100 Fly Predictions

It looked to me like Crocker just didn't time the wall as well as usual, he had a full meter of glide while Phelps finished his stroke closer to the wall with less glide. Warren/Lindsay: This looks almost exactly like the Olympic 100 Fly Final is Athens. Crocker lost by .04 and this time by .05 and both times it was the finish. www.youtube.com/watch

I'll also admit to being a huge Michael Phelps fan and have been since watching the 2000 Trials! :o Gee Carrie, why is that? :dunno: :rofl: I will go on record that I think Crocker will win the 100 fly in Beijing ... I also predict Peirsol will go on a tear, break the 200 record before Beijing and nab both backstrokes, again ... I think Lochte will upend Phelps in at least one of the IMs, probably the 2 ... I like Mike, too.

But his first Olympics was not any better than that of Spitz, quite the contrary as a matter of fact.

I doubt Phelps would want a medal on the back of a gimme...

I don't know where I left my brain when I forgot Phelps made the Olympic team in 2000:dunno: Crocker swam a great 100 fly and missed his finish just a little. I hope he can shake this meet off and use it as motivation for next year.

It is similar in that Phelps caught Crocker by a hair at the finish but Crocker's finish was very different, in Athens he took one last quick stroke, in Melbourne he did a long glide to the wall. In Athens Crocker visibly fell apart in the last few strokes, in Melbourne he slowed down but didn't appear to loose form, at least not to the same extent, as Warren said his arms were a little unstreamlined on the final arm entry. I'll bet though that if Phelps hadn't had the 50.77 breakthrough and Crocker did the exact same swim that people would be saying it was a great swim, 50.82 is not that shabby. Lindsay: True the finishes were very different. It just seems that Crocker does something at the finish to lose the race. The same thing happened in 2005 at the World Championship Trial in Indianapolis. From the angle it looked like Crocker won but he didn't. They were both going for the pads and Phelps got there quicker. Here, Crocker has a great finish and Phelps takes the extra stroke. www.youtube.com/watch

Spitz swam his first Olympics in 1968. He was 18 yrs. old. His medal count was much more impressive than Phelps first Olympics - but as someone already pointed out Phelps was just 15. The criticism of Spitz's first Olympics was that he predicted six gold medals for himself but he earned "just" four medals - golds only in relays. So against expectations Spitz's first Olympics was a disappointment. For Phelps there was no such expectation. He was the youngest US Olympian since 1932. I was always impressed that Spitz took the disappointment of the 1968 and turned it into his medal explosion of 1972. But I think Phelps is already a better swimmer all around than anyone in the world. His achievements are already gigantic. When a Top 10 list of greatest male swimmers is created Phelps will be on top today and after the 2008 Olympics.

I was mostly trying to convey that Spitz did far better his first time out than Phelps did since somebody else claimed the opposite. I am not taking anything away from Phelps at all.

I think Lochte will upend Phelps in at least one of the IMs, probably the 2 ... I don't doubt that at all but it's going to be huge when it happens.

This looks almost exactly like the Olympic 100 Fly Final is Athens. Crocker lost by .04 and this time by .05 and both times it was the finish. It is similar in that Phelps caught Crocker by a hair at the finish but Crocker's finish was very different, in Athens he took one last quick stroke, in Melbourne he did a long glide to the wall. In Athens Crocker visibly fell apart in the last few strokes, in Melbourne he slowed down but didn't appear to loose form, at least not to the same extent, as Warren said his arms were a little unstreamlined on the final arm entry. I'll bet though that if Phelps hadn't had the 50.77 breakthrough and Crocker did the exact same swim that people would be saying it was a great swim, 50.82 is not that shabby.