I was flipping around, and decided to watch the Olympics for a bit. And the race just happened to be coming up. While I'm not the best swimmer, I'm a fan of all (well, most) sports, and definitely a fan of some good competition. So I hunkered down to watch. Plus, there was the interesting side stories; France being favored and talking shit to the Americans, and Phelps and his quest for 8 gold medals (at the 8/8/08 games... how fitting).
What a freaking race. I was screaming at the TV. I think I may have stood up to cheer.
The final result (for the people who don't know/didn't catch it)...
Team Sweden - Congratulations! You just broke the world record in this event! But, um... you don't get a medal.
Team Italy - Congratulations! You not only broke the world record, but you beat Sweden. Too bad you don't get a medal, either.
Team Australia - Congratulations! You broke the world record by over a full second! For your troubles, you get a bronze medal.
Team France - Congratulations! You broke the world record by almost two seconds! Too bad it's only good enough for a silver.
Team USA - Holy shit, that was incredible. I didn't think he'd catch the Frenchman. No way. But he started closing in. And then they were even. They touched at about the same time, but who touched first? Team USA. By 8 hundredths of a second (another 8!). That's faster than the blink of an eye. Congratulations - you get the gold.
Just an incredible race.
That's why I love the Olympics.
Posted by mikey at 01:25 PM. Filed under: Hello, fodder •
