2012 Olympics: Swimming

I'm a bit emotional right now, having just watched the 4x100 relay, so forgive me. That was a disaster. At least when Bernard gave away the lead in 2008, it was to the fastest split in world history. The Frenchman swam great, but there is no excuse for putting a middle distance swimmer like Lochte on as the anchor leg of a 4x100. He's the hot swimmer right now and is on every magazine, but the coaches have to be more clear-headed than that. Matt Grevers should have been on that relay, with Phelps as the anchor leg. Phelps as anchor? Going into the relay, all you knew is that he died in the 400 IM and swam slower than he did at Trials, and you're going to have him anchor? I'm glad Phelps split well, but that's pure hindsight. Don't sell Agnel's split too short, a 46.7 in jammers isn't all that much slower than Lezak's split in a full-body cheating suit. It was a risky move that backfired, complicated by the fact that Troy is the head US coach. Hindsight is wonderful, but everyone here acting like they know so much more than some of the best coaches in the world is just plain ridiculous, and a little sad. All we need is some belching and beer to complete the picture. Having Grevers on the relay would almost certainly not made any difference. On paper the Australians should have crushed everybody, but relays have their own magic. Sheesh, the French swam a great relay -- and so did the US by the way -- time to give them credit rather than just bash a coaching decision.

I'm a bit emotional right now, having just watched the 4x100 relay, so forgive me. That was a disaster. At least when Bernard gave away the lead in 2008, it was to the fastest split in world history. The Frenchman swam great, but there is no excuse for putting a middle distance swimmer like Lochte on as the anchor leg of a 4x100. He's the hot swimmer right now and is on every magazine, but the coaches have to be more clear-headed than that. Matt Grevers should have been on that relay, with Phelps as the anchor leg. Phelps as anchor? Going into the relay, all you knew is that he died in the 400 IM and swam slower than he did at Trials, and you're going to have him anchor? I'm glad Phelps split well, but that's pure hindsight. Don't sell Agnel's split too short, a 46.7 in jammers isn't all that much slower than Lezak's split in a full-body cheating suit. It was a risky move that backfired, complicated by the fact that Troy is the head US coach. Hindsight is wonderful, but everyone here acting like they know so much more than some of the best coaches in the world is just plain ridiculous, and a little sad. All we need is some belching and beer to complete the picture. Having Grevers on the relay would almost certainly not made any difference. On paper the Australians should have crushed everybody, but relays have their own magic. Sheesh, the French swam a great relay -- and so did the US by the way -- time to give them credit rather than just bash a coaching decision.