Never Again in Our Lifetime...

Michael Phelps is now 5 for 5 for 5: 5 Gold Medals in 5 World Record Times in 5 events. I have been racking my brain to try and come up with the historical significance for what Phelps is doing but there really is no comparison. There certainly is no comparison between what Phelps is doing and what Mark Spitz did in 1972 for two reasons. First, Spitz did not have to swim semi-finals in his events that were 200 meters or shorter as Phelps does. So Spitz swam six fewer races in 1972 than Phelps will in Beijing. But far beyond that is the level of competition Phelps must compete against in 2008. Back in 1972 the number of swimmers outside of the United States who had access to top level funding and coaching to make their Olympic Dreams come true was pretty much limited to the Australians and the Communist Nations (Soviet Union, East Germany, etc.). Only ten countries came home with medals from the swimming events at the 1972 Munich Games: United States, Australia, Canada, East Germany, West Germany, Soviet Union, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Sweden. So far in Beijing 13 different countries take home medals, including South Korea (first ever swimming medal).

It really does not seem like anything can stop Phelps: not any other swimmer, not leaking goggles, and certainly not the enormous pressure that is riding on this shoulders right now. We all know that Finals heats are being contested in the morning so that NBC can broadcast Phelps' historic quest live in the United States. Every time Phelps swims, wins, and sets a record I get a "Breaking News Alert" email from CBS Sportsline. The only time I usually get these emails is when a major league pitcher has a no-hitter going into the latter part of a game or there is a major trade in the MLB, NFL, NHL, or NBA. Phelps' quest is the top story on every major news network and every local news channel; it is front page news on newspapers throughout the world.

However the most telling sign of the magnitude of Phelps' quest is that yesterday Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the rest of the USA Basketball team were at the Water Cube to watch him swim. Can you possibly imagine that? They may be members of Team USA and wear the same uniform to the medal ceremony as the rest of the the swimmers...but to come to the venue specifically to watch Phelps swim...and not having a child or other relative competing in that meet? These guys are multi-multi millionaires...Kobe Bryant may be one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. Yet they were at the venue last night, there to see history in the making.

Phelps is now more than halfway through his quest for eight Gold Medals. The stiffest test left will be the 100 Butterfly. Phelps, to my knowledge, has not been beaten in this race since the 2004 Olympic Trials. The person who beat him there, Ian Crocker, set the current World Record in the race and will swim the event in Beijing. Crocker will give Phelps a run for his money (actually Speedo's money) in that race. (READ: its going to be tough for Ryan Lochte to beat Phelps in the 200 IM considering he has the final of the 200 Backstroke less than an hour before the IM Final. That's why I consider the 100 Fly Phelps' toughest race left).

This is something that we may never witness again. I would be surprised if Phelps would attempt this event program in London four years from now and surprised if someone else approaches this level in my lifetime. You do not usually get the chance to witness a once in a lifetime event and actually know how historically significant that event is. Make sure you, your friends, your children...everyone...has the chance to watch these last couple of races.