Michale Phelps dishes some training tips in Mens Fitness magazine; we know most of them but this one stood out:Tip Number 5:
Stay focused on your goals and confident in your ability. "In Beijing, when my goggles filled with water, I didn't panic," Phelps says. "I went back to all of my training. I knew how many strokes it takes me to get up and down the pool, so I started counting my strokes. I didn't reach the time I was aiming for, but I did win the race.
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5 comments:
Cool story about Phelps and Bowman: A number of years ago, Phelps is talking to Bowman as part of his race prep. The story goes that, in the course of the conversation, Phelps drops his goggles. Bowman bends down to pick them up and, in doing so, shuffles his feet and scuffs and cracks the goggles. Apologises profusely but there's not enough time for Phelps to get new goggles: He has to race with the broken ones.
Race goes OK, Phelps wins, etc. Afterwards, Bowman tells Phelps he stepped on the goggles on purpose. Wants to prepare Phelps for the unexpected.
Don't know if the story is true: If so, it illustrates a remarkable level of trust between athlete and coach.
Sounds like something he wold do. I predict in the next 100 years there will be tons of myths surrounding those two.
In the version I heard, Phelps drops his goggles. Bowman smashes his kneecaps and breaks his arms. Phelps still wins the race. Afterward, as Phelps is wheeled away, Bowman tells him he was preparing him for the unexpected and his time sucked. Yes, my friends, the legends are beginning.
Mark, is that you?
wow. I stomped on one of my swimmers' goggles to teach him about dealing with adverse conditions and being ready for anything... he started crying and quit the team, but hung around just long enough to give mom time to berate me with a screaming fit in front of our entire LSC over the $9 she spent on his eyewear.
I must not be as inspiring as Bowman. :(
On the other hand, it is probably the kid's fault. I have to wonder what would happen if I snagged Michael Phelps' goggles at a meet and crushed them right in front of him. Would he break a world record because of me, or would I get mobbed and run out of the sport?
I am betting Speedo would hire Ninja's to take me out quietly.
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