'Plunging New Depths' - Swimming

[AragornElessar]

Now, now. Do you really want me to bring rfisher in here to lecture you on how grateful you should be to have anything?

Was watching it upstairs w/Dad, so only getting in here now after reading the thread.

So proud of Tera!! I had a feeling she wouldn't be able to pull off that swim off, but she sure gave it a go. First Olympics and she can look back on this and say, "Hey, nothing else I do will ever be as nerve racking as that just was." Not a bad experience to have and be able to build on.

As soon as Cameron laid back on the line marker and stayed there looking at the scoreboard, I turned to Dad and said, "The main picture on every South African Olympics Sports web sites just changed and that's going to be the Front Page picture on every South African newspaper tomorrow morning." Wow did he ever leave the rest of the field in his wake.

The relay was pretty amazing and Congrats to France!!

I also went, "Huh?" when I heard Lochte was going to be swimming it at all, but then to hear he's the *anchor*!?! Why on earth would you put someone who just swam a Backstroke Semi only, what 45 mins before that, on as your anchor? It didn't make sense to me and still doesn't.

Thrilled for Brendan Hansen's Bronze. He must just be so beyond happy right now.

Another great night in the pool. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings us.

[Spareoom]

BTW, that was the first silver medal ever for Phelps; he has 2 bronze from Athens.

I thought that was cool. It wouldn't have seemed right if Phelps had the most medals ever but didn't have a complete set, lol.

[AYS]

Was the French anchor the same man from Beijing? Somehow that completes this story especially if he operated quietly this time and swam his tail off to catch Ryan. Phelps: He gets a medal moving him closer to the record. I've yet to see this but I still say there is nothing as exciting as the relays when it comes to the pool. Congrats France!

No, that was Alain Bernard in '08 and Yannick Agnel now (who had just swum the 200fr semis) - to Agnel's credit, he swam a great anchor, sub-47 (though no where near the miracle swim of Lezak's from Beijing).

[tchaikovsky_177]

I think the 200 meter gold will go to the chinese guy, he just shows confidence and looks very strong indeed, will be tough to Lochte and the others. Ryan will swim from lane 2

The winner of the 200m free has to swim something like 1:44:00 ish (or better), and I'm not sure Sun Yang is even capable of that. From what I've seen, he has been downplaying this 200m race and his chances in it, and this is not a guy who will say things like "this race will be really tough for me because there are so many great competitors" if he really is confident he'll win. He probably genuinely realizes he is just contending for a silver or bronze at this point.

[liv]

Way to go France!! I was standing up and cheering, hoping they'd come back and they did!....and i never stand up and cheer, lol!

[Aussie Willy]

And that put the kiss of death on the Aussies chances

Ah so it was your fault the Aussies lost.

In Australia they built this race up so much in the media and all the swimmers themselves, I am going to sound really mean but I am kind of glad they lost.

[Angelskates]

Ah so it was your fault the Aussies lost.

In Australia they built this race up so much in the media and all the swimmers themselves, I am going to sound really mean but I am kind of glad they lost.

Yes, some blame that now, yet if they'd won, that pressure would been contributed to have helped them.

They build it up for a reason, part of being an elite athlete is using it, not blaming it. They didn't manage that. I'm devastated for them, not because they lost due to pressure and such a huge build up, but because they lost because they were slow and they wanted to win, and really could have, but couldn't use the build up to their advantage.

[fscric]

I was reading foxsports.com.au earlier, the way they tore up Magnussen (spelling?) was really horrible!

[SHARPIE]

Clare Balding (legend!) in trouble for saying perhaps what many are thinking re Ye Shiwen

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...Ye-Shiwen.html

[misskarne]

Ah so it was your fault the Aussies lost.

In Australia they built this race up so much in the media and all the swimmers themselves, I am going to sound really mean but I am kind of glad they lost.

As soon as they started carrying on about the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" I'm like "god, you're going to look like a bunch of prize prawns if they don't win...and they may not, you know!"

I wasn't pleased that they lost, per se...but there was a kind of satisfaction to seeing the media collapse in on itself, so to speak.

Now, is it terribly bad to say I want to see Nick D'Arcy come dead last in every single event?

[Cachoo]

Clare Balding (legend!) in trouble for saying perhaps what many are thinking re Ye Shiwen

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...Ye-Shiwen.html

We need poths to investigate!

[misskarne]

Clare Balding (legend!) in trouble for saying perhaps what many are thinking re Ye Shiwen

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...Ye-Shiwen.html

She swam the last 50m faster than Ryan Lochte, for god's sake, what did they expect people to think?!

She's 16, she comes from a country that has a long and colourful history of doping/cheating etc, and she smashed out a time that was frankly ridiculous...five seconds faster than her personal best. Really, what were we supposed to immediately think?!

[os168]

Swimming was amazing last night.

- Weapons of Mass Destruction - self destructed massively.
- Rebeccaaaaaaa!!!!!!! I didn't think you could do it, but you did. Faster time than your last Olympic gold too. I have never seen such a happy Bronze medalist, love the positive great attitude. So proud!!
- Vive La Fance, amazing swims, at the 400m Medley wow i was cheering so hard for you guys. Can't believe the BBC got it so wrong, laugh out loud at Ian Thorpe in the studio.
- Phelps had an ace swim, hope he get to his own individual GOLD medal soon!
- Ktajima, what alot of over hype. NVM.

- And shut up Clare Balding, your job is not to scrutinize or to judge but to present. There are due process for drug testing anyway, and any cheaters will be severely punished for any unfair play. On the other hand, it is quite unfair to take away anyone's amazing achievement just because you don't like the result.
(And yes I can't stand Dailymail, typical piece, they hate foreigners and immigrants and practically sympathetic to BNP.)

[SHARPIE]

- And shut up Clare Balding, .

She has been FSU legend since Athens 2004 so you shut up!

[os168]

She has been FSU legend since Athens 2004 so you shut up!

Yeeah yeah my brother love her, but i hate commentators who impose their views on others, having read back what she said wasn't too bad. I just hate daily mail arghhh...

Mind you, i wonder how she feel about endorsed by the Daily mail lol...

[Buzz]

I remember a doping scandal many many many moons ago involving Chinese swimmers where their entire team was pulled from a competition in Australia because so many had tested positive. It was a long time ago and I was thinking today it took them this long to rebuild their program. Hope they are clean and not doping again.

[bardtoob]

I believe the Chinese swimmer in question was as prepared to win as Kornelia Ender.

[Cyn]

Clare Balding (legend!) in trouble for saying perhaps what many are thinking re Ye Shiwen

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...Ye-Shiwen.html

She swam the last 50m faster than Ryan Lochte, for god's sake, what did they expect people to think?!

She's 16, she comes from a country that has a long and colourful history of doping/cheating etc, and she smashed out a time that was frankly ridiculous...five seconds faster than her personal best. Really, what were we supposed to immediately think?!

Exactly....

Also, it's not there's no precedent for raising questions in swimming -- in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, after Michelle Smith of Ireland won three Gold Medals with much higher scores than she usually posted, she came under massive scrutiny for possible doping violations (especially since her coach had a history of doping violations and a suspension). Nothing came of it regarding Atlanta, but in 1998 she was suspended for tampering with a urine sample (sorry Fred and other Brits).

[Aussie Willy]

As soon as they started carrying on about the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" I'm like "god, you're going to look like a bunch of prize prawns if they don't win...and they may not, you know!"

I wasn't pleased that they lost, per se...but there was a kind of satisfaction to seeing the media collapse in on itself, so to speak.

Weapons of Self Destruction?

I know the swimmers were devastated but it was the media that came off looking foolish. Now the lead stories on tonights news stories are the loss. Didn't matter that Christian Sprenger won a silver and Alicia Coutts a bronze.

[allezfred]

Exactly....

Also, it's not there's no precedent for raising questions in swimming -- in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, after Michelle Smith of Ireland won three Gold Medals with much higher scores than she usually posted, she came under massive scrutiny for possible doping violations (especially since her coach had a history of doping violations and a suspension). Nothing came of it regarding Atlanta, but in 1998 she was suspended for tampering with a urine sample (sorry Fred and other Brits).

Errr, I've no idea why you're apologising to British people as neither me or Michelle Smith are British. We're Irish as in the Republic of Ireland, an independent country. For feck's sake. If you're going to apologise for something, apologise about thinking that the Republic of Ireland is part of another country.