Phelps' schedule for the Olympics was laid out in ESPN the magazine's latest issue. On page 52 of the issue they chronicle Phelps' schedule. His quest for 8 golds seems more manageable than I had previously thought.
Aug 9th:
6:50pm 400 IM prelims
The First race of the meet, and he can really swim it like part of his daily workout and have no problems. Only race of the day too.
Aug 10th
10am 400 IM final
7:30pm 200 Free Prelims
The final comes first, so he'll have all his energy for that one. Again, for the prelim race he can swim a nice easy race and move on, plus he has all day to rest for it.
Aug 11th:
10:15am 200 Free Semis
11:33am 400 free relay final
7:25pm 200 Fly Prelims
Semi in the morning will require more effort than the prelim, but still shouldn't be too tough for him. Then about an hour to warm down, rest and then swim the relay. Anyone think he might lead off and get a chance at the 100 Free world record? He wasn't that far off it at trials.
Aug 12th:
10:13am 200 Free Final
11:00am 200 Fly Semis
The 200 Fly race at night will be hardly cause him to breathe hard. 200 Free final in the morning, again the first race of the day .
Aug 13th:
10:18am 200 Fly Final
11:16am 4x200 Free Relay Final
8:50pm 200 IM Prelims
His only day with two finals, but one is a relay that they should win comfortably. The IM in the evening is, once again, not much different for him than a warmup.
Aug 14th:
11:12am 200 IM Semis
8:00pm 100 Fly Prelims
His only day without a final.
Aug 15th
10:45am 200 IM Final
11:20am 100 Fly Semis
IM final in the morning might be tricky. Does Lochte's 200 back final come before or after this? Another semi race later, but it will be less than an hour later, presumably with a medal ceremony in between. He'll be wiped, but still should be ok.
Aug 16th
10:10 am 100 Fly Finals
Only race of the day.
Aug 17th
10:55 4x100 Medley Relay Final
This could be a very anti-climatic race as we have the fastest backstroker, 2nd fastest breaststroker, fastest butterflyer and a free guy that is at worst a quarter second slower than the world-record holder.
Obviously there are a a lot of variables in play, injuries, sickness, fatigiue, stress, relay exchanges.....but everyone has those same potential issues minus the extreme level of fatigue. But Phelps has trained for this his whole life and I think the schedule really sets up well for him. The IM's vs Lochte and the 100Fly vs Crocker shape up as the most difficult races for him IMHO.
Another thought, would it be tempting for Phelps to train for fewer events in 2012, and maybe different events.
He could really do something special, in that it is reasonable to think he could train for the 100 and/or 400 free, 100/200 Backs, and maybe th 2have the chance to win/medal in EVERY swimming event except the Breaststrokes, the 50 and the mile. Then again, maybe he could train for the mile and be successful, I wouldn't put it past him! Think about that.
I'm getting pretty pumped for August 9th-17th! I estimated start times for prelims and semis, but they should be close.
lochte has a tough double that night
he handled it well at trials
ande
So the 200 Back final comes before the 200 IM final, should have figured it would be just trials. You have to wonder if Lochte wold be the favorite in the IM if he weren't also swimming (as he should) the back. Food for thought.
Former Member
So the 200 Back final comes before the 200 IM final, should have figured it would be just trials. You have to wonder if Lochte wold be the favorite in the IM if he weren't also swimming (as he should) the back. Food for thought.
Former Member
Yes he did, his 200IM was probably the most impressive race I've ever watched, if only for the fact he had just swum the 200 Back only 2 hundreths over his world record 45 minutes earlier, and THEN lost to Phelps by just a quarter second as he set a world record.
Very impressive to attempt, those are 2 tough events.
Former Member
Great breakdown... thanks for sharing. Stressed me out just reading it. I wish one of the free relays were last instead of the medley - but it's going to be one heck of a meet.
Anybody seen a breakdown of Hoff's schedule???
Aug 12th:
10:13am 200 Free Final
11:00am 200 Fly Semis
The 200 Fly race at night will be hardly cause him to breathe hard. 200 Free final in the morning, again the first race of the day .
Aug 15th
10:45am 200 IM Final
11:20am 100 Fly Semis
IM final in the morning might be tricky. Does Lochte's 200 back final come before or after this? Another semi race later, but it will be less than an hour later, presumably with a medal ceremony in between. He'll be wiped, but still should be ok.
Are the times for the 2nd event on those days right? Less than an hour difference would seem to be more problematic than you indicate, even for a Stepford swimmer like Phelps.
