s Water Polo team talks about winning the Silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. Check it out:
I found this video of the Today Show, where the US Women’s Water Polo team talks about winning the Silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. Check it out:
Yep. Michael Phelps is going to be on Corn Flakes, instead. Um, okay. It just doesn’t have that ring, but I guess you have to do what you have to do.
This was a great interview with Debbie Phelps. You want to know what it takes to raise an Olympic phenom? Watch this.
The Chinese consider the number 8 to be lucky. Well, I’m betting it must be one of Michael Phelps’ favorite numbers, as well, as he just won his 8th gold. Wow, it was a really great race, too! Close enough to be exciting, but not so close that it was uncomfortable.
I honestly don’t know how his mother manages to sit in the stands and watch without getting sick, especially through races like last night when he won the 7th medal by .01 seconds. I assume you all saw when she put up two fingers after the end, assuming he had finished second, only to sink down in shock after seeing the places go up on the board with Phelps in first. She’s probably so glad it’s over!
It’s really an honor to even get to see this piece of sports history. I keep thinking it will never be broken, but I’m sure people thought that about Mark Spitz when he set the original record. It’s just hard to imagine that someone could ever win NINE gold medals. And the overall medal count— 16— is pretty impressive, as well. And I would imagine Phelps will add more medals to that in London in 2012.
So, once again, Michael Phelps set yet another Olympic record tonight. 8 for 8 in ‘08!
Michael Phelps is now officially the most successful athlete in Olympic history. He now owns 11 gold medals after winning two golds today— one in the 200m butterfly, another in the 4×200m freestyle relay. He also set two new world records. Tomorrow night he could tie Mark Spitz’s record.
I do find it interesting that even though the media is obssessed with Michael Phelps getting eight gold medals, this is NOT Michael Phelps’ goal. It is very difficult, though, to not want him to set that record.
Michael Phelps has a very supportive Mom and sisters, whom we see quite often in the stands. Matt Lauer talked to them on the Today show. Here’s that interview.
Michael Phelps secured a place in Olympic history tonight, becoming the proud owner of his 9th gold medal, when he won the 200m freestyle, setting a new world record in the process. He really looked like he could have gone faster, but maybe he was just saving that for another day. He was joined on the podium by fellow American Peter Vanderkaay, who won the bronze.
Next up, the women swam the 100m backstroke. Again, the Americans brought home multiple medals. Natalie Coughlin became the first woman to successfully defend the gold in the 100m backstroke. Fellow American Margaret Hoelzer brought home the bronze.
Aaron Peirsol also successfully defended his gold medal in the 100m backstroke, setting a new world record. Matt Grevers won the silver. If Aaron Peirsol was as tall as Matt Grevers he could probably swim that race about 5 seconds faster. Matt Grevers just towers over him. They were very happy to come in first and second.
The last final of the night (morning in Beijing) was the women’s 100m breaststroke. Olympic newcomer Rebecca Soni had a strong showing and won the silver medal.
So, as usual, the United States swim team is representing their country marvelously. Tomorrow there will be more opportunities for American gold medals in the women’s 200m freestyle, men’s 200m butterfly (a chance for Michael Phelps to get that 10th gold medal), women’s 200m individual medley and men’s 4×200m freestyle relay.
Here’s a video of an interview Cullen Jones did with Meredith Vieira after that incredible 4×100m relay.
And in case you still haven’t seen the race, you can see it here.
Late night on NBC you can watch women’s volleyball and women’s 100m breaststroke semifinals. During the day tomorrow, it’s women’s water polo, men’s beach volleyball and more qualifying rounds for swimming. Then in primetime, Michael Phelps his march towards Olympic history in the 200m free. Teammates Aaron Peirsol and Natalie Coughlin have a chance to medal in the men’s and women’s 100m. Also on during primetime, U.S. women’s beach volleyball with Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the men’s team gymnastics final, and the men’s 10m synchro platform diving final.
MSNBC is broadcasting a full day tomorrow, as well, including women’s tennis, women’s handball, women’s basketball, women’s water polo and women’s volleyball. (Incidentally, U.S. women’s water polo is pursuing their third straight Olympic gold medal.) Men’s badminton (where U.S. competitor Raju Rai may actually have a chance), weightlifting and men’s archery are also available for viewing.
CNBC will be showing men’s beach volleyball, boxing, and women’s softball.
USA is broadcasting women’s beach volleyball, rowing, men’s tennis (featuring Wimbledon champion Rafael Nedal), women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball.
Oxygen will be covering gymnastics and equestrian.
Online, you can see archery, badminton, basketball, fencing, handball, field hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, tennis, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The U.S. men went into the 4×100m freestyle relay underdogs, in spite of the fact that their slow team just set a world record. Well, that world record was absolutely SMASHED by the race tonight (even the 5th place finisher broke it)! But most importantly the U.S. team WON!! The French had been talking smack all day and were ahead coming down to the very last moment, but Jason Lezak swam the race of his life to chase down Alain Bernard and touch the wall just a fraction of a second before him. It was just about the most exciting race I’ve ever seen— unbelievable!!
And on top of all of that, it was the last major hurdle standing between Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz’s record. He is now predicted to win the rest of his races, so, hopefully, by the end of this Olympics there will be a new record for most gold medals in any one Olympics. And, almost certainly, Michael Phelps will own the most gold medals ever won by one individual.
In the qualifying heat, the men’s 4×100m freestyle relay team, comprised of Nathan Adrian, Cullen Jones, Ben Wildman-Tobriner and Matt Grevers, broke the world record. Giving an idea of just how fast the finals might be, two other teams also broke the world record. Of course, only one of the U.S. team members will be swimming in the finals. Why? Because that’s the back up team. Yes, that’s right. That’s the SLOW members of the team. Swimming the finals will be Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale and Jason Lezak. Cullen Jones will be joining them, the only member of the qualifying team to do so. So, my guess is that the world record they just set won’t last through tonight’s finals. You can watch the finals at about 9 p.m. tonight.
The USA is ahead in the medal count with 8 medals, thanks largely to 5 swimming medals in the first day of competition. Michael Phelps brought home a gold, while the women’s 4×100m freestyle relay team won a silver. Bronze medals went to Larsen Jensen, Ryan Lochte and Katie Hoff.
Michael Phelps EASILY won the 400 meter Individual Medley to start his attempt at Olympic history. He set a world record of 4:03.84 as he won his 7th gold medal in his Olympics career. And he wasn’t even breathing hard. Nice of him to make it look so easy.
If he can win 7 more golds during the Beijing Olympics, he’ll beat Mark Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals in one Olympics, which was set in 1972. He only needs three more gold medals to hold the record for most gold medals by an Olympian.
Here’s the video of his gold medal swim, in case you missed it.
All Olympic athletes are special, but we all know some are more exciting than others (who else was on the Olympic gymnastics team with Mary Lou Retton?). So, here are ten U.S. Olympic athletes that you should definitely watch.
1. Michael Phelps— Could potentially be one of the biggest stories of the China Olympics. Will he break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympics? Will he tie his own record of eight medals (6 gold, 2 bronze) that he set at the Athens Olympics in 2004?
2. Shawn Johnson— She just might join the ranks of other women’s gymnastic greats Mary Lou Retton and Carly Patterson, who won all-around championships at the Olympics. At 16, she is the reigning world all-around champion.
3. Dara Torres— Dara hopes to increase the oldest age of the oldest gold medalist in swimming from 33 to 41 (she set the previous record at the Sydney Olympics). She also hopes to add to her current 9 Olympic medals.
4. The Lopez Family— Steven, Mark and Diana Lopez are siblings from Sugarland, Texas who will all be competing in TaeKwondo at the Summer Olympics. Even more amazing, they’re coached by older brother Jean. They are the first three siblings since 1904 to make an Olympic team. Since they won’t be competing against each other, they could conceivably bring home three gold medals.
5. Allyson Felix— The 22 year old track and field darling will be going for three gold medals. In the current climate of track and field, where the sport is reeling from recent performance-enhancing drug scandals, Felix has signed up for the enhanced testing program to prove that she is running clean.
6. Sheila Taormina— Sheila Taormina has already set a record before she even competes in Beijing. She’s the first woman to compete in four Olympics in three different sports. At this summer’s China Olympics, she’ll be competing in modern pentathlon. Previously, she has competed in swimming and triathlon. In 1996, she won a gold medal as part of the women’s 4×200 relay team. Taormina, age 39, will be joined on the U.S. Women’s Pentathlon team by teenage phenom Margaux Isaksen, who is only 16.
7. U.S. Women’s Softball Team— The U.S. Women’s Softball team, including several familiar faces from former Olympic teams, will be going for its fourth consecutive gold medal. Team member Laura Berg was on each of the previous winning teams and hopes to add to her collection of gold medals.
8. Lopez Lomong— You MUST visit his website. Lomong has an unbelievably inspiring story. A former “lost boy” of the Sudan, Lomong escaped from the Sudan and was relocated to the United States where he attended Northern Arizon University and began running track. Lomong will compete in the 1,500 m race in Beijing.
9. Laura Wilkinson— Laura Wilkinson is one of the United States’ best chances for gold in platform diving. After winning the gold in Sydney, Wilkinson was disappointed with a fifth place finish in Athens. However, she easily made the 2008 team and is looking really strong. Although she will be quite a bit older than many of the other competitors, she is working on some extremely complex dives and plans to go out with a bang at the Beijing Olympics. She will be retiring after the Games.
10. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh— They’ll be seeking to win the first back-to-back gold medals in beach volleyball. They’re coming into the Olympics with a 101-match winning streak and have won 18 tournaments in a row.
If you just can’t wait for the Beijing Olympics, and you have a Wii, I highly recommend Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. We just picked up the game today. It was a “business expense” 
I played for a little while, and it was quite fun. It has Aquatics, Athletics, Gymnastics and more. I’m still fairly new to the Wii, so I found some of the controls a bit challenging, but I did get a silver medal in trampoline!
We only have one remote right now, but it would be even more fun if we had multiple remotes, since we could play against each other that way, as in this video:
So, if you’re looking for a fun prep for the Summer Olympics, go out and pick up Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. If you don’t mind waiting a couple of days for it to come in, consider ordering it from Overstock. It’s $7 cheaper than what I paid at Best Buy, and shipping is only $3.
When you’re getting ready for your first Olympics, you would think that would be the most important thing going on in your life. But that’s not the case for U.S. Olympic Swimmer Eric Shanteau. A week before the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Eric got a call from his doctors telling him that a lump they thought might be a benign cyst was, in fact, testicular cancer.
Had he not made the Olympics, Eric would immediately have gone home and had surgery. But when he qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the 200-meter breaststroke, he faced a difficult decision. Fight on for his Olympic dreams or start the fight of his life. After doctors cleared him to compete as long as he is frequently checked to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread, Eric chose to continue his preparations for Beijing.
We wish Eric best wishes in his quest for the gold and with his health.
