Phelps wins 8th gold and celebrity status

En route to his 8th gold medal, Michael Phelps captured the hearts of Americans and became the captivating story of these Olympics. When the Olympics started, it seemed as if the USA basketball team’s quest to regain Olympic gold would be the top story for America, but that quickly faded away as Phelps started his quest for eight gold medals. Now that Phelps is done, some of that attention may shift towards the basketball now. But after these Olympics, Phelps record setting eight gold medals will be the story remembered. Everyone loves him, even the media, shown by the fact that you cannot find one negative word written about him. Not everyone thought he could do it, myself included, but everyone wanted him too, except Mark Spitz. Phelps has stated he does not want such a stressful schedule of races in the 2012 Olympics, but I wonder if his competitive spirit and wallet may want to try it again. He will be loaded with endorsements immediately after these Olympics, and he may be tempted in four years at what could be his last shot at a huge payday.

He put his stamp on these Olympics, and after it is over, his races should should be one of the top draws from the games. London will want him in 2012 so people will watch swimming again. USA will want him to compete in as many events as possible in 2012 as shown by a bonus of $670,000 from USA Swimming and the U.S. Olympic Committee for his eight gold medals. Phelps’ interest of becoming a star will emerge soon depending on if he shows up on talk shows and Saturday Night Live. As of right now, his sponsors include at least Speedo, Omega (watches), Visa, Power Bar, and AT&T. When the dust settles, he should have a few more. His agent probably will spend the rest of the Olympics talking and negotiating with potential sponsors. Now Michael Phelps and his agent will determine how famous he really wants to be.

Olympics unsafe in China

The Olympics are supposed to be a time when the world focuses on athletes from their respective countries to compete for bragging rights. It is assumed to be located in a safe place where athletes can focus on their sport but also have the luxury of sightseeing in the local area. None of this has happened in China. Before the games started there was a controversy with the path of the torch. Protesters formed against China because of their human rights and Tibetan policies. The path of the torch had to be altered on its way to Beijing. This controversy was only the beginning for these Olympics.

Todd Bachman who is the father-in-law of the Men’s Indoor Volleyball Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon, has already been murdered. Bachman and his wife were attacked by a man with a knife, who killed Bachman and seriously injured his wife. The murderer then killed himself by jumping off of a second story building. Previous to that, 16 Chinese police officers were killed in a terrorist attack.

The most recent problem has been a new discovery that Chinese gymnast He Kexin is only 13 or 14 years old instead of the required 16 years of age to compete in the Olympics. It is only a minor situation, and there is logic in that the best athletes should be out there competing regardless of age. There is no maximum limit for age, so why should there be a minimum requirement for age? After these Olympics, that rule should probably be removed, but China should be stripped of any medals earned in which He Kexin competed. I doubt that the IOC or International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) will do anything about it though. They only check the participants passports, which appears to be a valid passport. There is no reason why China could not have issued her a legal passport with a fake birthdate for her to compete. China is hosting these games and has put pressure on itself to have a good showing for these games. They want to be able to win the gold and overall medal count in these Olympics.

The deaths and corruption of the Olympics from China has cast a shadow over the all the feel-good stories. Jokes about the IOC taking bribes are now commonplace. The athletes deserve better security while at these Olympics, and safety should be taken into consideration much more than it currently does when selecting sites for the Olympics. Nations should consider protecting their own athletes by sending more bodyguards and provide more safety. No one involved in the Olympics was killed in 2004 in the Athens games, and these murders show Beijing should not have been the city selected.

5 down and 3 to go for Phelps

The USA opened up a huge lead early by putting Phelps on the first leg. Its hard to argue with the coach’s decision to put him first. The other swimmers on the team held their own too. First team to ever post a time under 7 minutes (6:58.56) in the 4×200 freestyle shows that everyone on the team was worthy to be there and that this race wasn’t just the Michael Phelps show. The result was not a surprise but beating the silver medalist Russian team by a full 5 seconds could not have been expected.

Phelps Wins 4th Easily, Gets 10th Gold Metal

Michael Phelps is now halfway there. He was heavily favored in the 200 butterfly for a good reason. He has not lost the race for six years, and no reason for it to happen tonight. Now he has got the most gold metals for any individual (10). The announcers never flinched even when he was not in the lead going into the first turn. They all said he would pull away towards the end, which he did. He had the lead by the second turn, and by the final turn there was no question. Of course he set another world record, why wouldn’t he?

Phelps gets #3, 200m Freestyle

Most people handed this race to Phelps before the Olympics started. His main competition has left, and he broke that competitors record earlier. People call the freestyle stroke his best. Even though he didn’t qualify 1st, everyone knows he was saving something. Almost from the start, Phelps led this race. By the second lap, he was already a full body length ahead, the only question was if he would break his own world record. By the final turn, it was just how much he would beat the world record by. He ended up beating the world record by a little under a second, and he probably could have done better if he wanted to. He seemed to ease up at the end slightly because he knew he was so far ahead. 3 down, 5 to go.

Phelps Gets Gold Number 2

Well put a check mark next to #2, Michael Phelps got his second gold metal with a win in the 4×100 Freestyle Relay. USA was barely able to inch out France. Jason Lezak beat out the stereotypical arrogant Frenchman Alain Bernard by a fingertip on the final leg of the race. Alain Bernard talked a big game before the race as he should since he held the single leg world record for this race until now when Australia’s Eamon Sullivan set a new record. Many think that the relays are the toughest test for Phelps because his success depends on others, but the other swimmers from America showed they deserve to be here too. The toughest challenge should actually be the 100m butterfly because the world record holder Ian Crocker has beat Phelps twice in the event and lost to him twice by close margins. That race should be a toss-up.

Michael Phelps on a Mission

If you watched anything related to the Olympics, you know what Michael Phelps is aiming for. In his first race, he did trail briefly for various parts of the race, but you always knew he’d win. It almost seems as if he paced himself because he knew he’d blow everyone away with his freestyle swimming. He may or may not get 8 in these Olympics, but next time, he’ll be a little bit older and better. He’s barely 23 now, so in 2012 he’ll barely be 27 where he could have another shot at 8 golds. Phelps had 6 before the 2008 Olympics started. If he doesn’t get 8 golds this year, expect reporters to start talking about getting 8 in 2012. At worst, after these Olympics, he should hold the record for the most USA gold metals currently held by Raymond Ewry with 10. Personally, I don’t think he’ll get it, I really hope he does, but the stars would really have to align for it to happen. Too much can go wrong, and people don’t realize he has some serious competition. People are quick to forget that Tiger Woods and Roger Federer don’t win them all either.

Michael Phelps list of races for 2008 Olympics:
400 Individual Medley
4×100 Freestyle Relay
200 Freestyle
200 Butterfly
4×200 Freestyle Relay
200 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
4×100 Medley Relay

Good Luck