Pool and Open Water Swimming: Do Not Swallow the Water

[kittykat]

Hooray for Lily King.  Gahhhh to Sun Yang.  At least LeClos and Dwyer pulled Silver and Bronze.

[Cherpumple]

Aww, Fu Yuanhui is so excited to win her bronze medal! I hate to generalize, but it's fantastic to see a Chinese athlete so happy about a non-gold-winning performance.

[KenyaJ]

That NBC shot of Michael Phelps in the ready room has already launched a thousand memes, if my Twitter timeline is any indication. Sad to see Chad LeClos acting like such a tool. He's talented enough not to have to play mind games with Phelps, like that could even work.

Edited August 9, 2016 by KenyaJ

[Amethyst]

I gotta give it to Lily King, she wasn't playing around.  LOL at the dirty look from Efimova while Lily was being interviewed.

[healthnut]

I have to disagree with Rowdy, I don't think that was great TV. So much events going on in the olympics bad we're stuck waiting on a semi watching athletes in a ready room. Really? There was nothing else to fill that time...

On a positive note, Lilly King is everything. Love her. 

[Brattinella]

Le Clos was a ridiculous jerk.  Too bad there wasn't sound on that video; I'm sure he was talking long shit to Michael.  Asshole.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Brattinella

[kittykat]

Wow.  Now I want Michael to beat LeClos.  Vengeance for London.

[KenyaJ]

Well, if nothing else, thanks for making Twitter hilarious, Chad. I'd love to hear him explain why he felt all of that was necessary for a semifinal. A semifinal, Chad.

Also, Darren Rovell reports that Phelps' website crashed after the race from too much traffic. Lolz.

[Growsonwalls]

10 hours ago, briochetwist said:

 

Ok because apparently I can't cut something from an edit. Anyway I disagree Chad was being a jerk. A little show-boatish? Yeah. But Michael Phelps has a well-deserved rep for being rather icy with competitors. And also? Have a sense of humor Mikey. Maybe that's what I don't like about him. He's so joyless and humorless. He breaks world records but always looks like he's doing his taxes.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Growsonwalls
Accidentally posted

[KenyaJ]

Obviously, I disagree, LOL. And I also think that if Phelps ever did the same thing LeClos just did, we'd be hearing about his bad sportsmanship from now until infinity. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by KenyaJ

[Brattinella]

2 minutes ago, KenyaJ said:

if Phelps ever did the same thing

I KNOW!  We'd never hear the end of it.  If he had stopped after a minute or so, I'd feel a lot more charitable towards him.  But went on and ON AND ON with it.  And then stared him down at the pool!

[selkie]

Eh. Le Clos' showboating was kind of like Miley Cyrus or the concept of Hooters- kind of tacky but ultimately harmless. Not awful sportsmanship, and just enough to generate a bit of buzz like the smashing of guitars and such. You can have slightly more heated rivalries than you usually get in swimming without it seeming like a hatefest.

[KenyaJ]

I agree that it was harmless. I find it toolish mostly because he did it before I semifinal. If you're gonna go to the effort of playing mind games with someone who's impervious to that anyway, at least do it before the final.

[briochetwist]

27 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

Ok because apparently I can't cut something from an edit. Anyway I disagree Chad was being a jerk. A little show-boatish? Yeah. But Michael Phelps has a well-deserved rep for being rather icy with competitors. And also? Have a sense of humor Mikey. Maybe that's what I don't like about him. He's so joyless and humorless. He breaks world records but always looks like he's doing his taxes.

Wait, did I say something about Chad???? I'm confused...

[Snipsa]

Maybe I saw a different clip, (or it's just my national pride showing) but I didn't see much wrong with what Chad did.  Pumping himself up for the race, it didn't even look like he said anything to Michael whilst doing his little boxing routine - probably listening to music and mumbling along. Was it slightly toolish to do it in front of Phelps? Sure... But I don't see anything blatantly unsportsmanlike about it.

 

I have to say, Le Clos has a LOT of hype to live up to here at home. Many people has pipped him for medals in all his races, and our media can be brutal if you don't perform to their standards. Thus, I'll cut him some slack for trying to psych himself up whilst psyching out his main competitors...

 

Ps. I cannot believe he got silver in the 200 freestyle, and that less than an hour before the semi for the butterfly. I didn't want to buy into the SA media's hype of 3-4 medals for Chad, but thus far he is delivering...

 

Pps. I'm also cutting him a bit more slack as I have to think he is going through a lot personally - both his parents are battling cancer at the moment, and apparently he only saw them for the first time in three months right before the opening ceremony due to his olympic training...

Edited August 9, 2016 by Snipsa

[aemom]

My apologies if I missed a post about this, but I didn't see one.

Some of the swimmers seem to have a little string hanging from the nosepiece of their goggles.  It looks like they forgot it when cutting off the price tag.

What is the reason for it?

[IvySpice]

You know what, NBC? Boomer Phelps is not an athlete. He's not a coach. He's one of a million equally cute babies in the USA. A big-time athlete impregnated a model and hasn't gotten around to marrying her and gave the poor kid a stupid name -- I'm pretty sure I've seen this episode before. It's not news. I'm not watching this show to see Boomer Phelps and his adorable noise-canceling headphones. I don't need to see B-roll of Michael Phelps putting a doll in a Snugli when you could be airing more of the OLYMPICS.

[sereion]

Yaaaasss Lili, yaaaaasss!!!! THAT'S how you shut it down! Clean racing!!  That race made up for seeing Sun Yang's crooked teeth winning his race---dirty urine and all.

Edited August 9, 2016 by sereion

[twoods]

Weird seeing Murphy not excited at all about his gold medal. You figure he would show an ounce of emotion. Loved seeing his parents so excited for him.

Good for Lilly. I sort of feel bad for the Russian, but you shouldn't be cheating. I agree with the announcers that it's jarring to hear athletes get booed at this Olympics. I've never heard them before.

Edited August 9, 2016 by twoods

[selkie]

1 hour ago, AEMom said:

My apologies if I missed a post about this, but I didn't see one.

Some of the swimmers seem to have a little string hanging from the nosepiece of their goggles.  It looks like they forgot it when cutting off the price tag.

What is the reason for it?

They use Swedish goggles, which, like their larger IKEA cousins, come 'some assembly required' and you have to either use the string provided or a hunk of the head strap  to connect the eye cups together. (I always liked using the stretchy head strap bit as nose piece better- more room for error when setting them up and not being a few milimeters off, which was a pain in the rear to adjust if you used the string and macaroni provided as nose piece)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_goggles

They are a very old school goggle types and have long had a cult following among serious swimmers.  If the eye cups fit your face bones right, they're actually more comfortable for 3+ hours in the pool a day and are less likely to give 'raccoon eyes' than more padded goggles.

[katisha]

Just finished watching my recording of today's swimming session. Not a good one for the Australian team but hopefully there's still a medal or two coming. All of you who dislike Sun Yang, feel free to root for Mack Horton in the 1500m. ;)

Random question: why are so many of the female swimmers wearing two bathing caps instead of one?

Re the Phelps/Le Clos incident, I have decided to forgive Chad because he is so purty. /shallow  Which is more than can be said for poor old Michael. I have seen Phelps crop up on a number of "hottest athletes" lists and I don't get it. He is, to use the Australian vernacular, a "prawn" (ie rip off the head, eat the body).

[purist]

On 08/08/2016 at 2:16 AM, Rinaldo said:

Who are the commentators for the streaming of this afternoon's heats? (I wish the site would just provide the info beside the link, and why can't they just announce on the air "I'm X" when they start? Oh well.) He addressed her as "Nicole" at one point, but I haven't heard a name for him.

Quoting Rinaldo from page 1 of this thread - is the 'Nicole' Australian? If so, it's likely to be Nicole Livingstone, an ex-Olympic backstroker who is one of the best swimming commentators I have ever heard. She used to do the commentary for Australian broadcasts when they were on Channel 10, but since Channel 7 acquired the rights we've had Giaan Rooney instead. Giaan's good too, but not as good as Nicole.

Edited August 9, 2016 by purist

[Danny Franks]

19 hours ago, blackwing said:

I'm trying to figure out of Adam Peaty is somehow a secret U.S. citizen.  Because curiously, NBC seems to love him and keeps talking about him.  Yet there was considerably less excitement and enthusiasm for Sarah Sjostrom or that Hungarian girl when they set their world records.  Particularly the Hungarian girl, who was just as dominant as Katie Ledecky over the rest of the field.

I was going to comment on this, somewhat obliquely. I find it sad, really, that US coverage of the Olympics is so geared towards their own athletes, often to the exclusion of everything else. Yes, you can argue that the US is so good at most events that they're entitled to focus on themselves, but it seems a shame. That you're surprised they focussed on Adam Peaty, who broke his own world record twice in the last four days, is indicative of the way the broadcasters tend to ignore non-Americans. Our coverage in Britain always gives us a broader picture of what's going on, with lots of information on lots of different athletes and events, regardless of British medal chances (which are admittedly slimmer in many events).

To me, that inclusiveness is in keeping with the Olympic spirit, and it would be nice if it was he default way that broadcasters covered the Games.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Quote

Lilly's reaction to finding out Katie won the bronze is why I love the Olympics.

Me too!!

[aemom]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

I was going to comment on this, somewhat obliquely. I find it sad, really, that US coverage of the Olympics is so geared towards their own athletes, often to the exclusion of everything else. Yes, you can argue that the US is so good at most events that they're entitled to focus on themselves, but it seems a shame. That you're surprised they focussed on Adam Peaty, who broke his own world record twice in the last four days, is indicative of the way the broadcasters tend to ignore non-Americans. Our coverage in Britain always gives us a broader picture of what's going on, with lots of information on lots of different athletes and events, regardless of British medal chances (which are admittedly slimmer in many events).

To me, that inclusiveness is in keeping with the Olympic spirit, and it would be nice if it was he default way that broadcasters covered the Games.

As a Canadian, I have access to Canadian and US coverage. While Canadian coverage is exactly the type that you describe Britain provides, I have always found that the US coverage only includes events where the Americans will medal or are supposed to medal. It's always been that way. The coverage, and then the non stop analysis and interviews of those athletes. 

I read many years ago that Americans who live near the Canadian border were able to get the Canadian channels and watched that exclusively. I don't know why NBC (or whoever) continues to provide that sort of coverage, because the internet has taught me that Americans themselves would prefer more comprehensive coverage. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

Sadly I think the majority of the US population probably only cares about US athletes/teams since we've cornered the market on jingoism.  'Murica and all that shit.

[photo fox]

3 hours ago, katisha said:

He is, to use the Australian vernacular, a "prawn" (ie rip off the head, eat the body).

Haha! I love it! The things I learn in these threads. 

I dunno. I think most people watching in the US would be amenable to more "world" coverage. I think NBC's biggest fail is that they pick a dozen athletes/events and promote them mercilessly. Usually they are Americans and sports the US does well in, but not always. (Some sports, like women's gymnastics or figure skating, are so popular they'll get big coverage even if no Americans are expected to medal.)

99% of Americans - even those who medal - get about as much coverage on NBC as the world's 11th-best discus thrower. It's not just "furriners" being ignored while we watch the swimmers disrobe and adjust their goggles a hundred times. It's maddening.

I'll be rooting for Maya DiRado tonight. I love how befuddled the announcers seem to be by her decision to leave swimming behind after these Games. lol

[Rinaldo]

31 minutes ago, photo fox said:

I dunno. I think most people watching in the US would be amenable to more "world" coverage.

Amenable, maybe. But the problem (as I see it) is that they know that NBC can get a bigger audience if they do what they're now doing. It's just what's happened to every cable network in the last 15-20 years, so why should the big networks (who are losing ground at an alarming rate anyway, and who count on special occasions like the Olympics to bring their viewership average back up) be any different? Arts networks like Bravo and A&E, a "movie channel like AMC, the food and home-improvement channels, have long since left their original mission behind as they discovered that they could get more viewers if they tweaked things this way, then that way. NBC finds that their viewership takes an uptick if they follow (or create, as reality competitions have learned) a "narrative" here, if they focus on this story there, if they say more and more about these 3 beloved figures. So that's what they do. The idea of a duty or responsibility to the public? laughable. It's not going to change back now.

[Brattinella]

I really, really hate NBC.

[Bunky]

I loved watching the men's backstroke last night.  So happy to see the Americans continue their streak! And, thank you, KenyaJ, for mentioning the greats (Krayzelburg, Piersol, Grievers).  I was so happy to hear their names mentioned during last night's commentary.  Also, two words: Markus Rogan.  I miss him.  

I don't hate Phelps.  I've always had a soft spot for him.  Watching him swim fly in his qualifying heat last night took my breath away.  He is a beautiful swimmer. 

I am late to the party but was also glad to see Nathan Adrian win another medal.  He's got some heats today that I need to figure out how to live stream.  I cant't wait for the men's 50 free!  

Also, kudos to the ladies!  I expected Ledecky to dominate and Lily King's delivery was awesome.  

[Good Queen Jane]

5 hours ago, katisha said:

Random question: why are so many of the female swimmers wearing two bathing caps instead of one?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/olympics/theres-a-good-reason-some-olympic-swimmers-wear-two-swim-caps/ar-BBvozkx?li=BBnba9I&ocid=DELLDHP

[againstthewind]

20 minutes ago, Bunky said:

I loved watching the men's backstroke last night.  So happy to see the Americans continue their streak! And, thank you, KenyaJ, for mentioning the greats (Krayzelburg, Piersol, Grievers).  I was so happy to hear their names mentioned during last night's commentary.  Also, two words: Markus Rogan.  I miss him.  

I don't hate Phelps.  I've always had a soft spot for him.  Watching him swim fly in his qualifying heat last night took my breath away.  He is a beautiful swimmer. 

I am late to the party but was also glad to see Nathan Adrian win another medal.  He's got some heats today that I need to figure out how to live stream.  I cant't wait for the men's 50 free!  

Also, kudos to the ladies!  I expected Ledecky to dominate and Lily King's delivery was awesome.  

Aaron Peirsol was my inaugural Olympic boyfriend. I miss him.

Ditto on the Adrian love.

I've always had a soft spot for Phelps - we grew up in the same area and have ended up at a few parties together over the years. And Katie Ladecky grew up a few miles from my office. Go DMV!

[proserpina65]

Quote

As a Canadian, I have access to Canadian and US coverage. While Canadian coverage is exactly the type that you describe Britain provides, I have always found that the US coverage only includes events where the Americans will medal or are supposed to medal. It's always been that way. The coverage, and then the non stop analysis and interviews of those athletes. 

It wasn't always like this.  Waaaay back in the day, ABC used to cover more actual competition and showed athletes from many nations, with the occasional personality piece thrown in.  Then they started getting heavier handed with the puff pieces, and then NBC took that to new heights while trying to pretend that there are no foreign athletes involved in the Games at all.  CBS' Winter Games coverage wasn't much better.

[KenyaJ]

1 hour ago, Bunky said:

Also, two words: Markus Rogan.  I miss him. 

Me too! In addition to being gorgeous, he always seemed like such a great guy who was highly regarded by his competitors. 

[Dots And Stripes]

Is it time for an NBC or Team USA thread?

[emma675]

Quote

That NBC shot of Michael Phelps in the ready room has already launched a thousand memes, if my Twitter timeline is any indication. Sad to see Chad LeClos acting like such a tool. He's talented enough not to have to play mind games with Phelps, like that could even work.

The memes were cracking me up. Although, I am super pissed at NBC that we saw so much footage of the swimmers in the holding room than we did actual freaking competitions last night. However, wtf was Le Clos' problem last night? At first, it was kind of funny, the shadow boxing in front of Phelps, Phelps' monster pissed off face, etc. But then when Le Clos kept staring at Phelps while they were lining up and then actually in the water, it went overboard. He's coming off like a crazy person.

[sab85]

Holy crap Adrian,  way to give me a heart attack.  He's in the 100m freestyles semis by .03s. Caleb Dresser made it nicely,  47.91s, .01s from the top qualifier. 

[againstthewind]

7 minutes ago, sab85 said:

Holy crap Adrian,  way to give me a heart attack.  He's in the 100m freestyles semis by .03s. Caleb Dresser made it nicely,  47.91s, .01s from the top qualifier. 

I know. I was trying to play it off because I'm at work but I was going crazy there for a second. I love him.

[selkie]

I'd love to see Dressler and Chalmers have a nice long proper rivalry that stretches to at least 2024. The kids both seem to be coming into their own this year.

[DollEyes]

My verdict: LeClos is a tool, pretty or not. A little psych-out is one thing; doing it the whole time is another.  LeClos' having sick parents is tragic, but he shouldn't take it out on Michael Phelps.  

Lilly King's win was epic and her putting Efimova on blast was even better. If Efimova didn't want to be dissed for cheating, then she shouldn't have cheated in the first place. 

Edited August 13, 2016 by DollEyes
To correct spelling.

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

I have seen Phelps crop up on a number of "hottest athletes" lists and I don't get it. He is, to use the Australian vernacular, a "prawn" (ie rip off the head, eat the body).

OMG...."prawn"....I love it!  I once heard someone describe him as "Michael everything-but-the-face Phelps" and I think of that every time I see him!

I guess I'm the only one not on the Lilly Love Train.  Her initial comment was fine, make a statement, whatever, but then leave it alone.  She even started tiptoeing back in that direction during her immediate post medal interview.  I mean, I get it, no one wants to compete against a cheater.  But there was something too cocky, arrogant and snotty in her delivery.  

[againstthewind]

2 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

OMG...."prawn"....I love it!  I once heard someone describe him as "Michael everything-but-the-face Phelps" and I think of that every time I see him!

We call em double baggers. One for their head, one for your in case theirs falls off.

[Arynm]

1 minute ago, againstthewind said:

We call em double baggers. One for their head, one for your in case theirs falls off.

We call them butter faces. As in "Its all great, but her face..." In this case its his face, but butter still works. I think Michael is growing into his face, tbh.

[photo fox]

I finally watched the recording of the big ready room "controversy", and my thought was, "that's it?"

I guess I can see why it might be somewhat annoying, but at the same time, there were at least two other athletes who were bouncing around in and out of the edge of the frame, who were as close or closer to each other and Le Clos as Le Clos was to Phelps.  The media acts like Michael Phelps is a special snowflake and no one should dare be in his line of sight.  I don't doubt that it was gameplay, but it was nowhere near the level that I was expecting, based on the reaction I'm seeing everywhere on traditional and social media.

To his credit, Phelps seemed to prefer to let his swimming do the talking.

Looking forward to seeing Ryan Lochte in the pool.  I love that crazy bastard in spite of myself.

[Muffyn]

In defense of Phelps' face, he has a marfanoid body type with a narrow jaw that gives him a strange jaw line and teeth placement.  Given how large a person he is, it is that much more disconcerting.  This same body type gives him extra long arms and long fingers.  Given his success as a swimmer, it seems he got the body without the associated problems that can be life-limiting.  He looks a lot like my brother.  We're a funny looking family.  Michael would fit in with no problems.

Le Clos boxing in front of Phelps seemed like  much ado about nothing to me.  I swam competitively when I was young.  Everyone has  their thing.  Phelps goes into personal lock down with his hood up, sitting in the back and wearing headphones.  Le Clos and others bounce around.  A lot of swimmers do stretches.  The staring at the pool was odd but Phelps probably didn't really notice.  Everyone has to take care of their own mental game.    

[Ohwell]

24 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

I guess I'm the only one not on the Lilly Love Train.  Her initial comment was fine, make a statement, whatever, but then leave it alone.  She even started tiptoeing back in that direction during her immediate post medal interview.  I mean, I get it, no one wants to compete against a cheater.  But there was something too cocky, arrogant and snotty in her delivery.  

I'm with you there.  I was happy for her beating the Russian swimmer, but I thought she came off as a little too cocky and self-righteous.  You won.   Be happy.  Shut up. 

I also love Ryan Lochte.

[Mittengirl]

Last night the announcers seemed utterly positive that Le Clos' antics were aimed at psyching out Phelps.  Isn't it slightly possible that he was trying to psych himself up and was giving no mind to Phelps?

[KenyaJ]

1 hour ago, againstthewind said:

I know. I was trying to play it off because I'm at work but I was going crazy there for a second. I love him.

I do too, and those made for some tense moments. Hopefully he kicks it up a few gears in the semis. 

[againstthewind]

Holy shit Lochte turned on the burners there.

Also props to Conger - he's another local product :).

[Bunky]

Wow, not what I expected from Nathan!  

I've been thinking about Lilly and I respect her for speaking out about competing clean.  That said, I totally get how her actions were perceived as poor sportsmanship.  What struck me is that I think the response to her words/actions would be different if she were a male swimmer/athlete.  I really respect her for saying something.