So it turns out this idea of looking at all these athletes was a little ambitious for me. I haven't had quite the same time this week to go through my athletes and give them all the love they deserve while also getting them posted for you quickly. So the love won out and I'm just barely getting to my second sport...sorry! But if I'm honest, Track and Swimming are what I get most excited about, so I wanted to really care about them. My next list or two will be spotlighting some athletes from random (according to me) sports and U.S. teams competing in team-centered sports that I'm excited about. And the Opening Ceremonies are Friday, so they might not make it out before the Games start. Regardless, I'm so excited and can't wait to get them going!
I don't have as many swimmers as I had runners, but fewer athletes make the swim team, so the ratio is probably comparable - and they all got so many more words! So it's fine. Anyway, here are the men and women I will be watching from the get-go:
Uh, duh, yeah he's going to be on here. The guy who set records last Olympics by winning gold in eight events - which, by the way, means he won every single event he swam - definitely deserves some spotlight action. He just dominates, plain and simple. He works hard, is naturally built to be amazing in this sport, and then he goes out and can somehow push himself even harder when the pressure is on. Last Olympics, it was so fun to watch him because he was chasing this unprecedented goal of winning 8 events (which had never been done), and he pulled it off with some of the most exciting races and thrilling finishes, which came down to the minutest of time measurements between him and second place. I find that I can get rather vocal when watching the tamest of sporting events anyway, so you bet I was yelling like crazy, as well as giggling a lot and maybe jumping up and down, during most of his races. So excited to repeat those emotions in the during the next few weeks. Also, Michael "don't call me Mike" Phelps (maybe he does go by Mike to his friends, I don't actually know) said this year is his last Olympics, so this may be the last year I get to go crazy over him. I plan to go out strong.
Oh dear, this boy has perhaps stolen my swimming heart a little bit. Let's be honest, I kind of love him, and I kind of don't know who I'm going to cheer for when he and Phelps race each other. During the Olympic Trials, I had the hardest time knowing what to do with myself when they competed. First Phelps would be shown on screen and I'd get all giddy. And then the camera would pan over to Lochte, and I'd get even more giddy. But if Lochte was shown first, I'd get excited for him, and then even more excited for Phelps. I just didn't know what to do. I thought I was all Team Lochte at first - who doesn't like the underdog? But then I realized he wasn't really the underdog at all; in fact, in some races, Phelps was the underdog! But really, neither of them could be considered it, since they're both so freaking dominant. Lochte has been amazing the last year in particular (according to the commentators during the Trials) and he just looked great during the Olympic Trials (I say that both as a sports fan and as a girl - I mean really, look at that cute face!). He just seems like a fun guy, too, so as a person, I'm just a fan. Yadda yadda yadda, I really like him a lot, and I fear that I'm going to feel a lot of happiness/sympathy emotional cocktails during the races Lochte and Phelps compete in - I love them both, so I'll feel sad when one loses while feeling happy for the winner. Assuming one of them wins every race they swim...but I'm not planning on them losing to anyone else but each other. So don't prove me wrong, boys!
Soooooooo...Missy may be the female Michael Phelps of this year. She qualified for 7 events for these Games - her first Olympics - and just seemed to be breaking records all over the place. Whether it was same record that she just kept lowering or different records for different races, I can't really remember and I don't really feel like looking it up. She could've also just ben chasing the same record and just missing it, even. Shoot, I just know the commentators talked a lot during the Trials about her and records, and I can say she smashed an American record formerly owned by one Natalie Coughlin (who's still competing; more on her below), and that was a big deal! Here's the thing. I'm so impressed by Missy's athleticism and ability, but I also just really like the girl. She's just so excited just to be at the Games - she was freaking out about being in the trials, when she clearly deserved to be there. She's only 17 years old, but she's rather mature - while also allowing herself to remain a teenager. She's just kind of darling. I want to say it's about to the point where her excitement and innocence is annoying, but it isn't. I still really like her, and I'm still really rooting for her to sweep her races. And that kind of endearing power is a skill. So you go, Missy Franklin. Dominate the crap out of those Olympics!
Look at that face - how do you not root for this guy?! So clean and cute. And guess what? He competed at the Beijing Olympics when he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer the week before the trials! Sure he didn't place, but he swam at the Olympics with cancer! A-mahz-ing. I'm so impressed. So basically I really like him a lot. He's a fighter. He's in one individual race and one relay this year, and he's swimming much healthier this year, so I'm hoping this Games is a little better for him.
Natalie is basically what Missy Franklin is attempting to be right now. She is the first U.S. female swimmer to win 6 medals in one games (which Missy will try to beat with her 7 events), and has owned some World and American records at various points in her swim career. Oh, and she competed on "Dancing with the Stars." You know, because she's cool like that. It's kind of interesting to watch her and Missy this year - I think there are always those pairs that are special to watch, as you see one young athlete start to fill the spotlight of an older athlete who has had their heyday and is now just securing their legacy. Natalie's legacy is already great, but one more medal will tie her with two other women as the most decorated U.S. female Olympian. So, that's pretty cool. Missy Franklin may be the new thing in women's swimming, but Natalie is a staple that I'm excited to watch.
Allison Schmitt is one of Michael Phelps's best friends, so she will also be one of my besties. She sounds like she'd be a good one. So this is why Allison's cool: she's a really great athlete and is expected to be a contender in her races. She works hard and has been getting better and better since the last Olympics. But she's apparently also A LOT of fun. She's just always joking around and having a good time. Which I think is such a good balance to have. Athletes can get so into their training and into improving that I wonder how they don't get burned out all the time. Consider Phelps after Beijing - he pushed himself so hard that he just was done when it was over. One might argue this friendship between the two has helped him get in his former shape again, because she keeps the training fun and enjoyable for him. So I'm excited to watch her swim, but I'm also just excited to see if the cameras will catch and share any of her lighthearted fun beyond the races.
Okay, here's the thing. Jason Lezak is not swimming in any individual race this year. His only individual Olympic medal is a bronze from the last Olympics, which he tied for (turns out, that's possible). He's only swimming in the 4x100m freestyle relay this year. We won't know until the finals whether or not we'll be cheering him on specifically during that race or if he'll be sitting out. BUT I put him on here because of one race that ends all races: Beijing 2008, 4x100m freestyle relay, anchor leg, swimming against a Frenchman who held the world record for the 100m individual. Basically. the US went into this race as the underdogs, with the Frenchies talking all sorts of trash beforehand. It was going to take a miracle for the U.S. to win, really. When Lezak jumped into the pool for the last leg, we were a little behind France, and their world record holder was going strong. Lezak kept close, and in the second 50m, he just pulled out some magic. The Frenchman started to tighten up and Lezak just chased him down and right at the end, he out-touched a very shocked French team! Lezak swam the fastest relay leg in history for that race - and was just freaking amazing. Wow, words don't express it. The only thing that can really convey how amazing this race was would be watching the race itself. So I've provided it here. Apparently this version of it is the only one to be found online that shows the whole race, and if I'm honest, the excitable color-commentator Rowdy Gaines makes this race even more exciting, along with commentator Dan Hicks, so listening to them can make up for the poor visual, hopefully. My shouts and screams matched theirs during this race 4 years ago, and my smile got just as big as I watched it again earlier today...Jason Lezak, you are amazing:
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