Saturday, December 19, 2009

The man who beat Phelps in the 200-fly: Michael Rock Profile!

From News of the World:

Rock added: "It was a strange feeling when I looked back and saw him behind me. I didn't expect that.

"The crowd were amazing and the deafening roar got me through those last two lengths.

"This is a a massive boost as I work towards the Commonwealth Games next year and then the Olympics in 2012."

This quote by Phelps really unnerved me:

"It will be more about the sport and not what suit somebody is wearing.

"I'm disappointed but I will take defeats in these meetings. I'd rather lose here than in the World Championships or London 2012, when it matters.

"But I was beaten because he was better prepared than me. I was a little bit off my best time and he was more determined."

[Link]


When it matters? Well, It should always matter. Look at Rebecca Soni; she was prepared, Matt Greevers too.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

People like Phelps and Peirsol were clearly not 'into this' fully. A bit of a downer for those following it and for the fellow swimmers maybe. It's fair enough because they have the Olympic golds and this probably doesn't matter much to them.

Soni, on the other hand, had a great attitude and did amazing, so she's gone up in my estimation a lot.

Tony Austin said...

Me too, every meet is the Olympics for her. Totaly professional and motivated

Juan Moczo said...

Both Soni & Rock were wearing 100% poly suits. Go figure !!!

Tony Austin said...

Soni wore a Speedo LZR in Beijing and the TYR Swim Meet of Champions. Apparently she is "agnostic" about brands but "religious" about winning.

Anonymous said...

phelps acts like such a puss when he loses. it's getting old

Tony Austin said...

I wouldn't go that far, I think it's Bowman who acts like the "show business mom."

Generally, I think Phelps is gracious but the other piece of rhetoric he uses that bothers me is when he insinuates some meets don't really matter.

A superstar saying that just kills the vibe of meet.

TedBaker said...

Tony,

Some meets don't matter. That's fact. Training cycles and long term goals dictate that some meets are simply used to set benchmarks and measure progress towards a bigger goal.

Bill Ireland said...

I think Phelps is being honest. No one should be offended. Rock knows Phelps isn't racing like its the Olympics.

I can understand Phelps and Peirsol's approach. If they are going to make it to 2012, they have to find a way to find some balance, train hard, do some races but don't get carried away. Its very hard to stay at the top that long. Thorpe didn't manage to make it to his 4th Olympics--that's not a criticism. I don't know what stopped him, but he wasn't able to keep himself training and competing at that highest level.

Tony Austin said...

But about Greevers an Rebeca Soni? Do you feel they can race like there is no tomorrow because of their age?

TedBaker said...

Greevers and Soni can race like there's no tomorrow because they've working on their second Olympic cycle, not their 4th.

FYI, when Libby Tricket retired, one of her coaches mused that had she worked more "off time" into her schedules and training cycles, perhaps she could have stayed in the sport longer.

Kleinzack said...

As a UK swimming fan I can tell you Michael Rock is a good but not great swimmer. We all know had the race been swum on Jan 1st the result would have been a win for Phelps (probably by over a second).

I've done some analysis on a possible European team (not just Britain and a weak Italian and German team) that you guys might be interested in.. http://speedendurance.blogspot.com/

Tony Austin said...

He is a great swimmer. You Brits crack me up!

Unknown said...

Have to agree with TedBaker. Phelps and Peirsol have been at this a long, long time compared to swimmers like Grevers and Soni, who've really broken out in just the past three years. This sport is so difficulty to maintain consistency and longevity in because of the training demands. We've seen so many cases of athletes at the very top burning out (Laure Manadou, for example, retiring at just 22) at a young age, that it's unrealistic to expect them not to prioritize at this stage of their careers.

Tony Austin said...

I guess since swimming has been a recreation for me, It's hard for me to think of it as being "grueling."

Then again, I really like my job too.