I don't know whether it's the suits, the increased presence of technology to dissect and evaluate stroke technique, or what, but swimming, in my opinion, has never been more exciting. I swam competitively through most of high school, and I watch these guys and see things that 20 years ago we were told explicitly not to do (breathe only on one side, breathe every stroke, stay underwater too long, etc). Races are mostly exciting nailbiters, which makes me really happy, because that means that no one group has the absolute edge.
I didn't see the coverage of the 100M Fly live last night, but I did catch it on a YouTube link and now really regret missing it. I think that the main thing that I am so impressed about with Michael Phelps is that, from the outside, the guy looks to be one of the most well-adjusted superstars I've ever heard of. And you can tell exactly where it came from when you watch his mother's reaction to his racing in the stands. No win is taken for granted, no result is expected. Her holding her two fingers up last night, celebrating a second-place finish in the fly, made it seem that she would be just as happy with that result as the win. Given the media swarm about him and the whole Spitz 7 gold thing they seem to be pushing as their "hook" it's refreshing to see that the family doesn't seem to have bought into the hype. He's just her boy, racing his heart out and doing his best, and that's all she can ask for.
I know he hasn't had the perfect track record (the underage DUI incident in Salisbury MD comes to mind) but I think that made him even more grounded.
Between Phelp's and Shawn Johnson's lives as Olympians, and their demonstration that you can have a semi-normal life and still have success, it gives me great hope that systems like the Chinese and the former Eastern Bloc - where children who are potential Olympians are treated as commodities rather than people, will eventually fade away.
Go Phelps!
Edited to Add This is a most unfortunate photo of Phelps - very PG-13. Scroll down only if you dare:
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