Thank God For The Internet

I have a confession to make. I never saw the 4x100 Freestyle Relay in Beijing. That is to say I didn't see the live broadcast. I was stuck on a runway in Massachusetts and didn't find out what happened until the next morning.

So I was disappointed when I found out that I would be missing another. Scheduled to work today during the first finals session in Rome, I spent the first half of my shift more-or-less glued to the Windows 98 PC that doubles as our register. Thanks to the tweets of swimnetwork.com and the lovely ladies of reezy_daily, I had up-to-the-minute news of what was going on. As more time went by and more records fell (some of them in semifinals!), I started getting more and more anxious. Could we do it? Could we hold off the French again against staggering odds? I knew it would take a miracle, but I had faith in our team.

And then, the weirdest thing happened. Just before the race was about to start and I was beginning to completely freak out with excitement/nervousness, something caught my eye. A hat, of all things. Someone had just sat down at a table in front of my window wearing the exact same Baltimore Orioles cap that I had seen Phelps wear on deck in Indy. Call me crazy, but I think it might have been a sign, the universe telling me that everything was going to be just fine.

As I refreshed the page every 5 seconds, praying that no one would come in for the next few minutes, it felt like I was really watching the race. (At this point, I need to say that it's really surreal "watching" a swimming race when you're supposed to be working. I was cheering, but it was this kind of bizarre squeak.) When I saw that we had won, I thought I was dreaming. I had a feeling deep down in my gut that this might happen (perhaps as a result of the aforementioned cap), but the fact that the USA came out on top the second time when all the data was stacked against us was absolutely unbelievable. 

If you're an American in my fandom, you probably know how it felt. If not, well, I'm not the best at accurately describing my emotions, but I'll try to explain. It felt amazing, that perfect mixture of astonishment, pride, and pure joy. 

Some people criticize this age of instant information and gratification, but I'm warming up to some aspects of it. Yes, twittering during work might have temporarily destroyed my productivity (and my sanity), but the result was worth it. I may have not seen Team USA defend their title as it was happening, but I definitely experienced it.

Congratulations, boys!

Michael Phelps, Nathan "Little Lezak" Adrian, Ryan Lochte, and Matt Grevers: 

4x100 Freestyle World Champions!

Adventures in Indy: The Races

When you see it live, you forget about the suit wars. You forget about the fact that everyone can see how you’re screaming and jumping around uncontrollably. All you know is that you’ve been waiting for this for months, and you just saw a world record fall. At least that’s what it was like for me.

This will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who has talked to me for more then five minutes this past year, but I love watching swimming. The adrenaline just rushes through my veins and all I care about is the race. I’d describe as “being in the zone” for spectators. Up close, you notice a lot more things than you do on TV. At least I did. Having been a drylander for the past 6 1/2 years (I stopped swimming regularly when I was 12), I had forgotten a lot. Like how beautiful the strokes are. And how fast they really go. Basically, it’s like any other sport. It’s always better live. 

Anyway, here are my picks for the top 5 races of the week with video and a few pictures. Asking me to put them in order is like asking me to choose between my children, so I put them chronologically:

Men’s 400 Individual Medley (Day 1, July 7)

A great way to start out the meet. Like I said before, this one was really tight. And in case you’re keeping score:

Legs-1, Full body Jaked-0

Men’s 100 Backstroke (Day 2, July 8)

There was some drama going into this race because a Spanish swimmer broke Peirsol’s record exactly one week before. I’ll never forget seeing my first world record fall live.

Men’s 100 Butterfly (Day 3, July 9)

I totally called this one (Well, it wasn’t hard to predict Phelps would get the WR because of his time in Quebec, but I still totally called it). He now holds 8 (half of the men’s events swam in Indy), though I predict one of these will fall in Rome (see above). I’m glad that there is no record of my reaction to this race because I am sure it was absolutely ridiculous-looking (and sounding!). 

Men’s 200 IM (Day 4, July 10)

Lochte was ahead right from the start, winning with a time of 1.54.56, only .33 seconds behind Phelps’ world record and the 2nd fastest time in history. It was a great moment when the whole natatorium cheered Ryan on during the breaststroke leg. Also, this was the night of the grill and the “Jeah.”

It was absolutely necessary to post a picture of these shoes.

Men’s 200 Back (Day 5, July 11)

What a showdown! I had a feeling the WR was going to be broken, but I honestly had no idea who was going to get it. Lochte had the world record going into it, but Peirsol went out ridiculously fast in prelims. Really excited to see how this turns out in Rome!

All videos taken from swimnetwork.com. The photos come from my camera. If you take them, let me know and credit if you post elsewhere.

A Quick Update. Jeah!

Just wanted to say that everything is going wonderfully here in Indianapolis, and I'll start my detailed recaps on Monday. Day 3 starts tomorrow (Well, technically today. I'm still on Central Time). Here are some of the highlights:

-Ryan Lochte's nailbiter of a 400 IM. It really was a race to the finish!

- Aaron Peirsol taking back his world record in the 100 Backstroke. 

- Matt Grevers being adorable

-Running into Dara Torres in the swim shop. Seriously.

- Anything involving Michael Phelps.

There's talk of another world record falling tomorrow in the Men's 100 Butterfly, plus a scheduled Lochte signing. I can't wait!