Added: 12/12/2005 |
Predictability of an Olympics, a situation among men swimmersThe most sensation happened in Long Beach because the fans thought that a main goal of the best American men swimmers was to intimidate the competitors beforehand and not only to be on the Olympic team.
They have won. For example, Brendan Hansen broke the world record in the 100 meter breast-stroke of Japan's Kosuke Kitijima and improved his record time to 0.48. Only this record could intimidate any men swimmers.
But, let's think if Hansen can repeat this result during the Olympic Games. There are usually no world records gotten in the final race. Let's remember the time of 47.84 by Hoogenband in the semi-final swim of the 100 meters in the freestyle in Sydney and his final time of 48.30. It is quite a different matter that the Dutch won all the same events. And, what about Brendan Hansen? Don't forget about the tough competition in the breast-stroke. If he fails, we can only express our sympathy and say, "Why should you break the world record before the main start?"
A month before any competition is the most dangerous period. It is too short to perform one more cycle of training and to achieve the top results again. It is too long to maintain the form at the same level. We can speak about the miracle of American medicine that provides the sportsmen to show the best results many times each year. It seemed to be different. For example, the majority of American team leaders showed worse results in Sydney than in other championship selections in that year. It was again a month before the Olympics. Irvine and Hall swam the distance of 50 meters in the freestyle at 21.76 and 21.80 respectively. The best result at the Olympics was 21.98 and their results were the same.
The main candidate to be a hero at the Olympic Games was Michael Phelps. He was selected on the Olympic team of men swimmers in eight events and won four of them. He also held the complex swimming record at a distance of 400 meters. The Australian, Tortz, thought that the American sportsmen should not have aimed at the maximum number of starts. But, for all appearances, Phelps is not going to follow this. He wishes to improve the record of Mark Spitz who is the only sportsman among men swimmers who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics in Germany.
Many people thought it was crazy because Spitz was in a better situation. This is because for half of the distance, he was a sprinter. Phelps was in a different situation. In Athens, he would compete each day without any breaks. The first start is the complex distance of 400 meters. The prior race is in the morning and the last race is in the evening.
Many people also think that Alexander Popov continuing his career is also a bit crazy because he is 31. He is the oldest sportsman among men swimmers. In the world of swimming, that is a record. To be able to swim a craw is wonderful. And to be successful at it is unreal. In the 100 years of swimming, there is no such precedent.
When someone asked Alexander about it, he said that it would be wonderful to get such results. But, in order to do this, it is necessary to shut out all of the bad thought and concentrate on positive emotions.
The Olympics in 2004 will be the last Games for him because he has announced his retirement from competitive swimming. He ends his career where he began it, Greece.
We can predict and forecast but the Olympics Games are always surprising and have intrigue.
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