This is potentially the greatest day in American Olympic Swimming history, or AOSh for short. Pronounced Ay-OSH. Or even OW-sh.
Mark Spitz, once heralded as the greatest swimmer in olympic history, won seven gold medals and broke seven world records at the 1972 Olympic Games. They used to think he was untouchable.
Now in 2008, Michael Phelps has set an unprecedented 8 gold medals in the same olympic games. Never in Olympic history has a single person been awarded that many medals in one games. What a freakin' Phe-nom. Yeah, i said it.
I just got home from a family party. We were obviously watching the olympics, but it was some random event; i believe it was women's marathon. Eagerly awaiting the more mainstream events, we started talking about Phelps, since someone brought him up. I nonchalantly listened in, chiming in to say that he's won 7 medals in one olympic games. And it seemed almost normal, like he was expected to win so much. Or maybe it was from fatigue from sitting for two hours watching one woman run 27 miles...
Anyways, so i get home and am frustrated by the ride in the car, because i have a problem with my parents...
And we go to the HDTV to spot some more olympic action. I missed out on the 41-year old swimmer's race. Turns out that her name is Dara Torres, and she missed out on gold, unfortunately, losing to a German swimmer. I can see that she's slightly disappointed, but there's another race for her right after the medal ceremony. So i stay tuned. It's a relay race, but i switch in between commercials to peep women's weightlifting. Awkward...
So the race starts and Dara is the last leg of the race in the freestyle position. The first person in the relay does really well putting USA half of a body length in front, and then the second swimmer lets the team down by losing the lead and falling around fourth place, then the third leg keeps up a little with the Australian team, doing alright, then Dara steps up to the plate (lane?). And i'm thinking, man she must be really tired of silver. And yet, there she is on the podium in silver. Yeesh.
So the men's swimming team walks into the Water Cube ready to do business. A montage of Spitz's achievements are played before the event and the announcer's voice is comparing the events happening today with Phelps, to the historic moments of 1972. And i'm thinking in the back of my head,
"Man they've already got the champagne and confetti in the back," i'm guessing.
And then i think, uh-oh, the women let Dara down. Will they do the same to Phelps?
And i watch as the tension rises as the first swimmer for the USA jumps into the pool, doing very well, almost a whole body length in the lead. Then the second swimmer keeps his cool, staying in the lead, and we begin to feel the anxiety as the Australian swimmer starts to creep up to the American. But Phelps is on deck for Butterfly, and i'm assured that he's going to make himself, his country, and his mother, proud. He pulls away and gives the last leg of the race a half of a body length of a lead. And the last swimmer finishes the race breaking a world record, just to put icing on the cake.
Phelps makes history and solidifies his status as the best Olympian swimmer of our era; Perhaps of all time?
So guys...
Where were you when Michael Phelps won his eighth Gold medal?
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