mdw3935
Refugee
snowbunny00774 said:
Those thighs deliver
ETA: Sorry - what I actually meant was - This thread delivers
Glad I could deliver the thighs for ya.
Michael Phelps is the single most dominant athlete on the planet, bar none
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Glad I could deliver the thighs for ya.
mdw3935
Refugee
Dalton said:
He was in the pool!! He was in the pool!!
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Irvine511
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never judge a package by it's wrapping, especially if said package has been in a pool and is wrapped in tight tight speedo material.
Dalton
Blue Crack Addict
Irvine511 said:
Sadly, I know what you are talking about ....
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Irvine511
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to get away from the Phelps porn for a moment (not that there's anything wrong with that), here's a somewhat flowery article that, nonetheless, does a nice job at putting his performance into perspective:
[q]When Michael Phelps performs he brings his opponents to their knees and the world to its feet. When he commences races, folded on the blocks like a pterodactyl contemplating flight, you are sitting. As he finishes, you feel compelled to award him a standing ovation, to shout your admiration. Even at a television set.
Phelps is exhilarating because he is obscenely fast. Men break records by the length of an unclipped nail; he did last week by an entire body length. Still, to say he swam the 200 metres freestyle in 1:43.86 seconds is meaningless, so let us say this: if Phelps raced Otto Scheff, the 1908 world record holder, he would have won by 62 metres.
Phelps' five world records in winning seven World Championship golds in eight days is an achievement to sit with anything man has done since he invented the athletic contest. You'll find it there, just below Jesse Owens breaking three world records and equalling a fourth, in a span of 45 minutes, in 1935.
In a time of mayhem in cricket, for instance, Phelps is important. The world record does not change the way we live, but it reminds us of the purity of the athlete, it illustrates the muscularity of the human spirit. Here before us lies the persistent man, the noble man. Occasionally we are shaken by insinuations that the most chaste champion (i.e. Thorpe) may be fake, but still we keep the faith, we have to. Anyway, watching sport as a cynic is to miss half the pleasure.
Phelps is no different from a climber of distant mountains, for he goes where no other has, he is an advertisement to alien civilizations of human potential, of what is possible when body and mind are together tuned. For every 0.05 of a second gained, Phelps must swim hundreds of miles, taste pain and lick it.
How far, we wonder, can we go as a species, and Phelps, right now, is our representative in this process, mankind's lead scout in discovering the limits of the human body. But every time Phelps goes faster, we also wonder, is there a point beyond which we cannot go, is there a finish line to athletic progress?
Between 1912 (10.6 seconds) and 1968 (9.95), the 100-metre track record progressed by .65. Despite sophisticated spikes, artificial tracks, lycra shorts, sports science advances, from 1968 to now the record has progressed by .18 to 9.77. For some it is little, for others substantial.
In shorter distances especially, on track and in pool, it seems harder to squeeze that little extra from the body. Perhaps improvements will be so slight that the measurements will have to alter, from hundredths of a second to cycling's thousandth of a second.
But because there is no such thing as the perfect race (in reaction time, in turn technique, in fitness towards the end, Phelps will insist his races were imperfect), man can only go faster. That day in 1935, when Owens broke all those records, he had a sore back.
Records will fall because every time progress slows, the planet belches out another freak of physiology, an athlete designed by God for a particular purpose. Phelps has a long torso, a wingspan (six foot seven inches) that stretches further than he does vertically (six feet four inches), and size 14 feet. He is built for speed in water.
In the 200 metres butterfly, the world record improved by 5.29 seconds between 1971-1981, by 2.32 seconds between 1981-1991, by .51 seconds between 1991-2000. The improvements were by smaller margins every decade. Then Phelps, alone, from 2001 till last week, lowered the record by 3.09 seconds! When Phelps is done, we will blithely proclaim we will never see his like again. It's true. We will see better.
On an iniquitous planet, sporting talent remains unexploited. Out there on the margins, in lands where 50-metre swimming pools are rare, who knows what lies. Twenty-five years hence when opportunity arrives, a gangly-armed hero may come walking out of the warm surf of Bangladesh to remind us we can go faster still. There will be a time, imagine, when Phelps will seem slow.[/q]
[q]When Michael Phelps performs he brings his opponents to their knees and the world to its feet. When he commences races, folded on the blocks like a pterodactyl contemplating flight, you are sitting. As he finishes, you feel compelled to award him a standing ovation, to shout your admiration. Even at a television set.
Phelps is exhilarating because he is obscenely fast. Men break records by the length of an unclipped nail; he did last week by an entire body length. Still, to say he swam the 200 metres freestyle in 1:43.86 seconds is meaningless, so let us say this: if Phelps raced Otto Scheff, the 1908 world record holder, he would have won by 62 metres.
Phelps' five world records in winning seven World Championship golds in eight days is an achievement to sit with anything man has done since he invented the athletic contest. You'll find it there, just below Jesse Owens breaking three world records and equalling a fourth, in a span of 45 minutes, in 1935.
In a time of mayhem in cricket, for instance, Phelps is important. The world record does not change the way we live, but it reminds us of the purity of the athlete, it illustrates the muscularity of the human spirit. Here before us lies the persistent man, the noble man. Occasionally we are shaken by insinuations that the most chaste champion (i.e. Thorpe) may be fake, but still we keep the faith, we have to. Anyway, watching sport as a cynic is to miss half the pleasure.
Phelps is no different from a climber of distant mountains, for he goes where no other has, he is an advertisement to alien civilizations of human potential, of what is possible when body and mind are together tuned. For every 0.05 of a second gained, Phelps must swim hundreds of miles, taste pain and lick it.
How far, we wonder, can we go as a species, and Phelps, right now, is our representative in this process, mankind's lead scout in discovering the limits of the human body. But every time Phelps goes faster, we also wonder, is there a point beyond which we cannot go, is there a finish line to athletic progress?
Between 1912 (10.6 seconds) and 1968 (9.95), the 100-metre track record progressed by .65. Despite sophisticated spikes, artificial tracks, lycra shorts, sports science advances, from 1968 to now the record has progressed by .18 to 9.77. For some it is little, for others substantial.
In shorter distances especially, on track and in pool, it seems harder to squeeze that little extra from the body. Perhaps improvements will be so slight that the measurements will have to alter, from hundredths of a second to cycling's thousandth of a second.
But because there is no such thing as the perfect race (in reaction time, in turn technique, in fitness towards the end, Phelps will insist his races were imperfect), man can only go faster. That day in 1935, when Owens broke all those records, he had a sore back.
Records will fall because every time progress slows, the planet belches out another freak of physiology, an athlete designed by God for a particular purpose. Phelps has a long torso, a wingspan (six foot seven inches) that stretches further than he does vertically (six feet four inches), and size 14 feet. He is built for speed in water.
In the 200 metres butterfly, the world record improved by 5.29 seconds between 1971-1981, by 2.32 seconds between 1981-1991, by .51 seconds between 1991-2000. The improvements were by smaller margins every decade. Then Phelps, alone, from 2001 till last week, lowered the record by 3.09 seconds! When Phelps is done, we will blithely proclaim we will never see his like again. It's true. We will see better.
On an iniquitous planet, sporting talent remains unexploited. Out there on the margins, in lands where 50-metre swimming pools are rare, who knows what lies. Twenty-five years hence when opportunity arrives, a gangly-armed hero may come walking out of the warm surf of Bangladesh to remind us we can go faster still. There will be a time, imagine, when Phelps will seem slow.[/q]
snowbunny00774
ONE love, blood, life
Flowery, but still gave me chills.
Every time I read about Phelps and what he has done for swimming, it just makes me even more sick to think of Michelle Smith, and what she did for swimming for a while.
Every time I read about Phelps and what he has done for swimming, it just makes me even more sick to think of Michelle Smith, and what she did for swimming for a while.
redkat
Blue Crack Addict
snowbunny00774 said:
I remember that.
Lovely article!
mdw3935
Refugee
He was definitely built for swimming. Very interesting article.
Hewson
Blue Crack Supplier
Dude's an alien.
BoMac
Self-righteous bullshitter
I saw a promo on NBC today about a "Duel in the Pool" that will be on tomorrow, I think. What's this all about?
They, of course, mentioned Michael Phelps, but it seems like a one on one competition between the USA and Australia.
They, of course, mentioned Michael Phelps, but it seems like a one on one competition between the USA and Australia.
trevster2k
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^Michael Phelps vs............................................Flipper the dolphin.
snowbunny00774
ONE love, blood, life
*must find pics of this duel in the pool.
Good to see this thread is still alive
Good to see this thread is still alive
mdw3935
Refugee
I tivoed both days this past weekend. Got to watch some of it. It's fun to watch the U.S. and Australia go head to head in the pool. Of course the U.S. dominated the event. Michael only swam in about 3 events (if I remembered correctly).
He was also on the Tonight Show last Friday night.
Here are some photos from the duel for ya snowbunny
The guy does have one nice looking body.
He was also on the Tonight Show last Friday night.
Here are some photos from the duel for ya snowbunny
The guy does have one nice looking body.
snowbunny00774
ONE love, blood, life
mdw3935 said:
Here are some photos from the duel for ya snowbunny
The guy does have one nice looking body.
Excellent choices there
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
i read somewhere that it should be not a "duel" in the pool, but a ... what would be the word for three entities doing battle ... USA vs. Australia vs. Michael Phelps.
i absolutely cannot wait for Beijing.
had i all the money in the world, i'd fly over there for his events in a heartbeat.
sadly impossible, but London in 2012 ...
i absolutely cannot wait for Beijing.
had i all the money in the world, i'd fly over there for his events in a heartbeat.
sadly impossible, but London in 2012 ...
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
and just because i can.
and Michael Klim is pretty hot too:
and Michael Klim is pretty hot too:
Last edited:
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
sorry, i can't not post this one:
and this:
and this:
snowbunny00774
ONE love, blood, life
Excellent fixing of that post Irvine - I was panicked for a minute.
Too bad SF/london gathering is before August - we could have had a swimming viewing event as part of the agenda...maybe if you show we can do a pre olympic something to wish him luck
ETA: that last one needs fixing too
Too bad SF/london gathering is before August - we could have had a swimming viewing event as part of the agenda...maybe if you show we can do a pre olympic something to wish him luck
ETA: that last one needs fixing too
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
snowbunny00774 said:Too bad SF/london gathering is before August - we could have had a swimming viewing event as part of the agenda...maybe if you show we can do a pre olympic something to wish him luck
randhail
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I think this thread could use a picture of Amanda Beard, who is a half way decent swimmer too.
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
^ fair enough.
mdw3935
Refugee
Who ever is racing against Michael Phelps is pretty much swimming for second place right now.Irvine511 said:i read somewhere that it should be not a "duel" in the pool, but a ... what would be the word for three entities doing battle ... USA vs. Australia vs. Michael Phelps.
i absolutely cannot wait for Beijing.
had i all the money in the world, i'd fly over there for his events in a heartbeat.
sadly impossible, but London in 2012 ...
To be in Beijing and watch him swim would be so great. If the championships were any indication what the Olympics are going to be like for him, it's going to be history in the making. That is IF Ian Crocker doesn't make a mistake.
mdw3935
Refugee
Irvine511 said:
And the history continues between Phelps and Crocker:
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Ian Crocker's chance to beat Michael Phelps was gone in a flash.
ADVERTISEMENT
The anticipated renewal of their rivalry in the 100 butterfly Thursday was upstaged by an inadvertent strobe light that went off just before the start, causing Crocker to flinch and eventually be disqualified.
Fans still got to see the duel play out in the pool, and Phelps pulled away from Crocker in the final 25 metres to win in 51.39 seconds and break his own long-course record at the national championships. Crocker, whose time was quickly removed from the scoreboard and replaced by the dreaded disqualification symbol, said he swam a 51.6.
"It's one of those things and I guess it's a learning experience for myself, and, hopefully for U.S. swimming and people like that, too," Crocker said. "I've never had that to happen to myself and I've never known it to happen to anyone else."
Jamie Fabos, a spokeswoman for USA Swimming, said officials were trying to determine whose flash went off. If they do, the offending news organization's strobe will be revoked for the rest of the meet, Fabos said.
Crocker knew almost immediately the race was over before it actually started.
When fans in Indianapolis gasped in unison, Crocker figured that if the crowd had seen it, the officials surely had, too. They did.
Crocker's coach also told him the flinch made him the last swimmer off the starting blocks, slowing the world-record holder.
Both Phelps and Crocker acknowledged there is usually a light that flashes, signalling the start of the race. To avoid getting confused, Phelps keeps his head down.
"I don't go by the flash, I go by the sound," Phelps said. "You could see it very clearly on the replay that the strobe went off."
Crocker usually keeps his head down, too, since he's been instructed to the look at the wall. This time, however, the flash apparently reflected off the water, distracting Crocker.
"I'm always attuned to react toward the flash," he said. "That's something that's usually monitored very closely at the larger meets."
But it didn't bother Phelps at all.
The two-time Olympian, who set three personal world records and two more in relays at the world championships this spring, called it his best closing 25 metres ever in the 100 fly.
Phelps showed the swimming world something else Thursday: He's tuning up for next year's Olympics.
The victory in the 100 fly came 32 minutes after he finished third in the 400 freestyle.
Peter Vanderkaay, one of Phelps' teammates with Club Wolverine, pulled away in the final 100 metres, winning in 3:45.55 - his personal best. Larsen Jensen was second in 3:47.08, and the hard-charging Phelps, was next at 3:47.13.
Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, said he was really using the event to learn how to conserve energy for next year's Olympics when he's expected to challenge Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals. Phelps pulled out of the 800 free relay, the last event of the night.
"That's why we do this, and that's what he did so well in Melbourne," Bowman said. "He's getting better and better at it."
Perhaps that explained Vanderkaay's low-key response to winning.
"I figured it would take a personal best or something close to that to beat Michael," Vanderkaay said. "He's the best swimmer in the world, but he didn't train for this event like I did, so I'm sure he's happy with it."
The Phelps-Crocker matchup was supposed to be the showcase event at this meet because it's one of the few in which Phelps has consistently been challenged.
Crocker beat Phelps in world-record time at the 2003 world championships. At the 2004 Olympics, Phelps outtouched Crocker at the finish to take home the gold.
The next year, at the world championships, Crocker again beat Phelps in world-record time (50.40), only to have Phelps outtouch him again at this year's world championships. Crocker said they may not face each other again until spring nationals.
But Bowman liked the results Thursday.
"I think maybe he's a little better than I thought he might be here," Bowman said.
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Irvine511
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another crime: Brett Favre voted Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. but since SI is really only interested in selling magazines, i suppose it makes sense to put an NFLer on the cover as the season starts to come to a close.
a dissenting opinion:
[q]My Sportsman: Michael Phelps
Phelps redefined dominance at World Championships
By Brian Cazeneuve
Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 3. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer. For more essays, click here.
It takes a truly remarkable swimmer to leave an audience staring in rapt awe at a race in the pool, with its barely distinguishable limbs and lanes as a guide for context. But at the world championships in Melbourne, Australia, last March, Michael Phelps had the Aussie crowds staring at an inanimate gadget all week, even as their own swimmers, many who are national idols, toiled beside him.
In swimming parlance, Phelps spent the entire week "beating the line," the superimposed red string that speeds across arena scoreboard screens during races at world-record pace. In fashioning the greatest single-meet performance in the history of the sport, Phelps won seven gold medals and broke five world records. He broke some by such absurd margins that Australian swimmer Grant Hackett noted, "I'm not one for hyperbole, but he is just superhuman."
In Melbourne, Phelps lowered his own world records in the 200-meter butterfly by 1.62 seconds to 1:52.09, in the 200 individual medley by .86 of a second (1:54.98) and in the 400 IM by 2.02 seconds (4:06.22). He swam 1.34 seconds faster than his personal best to take .20 off Ian Thorpe's world-best in the 200 free.
It was a stunning statement from Phelps, who had appeared mortal in the 30 months since winning six gold medals at the Athens Olympics. Two months after those Games, Phelps suffered the first mark on his reputation when he was ticketed for DUI near his Baltimore home. At his next major international meet, the 2005 world championships in Montreal, Phelps won five gold medals, yet it seemed he had lost his place of preeminence.
So Phelps rededicated himself. He gave himself a moratorium on dating and religiously conked out at 10 p.m. each night. He added weight training to his regimen, a difficult addition since swimmers need buoyancy rather than bulk and have unique needs in the gym. A few years earlier, Phelps and coach Bob Bowman had hired a trainer who knew more about building football players and weightlifters, and the workouts became so counter-productive they gave up and greatly reduced Phelps' time in the gym. This year Phelps and Bowman found a trainer and program that was swimmer-friendly.
What's more, Phelps and Bowman, who have often been at each other's throats since Phelps' early teenage days, were arguing less and working together more smartly. "Michael has matured more than I ever expected," Bowman said in Melbourne. Now even swimmers who are older and more experienced pick Phelps' brain and monitor his laps for inspiration.
Granted other athletes in other sports may stand far above their peers, but try to name one in any sport who leaves you scrambling for context as Phelps does; his peers in other sports simply don't provide it. LeBron James is not yet Michael Jordan. Sidney Crosby is not yet Wayne Gretzky. As an athlete who stands alone in his sport, Phelps stands alone across all sports. That distinction makes him Sportsman-worthy for me.
"If I want to set a standard and change the sport of swimming, I know I can't go away from the things I need to do that," says Phelps. "There will be time in my life to do other things, but for now, I want to do best times in every race. If I don't at least push myself to do that, I won't be satisfied with the results."
And that is where Phelps has drawn his most important line.[/q]
a dissenting opinion:
[q]My Sportsman: Michael Phelps
Phelps redefined dominance at World Championships
By Brian Cazeneuve
Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 3. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer. For more essays, click here.
It takes a truly remarkable swimmer to leave an audience staring in rapt awe at a race in the pool, with its barely distinguishable limbs and lanes as a guide for context. But at the world championships in Melbourne, Australia, last March, Michael Phelps had the Aussie crowds staring at an inanimate gadget all week, even as their own swimmers, many who are national idols, toiled beside him.
In swimming parlance, Phelps spent the entire week "beating the line," the superimposed red string that speeds across arena scoreboard screens during races at world-record pace. In fashioning the greatest single-meet performance in the history of the sport, Phelps won seven gold medals and broke five world records. He broke some by such absurd margins that Australian swimmer Grant Hackett noted, "I'm not one for hyperbole, but he is just superhuman."
In Melbourne, Phelps lowered his own world records in the 200-meter butterfly by 1.62 seconds to 1:52.09, in the 200 individual medley by .86 of a second (1:54.98) and in the 400 IM by 2.02 seconds (4:06.22). He swam 1.34 seconds faster than his personal best to take .20 off Ian Thorpe's world-best in the 200 free.
It was a stunning statement from Phelps, who had appeared mortal in the 30 months since winning six gold medals at the Athens Olympics. Two months after those Games, Phelps suffered the first mark on his reputation when he was ticketed for DUI near his Baltimore home. At his next major international meet, the 2005 world championships in Montreal, Phelps won five gold medals, yet it seemed he had lost his place of preeminence.
So Phelps rededicated himself. He gave himself a moratorium on dating and religiously conked out at 10 p.m. each night. He added weight training to his regimen, a difficult addition since swimmers need buoyancy rather than bulk and have unique needs in the gym. A few years earlier, Phelps and coach Bob Bowman had hired a trainer who knew more about building football players and weightlifters, and the workouts became so counter-productive they gave up and greatly reduced Phelps' time in the gym. This year Phelps and Bowman found a trainer and program that was swimmer-friendly.
What's more, Phelps and Bowman, who have often been at each other's throats since Phelps' early teenage days, were arguing less and working together more smartly. "Michael has matured more than I ever expected," Bowman said in Melbourne. Now even swimmers who are older and more experienced pick Phelps' brain and monitor his laps for inspiration.
Granted other athletes in other sports may stand far above their peers, but try to name one in any sport who leaves you scrambling for context as Phelps does; his peers in other sports simply don't provide it. LeBron James is not yet Michael Jordan. Sidney Crosby is not yet Wayne Gretzky. As an athlete who stands alone in his sport, Phelps stands alone across all sports. That distinction makes him Sportsman-worthy for me.
"If I want to set a standard and change the sport of swimming, I know I can't go away from the things I need to do that," says Phelps. "There will be time in my life to do other things, but for now, I want to do best times in every race. If I don't at least push myself to do that, I won't be satisfied with the results."
And that is where Phelps has drawn his most important line.[/q]
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snowbunny00774
ONE love, blood, life
Beijing 
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
^ just for you ...
snowbunny00774
ONE love, blood, life
^ that literally sucked up the last 10 minutes. It takes a while to work your eyes down that long torso
If I won the lottery we'd both be on a plane in August
If I won the lottery we'd both be on a plane in August
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
snowbunny00774 said:If I won the lottery we'd both be on a plane in August
redkat
Blue Crack Addict
Irvine511 said:^ just for you ...
must be christmas
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