Changing China
Giant on the move
Snapshot Beijing, 6: Michael Phelps wins eight golds
Michael Phelps trouncing his rivals is always something fantastic to see, and here in Beijing it took your breath away to watch him so often leave everyone else for dead.
But the races which stick most vividly in my mind are the two in which gold appeared to have escaped him.
First of those was the 4×100 freestyle relay. I thought the race was lost for the U.S. when Frenchman Alain Bernard turned for the last length nearly a second up. But Jason Lezak had other ideas and snatched victory with the swim of a lifetime. I’ll never forget the sight of Phelps roaring his joy and release.
Then there was Miroslav Cavic reaching for gold in the 100 fly, only for Phelps, charging through the faster, to swing his arms over, hit the wall first in that final lunge and win by just one hundredth of a second. I’d expected Phelps to catch him earlier but thought, at the death, he’d run out of time to do it.
The next day Phelps made it eight in the medley relay and I had been lucky enough to witness each movement of his swimming symphony.
Swimming is my sporting passion. I’d been in Munich for my first Olympics in 1972 but was covering gymnastics and couldn’t get to the pool nearby to see any of Mark Spitz’s seven golden swims. Thirty-six years on, it was all the sweeter to watch Phelps take his place as arguably the greatest Olympian of them all.
I may have missed the seven but I got the eight.
Kevin Fylan adds: This is the sixth in our series of snapshots from the Beijing Games, where Reuters reporters give their thoughts on what it was like to be there at the key moments of the Olympics.
Read Snapshot Beijing, 1: Matt Emmons, by Erik Kirschbaum here.
Read Snapshot Beijing, 2: Matthias Steiner, by Sophie Hardach here.
Read Snapshot Beijing, 3: Usain Bolt, by Paul Majendie here.
Read Snapshot Beijing, 4: Matthew Mitcham, by Emma Graham-Harrison here.
Beijing 2008: Were these the best Games ever?
The Beijing Olympic Games closed on Sunday, as China passed on the flame to London.
Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch was in the habit of describing each Games as “the best ever”, with the notable exception of Atlanta in 1996.
His successor Jacques Rogge does not go in for such superlatives. He described Athens in 2004 as “unforgettable, dream Games” and on Sunday he pronounced the verdict on Beijing, saying they had provided “an exceptional Games”.
Perhaps that was a fitting phrase for an Olympics that began with an opening ceremony on an unparalleled scale and went on to provide highlights that will live on in the memory of all of us.
American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, with a little help from his friends on the relay team, to break the record of seven at a single Games, achieved by Mark Spitz in 1972. Usain Bolt took the breath from all of us in the Bird’s Nest stadium when he won the 100 and 200 metres, breaking the world record in each.
Matthias Steiner broke our hearts by offering up his weightlifting gold to the wife he lost in a car crash, while Matt Emmons made us all gasp when for the second Olympics in succession he blew a certain gold medal with a ridiculous mistake on his final shot.
These were truly the greatest games of all time. The passion, energy, time and imagination put into it’s organization and execution was truly legendary! These games provided for me the greatest memories that any olympics ever will because they had elements to them that all others will lack. The controversies, the competition between the current and future superpower, the unbelievable record shattering performances from the athletes, and the most stunning opening and closing ceremonies. It’s not just any olympics where a 5000 years old society with 1.3 billion people opens up to the world! oh and the paralympics were just as memorable.
Beijing podcast — day 16
Join us for the 16th and last podcast from the Beijing Olympics. We cast an eye back over the best moments of the Games, discuss Beijing’s world ranking and look ahead to quite a contrast with the next Olympics in London.
Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith, Nick Mulvenney and Robert F Woodward join me for the festivities. And Laura, that line at the start is really only a joke…
Beijing podcast — day 13
Was the IOC right to criticise Usain Bolt? What is the most dangerous sport at the Games? And what’s the worst horse joke you could possibly imagine?
Tune in to the latest podcast as I’m joined by Julian Linden, Simon Evans, Ossian Shine and Paul Majendie for a figurative stroll around the Olympic green.
Beijing podcast — day 12
Tune in to the unfortunately timed day 12 podcast from Beijing, recorded shortly before Usain Bolt’s crack at the 200 metres, to learn about:
The alternative alternative Olympics medals table
The great gold medal con trick
The ping pong bong
Who could resist? It’s eight minutes of nonsense, with an old joke at the end, and features Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith, Padraic Halpin, Karolos Grohmann and me.
Beijing podcast — day 11
Tune in to the latest podcast hear about Yelena Isinbaeva’s pole vault magic, open water swimming’s dirty little secret and why you should never let an Australian come home with souvenirs for the kids.
I’m joined by Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith, Simon Evans and John “David Gedge” Chalmers for seven minutes of sunshine from grey Beijing. Enjoy…
http://mediacdn.reuters.com/blogs/2008-08-19/11.55.01-d4ff5ab7e34f26ede59b20b0dc60f2b9.flv
Beijing podcast — day 10
I’m joined by Simon Evans, Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith and Ossian Shine for a short talk about the sport here in Beijing. Tune in to find out about china’s unluckiest man, the power of the yam and why Michael Phelps wouldn’t touch a dram.
A few technical gremlins delayed this but … better kate than trevor.
Beijing podcast — day nine
The podcast team reflect on insane Usain, Phelps fatigue and the most dangerous man at the Beijing Olympics.
I’m joined by Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith, Brian Homewood, Erik Kirschbaum and Neil Maidment to look at the dafter side of the Beijing Games.
And if you were in any doubt as to the talents of Mr Linden, listen out for him playing the piano in the background.
Click below to play.
Can swimming ever be a mass spectator sport?
The American swimming great was still wet from winning his unprecedented eighth gold when he dedicated his victory to — swimming.
At his press conference Michael Phelps did it again, telling awed journalists that the seven new world records, 14 career golds and all the sweat that went into attaining them, would serve “my goal of raising the sport of swimming in the U.S. as high as it can go.”
And with Phelps’s appealing modesty, you could believe that the success was not about the multi-million dollar wealth that will come his way, the appearances on television chat shows and being recognised in the streets of his hometown Baltimore.
But how realistic is it that swimming can ever be a mass audience sport? Can you entice spectators week in and week out to watch eight people trudging along a 50 metre rectangle of water, propelling themselves with a variety of strokes and travelling for various differences?
You can’t see the swimmers faces as they exert themselves and the competitors are barely aware of what their opponents are doing. When the race ends the swimmers peer at the scoreboard to see which of them has won. There are no dramatic penalty shoot-outs, extra-times or play-offs.
Nor are the magnificently-fit and sleekly-shaped swimmers given to grand displays of emotion in triumph. A shake of the fist in the air, a few tears on the podium and then it’s back to the relentless grind of training.
Well, in a way he’s right. He isn’t talking about swimming in terms of world wide popularity. He’s talking about the U.S. And the fact is, Americans couldn’t care less about swimming. It’s not perceived as a butch sport (despite the incredible strength and physique of the swimmers) and therefore doesn’t have the popularity for American football and basketball. It’s not like you’ll see a bunch of guys in a bar in the U.S. argue over whose better…Phelps or Thorpe or whoever. Also, swimming existed long before the U.S. became a country. It wasn’t “invented” in the States like basketball, baseball, etc. It’s not followed in the U.S. like it is in Australia. So, the U.S. vs. Aussie thing is not really that interesting in the U.S. outside of the U.S. swimming community (athletes, fans, coaches) etc. Swimmers in the the U.S. like Phelps are not usually idolized and hounded by the press like film stars (Phelps’ coverage is highly unusual but given his caliber it is reasonable) like swimmers in Australia like Rice and Thorpe. I think the writer was just stating the attitude Americans have towards the sport and giving reasons why.
Steffen conquers fear of winning
Britta Steffen had hardly dried off after completing the freestyle sprint double when she started thanking her psychologist, Frederike Janofsky.
“I’m happy that hard work in training and working with the mental trainer paid off,” she said. “It was all in the mind. I didn’t expect it. To win here again is fantastic.”
I had the chance to talk to Steffen in Berlin in June about how Janofsky had turned her from an also-ran into a winner. After a disappointing Athens Games she quit the sport for a while, saying she couldn’t stand it, and focused on her studies — and food.
She gained about eight kilos during her six months away from the sport. “I’d look forward to lunch all morning,” she said. “And then I’d look forward to afternoon pies and coffee. And then dinner.”
After finally leaping back into the pool she also spent time getting her head straight. Her sessions with Janofsky — who had helped her friend Franziska van Almsick before — proved enlightening. “I would say, ‘I want to win’. But after this test she asked: ‘Britta, why don’t you want to win?’” Steffen recalled. “I spontaneously blurted out, ‘Because someone else would lose!’ It sounded so absurd when that came out of me … (but) I had got used to losing. Deep inside I hated to see others lose because they’d cry. She helped me erase my own mind’s objections to winning.” After that, she won four gold medals at the 2006 European championships and broke the 100 metres freestyle world record. And now she’s won two Olympic gold medals.
So if you’ve ever wondered why so many athletes these days use sports psychologists, now you know.
PHOTO: Britta Steffen of Germany celebrates after winning the women’s 50m freestyle swimming final during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, August 17, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Reed
