Michael Phelps: Turn, turn, turn
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BEIJING -- Men’s Coach Eddie Reese put it best when he joked at practice Friday morning at the Water Cube about getting this swimming thing going, saying, ‘We’ve been together too long.’
If reporters are getting edgy, then imagine how the swimmers are feeling. Boredom, however, does have its benefits. The swimmers, while usually cooperative, seem a bit more eager to talk than usual. Dara Torres walked by with her roller bag -- a smart concession to age -- and waved, looking amused when she spotted four of us leaning over a railing trying to conduct an interview.
One of the chats on Friday morning was with Eric Shanteau. He has been unfailingly polite, forthcoming and patient with the waves of questions in the aftermath of the news that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly before trials in Omaha. His father, Richard, has lung cancer but Shanteau said that he will be here in Beijing to watch him compete.
Shanteau, who will be competing in the 200-meter breaststroke, is no slouch in the individual medley events, either, having taken third behind Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM at Omaha. He spoke about Phelps versus Lochte, and the thought came to mind that Shanteau will make one terrific television analyst when he decides to quit competitive swimming.
Phelps won the 400 IM in Omaha with a huge turn off the final wall, and Shanteau spoke about the big move and how Lochte will adjust here. (Saturday’s 400 IM prelims, a few hours from now, will be Phelps’ first step on the road to catching, and perhaps surpassing, Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals.)
‘Ninety-nine percent of the world will never know. They just see him go,’ Shanteau said of Phelps’ turns. ‘But they will not know how incredibly, ridiculously hard that is to do. The 400 IM, I think, is the most painful event out there. People compare it with the mile.
‘I’ve done a couple of miles, obviously never seriously. They both hurt like crazy. It’s two different kinds of pain. The 400 IM is just exhausting, to say the least. You’re just totally spent after that race. That event starts to hurt halfway through it and you still have two-thirds left. So for him to do what he does after that last turn and to hold his breath for that long and go that fast ... to be able to do that is absolutely incredible.
‘It’s your lungs, it’s your legs and it’s your abs and everything is just on fire. He has the discipline to stay out there and do it. I will say I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan didn’t let him get away with that here. Ryan’s underwaters are at least just as good as Michael’s.’
If there is to be a world record in the IMs, Shanteau said it will not come before the finals.
‘With those guys’ events, those world records are so fast, you’re not going to see any of the IM world records go down in the semis,’ he said. ‘They don’t need to go that fast. They know what they have to do. They know where they need to be. And with the busy schedules, they’re not going to be killing themselves.
‘This is nothing new for them. They’re used to swimming 14, 15, 16 times in a week. In college, Ryan would swim 13 or 14 times in three days. They’re prepared for it.’
-- Lisa Dillman
