The key race for Michael Phelps will be the 100m butterfly in which he doesn’t hold the world record. And his biggest challenger in the event will be his team-mate Ian Crocker, writes A. Vinod.
In Beijing, Michael Phelps will attempt to surpass the legendary Mark Spitz’s record haul of seven gold medals in a single Olympics (Munich, 1972).
In Athens four years ago, the American swimmer ended up with a haul of six gold and two bronze medals. And in the World Championships in Melbourne last year, he picked up seven gold medals.
It could have been eight had not the US’s 4x100m medley relay team been disqualified for false start. It was the fault of Ian Crocker, who dived into the pool .01s before the hooter.
At the National Aquatics Centre, better known as the Water Cube, in Beijing, Phelps will compete in the 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m freestyle and the 200m and 400m individual medley apart from the three relays.
The 23-year-old will be challenged by a host of swimmers in the 200m freestyle though the American has improved by leaps and bounds in the event since finishing behind the now retired Ian Thorpe and Pieter van Hoogenband in Athens four years ago.
China’s Wu Peng could give Phelps a tough time in the 200m butterfly; so could his team-mate Ryan Lochte in both the individual medley events.
However, the key race for Phelps will be the 100m butterfly in which he doesn’t hold the world record. And his biggest challenger in the event will be his team-mate Crocker.
Over the years, Phelps and Crocker have met exactly 16 times with the former holding a distinct advantage in their head-to-head with a 12-4 record. But then Crocker, the world record holder since July 26, 2003, has always been a tough customer.
Phelps, commenting on his rivalry with Crocker, said: “I always know the race with Crocker will be very close, no matter what. I know every time we get in the water, it is going to be a fingernail.”
Of course, it was by a fingernail that Phelps had bested Crocker in Athens (by 0.4 of a second) and the 2007 Worlds in Melbourne (by 0.5 of a second). However, Phelps scored a comfortable win in the U.S. trials in Omaha early last month.
A pragmatic man that he is, Crocker is too keen to win whenever he is in the water. And given his proven tenacity, Crocker should be ready for Phelps in Beijing.
The 100m butterfly final is scheduled for August 16. It should be a compelling race.
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