Each and every moment of Michael Phelps inside the National Aquatic Centre in Beijing, each and every stroke of the American at the Water Cube will be of great significance. The 23-year-old swimmer, who is in pursuit of Mark Spitz’s record haul of seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics, is already creating waves.
At the 2004 Athens Games, Phelps bravely said that Spitz’s record could be broken, but he fell short by two gold medals — he won six golds and two bronzes for a tally of eight medals.
In Beijing, though, Phelps is determined to go for the record, which the former Australian Olympian Ian Thorpe says is not child’s play.
One major problem facing Phelps is the timing of the finals in Beijing. The organisers have scheduled a 10 a.m. start (local time) — which is rare in swimming as the finals are normally conducted late in the evening.
The races have been scheduled keeping in mind the TV viewers in the United States.
Coach Bob Bowman has been preparing Phelps for the morning events and he has been responding magnificently, getting out of bed by six in the morning. The youngest swimmer ever to break the world record in the 200m butterfly — he was 15 years and nine months old then — and the owner of several other world marks, Phelps’ achievements have been tremendous.
In the US Olympic Trials in Omaha recently, Phelps won in all the five events (400m individual medley, 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 100m butterfly) he took part in and set two world records — in the 400 and 200 individual medleys.
Going by his current form, Phelps, who is one of the world’s greatest swimmers, is well and truly on way to doing what he does best — swim and break records.
K. Keerthivasan
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