Daily Beijing Olympics Thread for 13 August 2008

(Natalie Coughlin models the Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer Suit)

Here's your daily subjective report on the Olympics and a chance to converse about it in comments.

SPOILER NOTE: Some results will be reported below for the competition of yesterday, so be forewarned.

FEEDBACK TO COMMENTS POSTED AT GROUP NEWS BLOG: It's so predictable. I self-identify as disabled and at least one person thinks that means it's okay to call me retarded. This is classic able-bodied oppression. I do not have a mental or cognitive disability (although I did for part of one year, after anoxia during a surgery). If I did, I'd say so without shame. It's not funny and it's not "less than", it's simply a difference. Retard, on the other hand, is a hate term and is not welcome here. I'm leaving the comment up to make my point, but future hate speech directed against physical difference will disappear, poof.

I think commenting on the rigid feminization of certain sports is entirely appropriate, just as commenting on race and class as it limits those who can be at the Olympics is what a political blog should be doing. I used humor to change the pace, but I think it must have gone over at least one person's head: Pointing out sexism and classism is NOT part of the problem, despite the American myth that silence is the only (middle-class) way to be "nice". White, male, and upper class are default normal in this country. If you point out something contrary to the default, if you ask for attention to be directed toward the areas where people are still fucking dying daily because they are targeted in these areas, it is not identity politics or causing trouble, it is clarity and conscience which offers hope to every person who isn't comfortably included in (or allied with) the "default" categories.

Using "political correctness" as an attempted insult immediately marks you as having been stunted by the thinking of the Right, as begun by Reagan. Liberal, politically correct, compassion, and global are not terms of disparagement to me and other radicals. Political correctness is, at its baseline, a sincere attempt to avoid language, thinking and behavior which contributes to the oppression of others. If it seems hilarious or too much work to you, well, as Dr. Phil says, you might wanna take a look at that.


I also have a little trouble with the term "heatherish", which has the feel of pretending that the internalized oppression aimed by members of a target group at one another is what keeps those of in the target group oppressed and "in line". My self-reminder in any analysis is: Check the power flow, dummy. Me noticing how terrified these young women are of looking "not right" is NOT the oppression (which is a blend of class and gender).

One commenter made a great point, about objective scoring vs. subjective. Another commenter (at my own blog) made a related point when she voiced appreciation for the commentators who are taking the time to explain the sport to us as the action goes along. Understanding why deductions occur helps make it a much more enjoyable, shared experience -- and, incidentally, reveals where subjectivity has too much leeway. I'm still outraged that Torvill & Dean didn't win their ice-dancing competition years ago, and whether it was judge corruption or simple disagreement about technique, the presence of subjective scoring there allowed a decision that almost no one found fair.

Thanks to the white-water fans who explained more about why Benjamin Boukpeti's win was so exciting, and about how the current course is equalizing gender in this particular sport. And, again, thanks to earlier commenters who gave me a smidgen of education about fencing: When I watched the women's team saber finals today, I understood a great deal more and got very caught up in the action.

Back to the question of attire: Much was made of Michael Phelps having to swim last night with goggles full of water, which effectively blinded him for 100 meters. To his credit, he still turned in a world record time. Since he is poised to break Mark Spitz's record, the Today show featured an interview with Mark Spitz, who was extremely gracious and supportive. I remembered him (all the swimmers then) racing without goggles, so I went to Youtube and found a video of the 1972 games, below. It's blurry but does show all the men wore no goggles or hats, had often shaggy hair (including Spitz's mustache, which I don't think we'd ever see today), and not all of them had the skimpy Speedo that Spitz wore. There was a lot of talk about how revealing his suit was, as I remember, but he said it played a role in his superior swim times and, of course, he was right about that.



In December 1974, my partner and I with our four-year-old daughter were traveling through South Texas and we stopped at the Magic Time Machine restaurant in San Antonio (which is still there). This is a TGI Friday's kinda place whose gimmick is that all the staff dresses up like characters from history or current pop culture. We were shown to a table by a guy dressed as Benjamin Franklin and invited to go to the "salad car" right away. Folks dressed in wildly different costumes flowed back and forth, and our daughter was a little frightened by it all -- she didn't recognize most of who the actors were supposed to be portraying.

Back at our table, however, as our waiter approached she cried out with delight "Look! It's Mark Spitz!" Wearing a skimpy Speedo, with that brushy mustache and mop of hair, and seven gold medals bouncing back and forth on his chest, indeed, Mark Spitz's double took our order. My daughter shyly asked if she could touch one of his medals, and he consented graciously. I noticed, however, his skin was slightly blue and there were goosebumps on his arms. He must have been freezing, poor guy.

My daughter talked about meeting Mark Spitz for years, a thrill of her young life. We didn't let on until she was old enough to figure it out for herself.

This Olympics we're seeing an astonishing number of swimming world records broken, not just by Michael Phelps but across the board, even in qualifying heats. One possible cause is the widespread use of Speedo's Fastskin LZR Racer suit, which I think first appeared at the Athens Olympics but appears perfected at this point. Also, the newer Olympic pools manipulate water away from the swimmer, as if they are "swimming downhill". And I've heard that new chemicals to more quickly remove lactic acid from overused muscles gives a strong advantage to current athletes who must perform repetitively in a single day or over a few days.

I mention all this with no intention to draw away credit from the astonishing performances we are seeing. It's a swimming Olympics to remember, for sure. And -- as Mark Spitz's record is bested, let's remember the guy who did what he did without these advantages, without hype or much expected of him at all: Seven gold medals in seven races, with a new world record time in each race. We can't compare him to Phelps or anyone else, really, because that was then and this is now; his race times would not hold up now. We can honor both equally, for what they have done.

As if the commentators were listening to my earlier criticism (which of course they were not), they've done better about explaining instead of gushing and sharing the praise in more directions. I finally found out what Natalie Coughlin is so good on turns (she rotates her body sideways for a stroke, which creates less drag), why a big swimmer with Alain Bernard can negatively affect a smaller swimmer (backwash at the turn), and why Phelp's unusual body is so ideal for swimming (his arm span is 6'7", three inches longer than his height; his feet are size 14 and bend an extra 15 degrees at the ankle, allowing him to use them much more as flippers).

Interestingly, after Jason Lezak won Bronze in the only event where he swam individually at this Olympics, the men's 100m freestyle, he was interviewed by Rowdy Gaines. During the course of the interview, Gaines quite appropriately brought up the most exciting swim of this games so far, Lezak's anchor leg of the 4x100 free relay with a split of 46.06. However, Gaines veered off into Phelpsomania, stating "You got Michael his gold in that event." With a slight smile and a steady voice, Lezak replied "I did not swim that race to win a gold for Michael." Hear, hear! When this was replayed with Bob Costas present, Costas appeared unable to take it in, although Gaines did and seemed to appreciate Lezak drawing a lane in the pool, as it were: He is not Phelps' minion.

And, from what I can see, Phelps is very aware of that. He seems to be close to his male cohorts. It's the press who have attempted to make him into the Only Swimmer that Matters -- and for too many of them, it's for a commercial bottom line, not even from pure love of sport.

Speaking of commercialism: I don't remember previous Olympics' coverage showing every single heat and semifinal as this one has (51 in total). I personally love swimming, but it occurred to me that because of watching all these non-decisive races, I'm missing all the other events that could be covered. Track & Field begin tomorrow, which has a similar multitude of events and voluminous numbers of competitors to be winnowed down to final races. I'll be watching to see if all those heats are aired as well. If not, I'll raise the question of whether this is pure commercialism -- i.e., give viewers only what is most popular -- or, dare I say it, because most of the athletes in swimming are white and most of the athletes in track & field are NOT white? A discussion to be continued, after more observation.

Locally (I live in Austin, Texas) there's a great deal of credit being given to Longhorn Aquatics at the University of Texas, where a huge number of these swimmers train -- some of them not even pros yet, still students at UT. Since I should plug my home town at least once, the following swimmers are from the Longhorn program: Ricky Berens, Hee-Jin Chang (swimming for China), Ian Crocker, Susana Escobar (swimming for Mexico), Brendan Hansen, Kathleen Hersey, Aaron Peirsol, Scott Spann, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Dave Walters.

While I'm plugging, I discovered a blog I read regularly is running GREAT posts about the Olympics with cultural and sociological commentary, covering territory I'm not: Sue Katz Consenting Adult. I especially liked her report on the older athletes who find a niche in some sports, Boomer Olympians.

Also, the Guardian UK wrote a pre-Olympics article which is highly educational and entertaining, Game For Anything, in which they sent eight of their reporters out in crash courses for competitions. These intrepid writers report back on the finer points of steeple chase, front crawl, shot put, fencing, gymnastics, rowing, high jump, and BMX. It's a great read.

Returning to attire: The aforementioned LZR swimsuits show the men swimmers constantly adjusting their shoulder straps and arm holes as compulsively as the women. I was happy to see it's not just us: When you wear a tight garment that lets flesh bulge out, you simply are not as comfortable in it. (Plus the nervousness factor, I'm sure.) In my freshman year of high school, our basketball uniforms were the old-fashioned style with shorts that were more like panties and arm sleeves in a baby-doll style. I remember our coach screaming at us during one time-out because somebody had been pushing her ass-cheek back into her suit instead of catching the ball on a pass.

The next year, new suits were bought for both the boys and girls' basketball teams, and after heated lobbying on our part, we got the same style as the boys -- roomy sleeves, breathable fabric, long-legged and baggy shorts with wide waistbands. I still remember the glorious freedom I felt when I first put mine on, not only the ease of movement but, even more, the relief from having to worry about exposure. When I watch women doing strenuous movements in leotards and see them constantly reaching to their bottoms to make sure the fabric hasn't ridden up too far, I feel for them. I suspect, as one commenter said, it's about the look rather than the function -- otherwise, men would be wanting to compete in leotards as well.

And, finally, regarding commentary, race, and class inequality at the games: I was watching in 2000 when Eric Moussambani swam his heat for the men's 100 meter freestyle. I was leaned forward cheering for him every agonizing stroke of the final 50 meters, and also laughing wildly: How on earth had this guy gotten to the Olympics? The last few meters, it looked like someone might need to jump in and pull him out. He was immediately dubbed "Eric the Eel".

Turns out, according to Wikipedia, he "gained entry to the Olympics without meeting the minimum qualification requirements via a wildcard draw designed to encourage developing countries without expensive training facilities to participate." In other words, poor countries are given a ticket to compete but no funding to support their athletes. What I remember from interviews at the time, he had no access to an Olympic-sized pool and therefore trained in a hotel pool that was 20 meters long, so 50 meters was 2.5 times what he usually swam. He had only been training for eight months, and he did it for the honor of his country.

It stopped being funny at that point. Below is a Youtube video of Eric Moussambani's swim, the most respectful one I could find (and it's not entirely free of crap).



When I checked the NBC site to see who is competing from his country this year, I found under the entry for Equatorial Guinea a brief reference to Moussambani which stated "he had only learned to swim eight months before, and in crocodile-infested waters." This is directly contradicted by my memory of his history and also by that of Wikipedia, and it smacks of appalling racial stereotyping.

To make matters worse, last night the NBC anchor ran another video of a swimmer from who was the sole competitor for a poor African country (I didn't catch the name and I cannot find it by searching the NBC site). He was swimming in a heat and came in dead last. The commentator prefaced it by going from an image of (guess who) Michael Phelps to the heat, stating "And now, from the sublime to, well, also the sublime but in an entirely different way". He laughed throughout the video. His tone was utterly condescending. If you can supply the name of this swimmer and country, I'd appreciate it.

Professionalism in sports is not the problem: Paying athletes is on a par with paying artists and other non-profit endeavors, in my opinion. It's who is controlling the endeavor (i.e., community vs. corporate or government), and how fair is the access that matters most. Paying lip-service to access while providing no money for athletes to train is disingenuous at best. I admit it's a stretch to ask wealthy superpowers to set aside some of our largesse to create sports program for boys and girls in the countries we tend to exploit, especially since those kids will likely grow up to be crackerjack competitors -- but can you imagine the Olympics which would result from a truly leveled playing field? (Pun intended.)

(Stephanie Rice wins 200m individual relay, photo from China Daily)

WORLD RECORDS IN SWIMMING SET ON AUGUST 12 AND 13:
Alain Bernard of France in Men's 100m Freestyle: 47.20 WR (in the semifinal)
Federica Pellegrini of Italy in Women's 200m Freestyle: 1:54.82 WR (won Gold)
Michael Phelps of U.S. in Men's 200m Butterfly: 1:52.03 WR (won Gold)
Michael Phelps of U.S. in Men's 200m Freestyle: 1:42.96 WR (won Gold)
Aaron Peirsol of U.S. in Men's 100m Backstroke: 52.54 WR (won Gold)
Stephanie Rice of Australia in Women's 200m Individual Medley: 2:08.45 WR (won Gold)
Ricky Berens, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, and Peter Vanderkaay of US in Men's 4x200 Freestyle Relay: 6:58.56 WR (won Gold)

OLYMPIC RECORDS IN SWIMMING SET ON AUGUST 12 AND 13:
Paolo Bossini of Italy in Men's 200m Breaststroke: 2:08.98 OR (in the heats)
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe in Women's 200m Individual Medley: 2:09.53 OR (in the semifinal)
Daniel Gyurta of Hungary (beating record set by Paolo Bossini in previous heat same day) in Men's 200m Breaststroke: 2:08.68 OR (in the heats)
Leisel Jones of Australia in Women's 100m Breaststroke: 1:05.17 OR (won Gold)
Kosuke Kitajima of Japan in Men's 200m Breaststroke: 2:08.61 OR (in the semifinal)
Rebecca Soni of U.S. in Women's 200m Breaststroke: 2:22.17 OR (in the heats)
Coralie Balmy, Celine Couderc, Camille Muffat, and Alena Popchanka of France in Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay: 7:50.37 OR (in the heats)
Ricky Berens, Klete Keller, Erik Vendt, and David Walters in Men's 4x200 Freestyle Relay: 7:04.66 OR (in the heats)

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS: Available here.

P.S. NBC, PLEASE stop doing segments on reporters trying to eat fried scorpions. It's junior high "let's make fun of what other people eat" behavior. Get over it.


[Cross-posted at Group News Blog.]

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DAILY BEIJING OLYMPICS THREAD FOR 11 AUGUST 2008

(Jason Lezak after winning the men's 400 meter freestyle relay for the U.S.)

Daily Beijing Olympics Thread for 11 August 2008

Here's your daily subjective report on the Olympics and a chance to converse about it in comments.

SPOILER NOTE: Some results will be reported below for the competition of yesterday, so be forewarned.

Sorry about this going up late. I needed more rest, which always come first. And there's a LOT to cover.

Regarding the murder of Todd Bachman, assault on Barbara Bachman and a Chinese tour guide by Tang Yongming, with subsequent suicide by the attacker: No, I haven't commented because the facts are not yet in on this case. No connection has yet been made between the attack and the Olympics themselves, except circumstantial, that one of the members of this family is Hugh McCutchan who coaches men's volleyball for the U.S.. As someone who has lived in Calcutta and Brazil, and traveled through Mexico, I'm well aware of the generic hostility Americans encounter in other parts of the world -- and why. (They don't "hate us for our freedoms", they hate us for how our country negatively impacts the rest of the world.) I want to hear from those present at the attack, Barbara and Elizabeth Bachman and/or the tour guide, before leaping to conclusions and nationalist-based conjecture. I am struck by the fact that in all the English-language reporting of the incident, the name of the also-injured Chinese tour guide (a woman) or her current condition is never mentioned, as if she were of no consequence. If there is an Olympics-based reason for the attack, I'll report it here. In the meantime, grieving for that family's loss does not demand we immediately assign blame and "make sense" of it: There is never a sensible reason for murder.


Now, to coverage of yesterday's events, subjective as always. (You can add your own coverage in comments.) I didn't watch the entirety of the women's road cycle race, but I was glad for the region around Beijing, as well as the racers, that it rained all day. It provided a break from the punishing heat experienced by the men cyclists earlier, and possibly helped clean the air, even as it created slick road hazards for the women.

Sixty-two women began the race, and only 27 posted finishing times, a loss of over 50% of the riders. Of these 27 who finished, 15 were European, confirming what a commentator stated during the race that the current status of women's road cycling depended on a core group of 10-20 who were well-funded by their nations and thus able to dominate the sport. Africa had only three cyclists (two from South Africa, one from Mauritius); six were from Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Kazakhstan; 11 were from North and South America (Venezuela, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Cuba); and four from Australia/New Zealand.

Personal note: I enjoyed the camera coverage from the chase motorcycles because the lenses rapidly became coated with rain blowback, creating a blurry montage of speed and color. Also, one of the racers was Natalia Boyarskaya, and every time I heard her name, I flashed on the song "Natalia", sung by Joan Baez, about Natalia Gorbanevskaja, Russian poet and civil rights activist who was imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for four years during the 1970s for her demonstrations against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia:

Where is the earth
Where is the sky
Where is the light
You long for
What hope of you
Where you are now
Natalia Gorbanevskaja

Regarding the desperate need for rain around Beijing, however, the real story is among Chinese farmers. The Miyun Reservoir, which supplies water to Beijing, was earlier this year down to one-third of the water it had ten years ago. Water is being diverted to create flowing taps for the Olympics, and this is far more grave than the air pollution. Vast areas of farmland have had their water turned off, throwing families which have farmed for time out of mind into desperate circumstances, and dropping the water table below into dire conditions.

And, as if to symbolize just how very clueless our corporate-stupid nationalism keeps us, at the conclusion of the race, when Nicole Cooke of Great Britain was celebrating her victory, the American commentator said "Today the British Empire extends into China." Click.

REPORT:
Women's Road Cycle Race -- Gold, Nicole Cooke, Great Britain (Wales); Silver, Emma Johansen, Sweden; Bronze, Tatiana Guderzo, Italy.

I briefly checked into the sculling heats, considering once again how much money it takes to buy and maintain these boats, what kinds of water access it demands, and how therefore the class and race demographics of who's competing in this sport are utterly nonrepresentative. And where class/race restrictions apply, in most nations this means women's access to the sport will also be affected. This triumvirate of oppression, a solid cord that cannot be meaningfully teased apart, is not identity politics but instead the foundation upon which every aspect of national power in the world currently depends, directly or indirectly.

I also watched some of the synchronized diving finals. This is the first time U.S. women have competed in this event, with Kelci Bryant and Ariel Rittenhouse coming in fourth. As if these dives don't present enough pressure on an athletic, having to match your body to the motion of another is mind-boggling.

REPORT:
Men's Synchronized Diving -- Gold, Lin Yue and Huo Liang, China; Silver, Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausing, Germany; Bronze, Gleb Galperin and Dmitry Dobroskok, Russia

Women's Synchronized Diving -- Gold, Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia, China; Silver, Yulia Pakhalina and Anastasia Pozdnyakova, Russia; Bronze, Ditte Kotzian and Heike Fischer, Germany.

I checked in on the gymnastics qualifying trials. An NBC closer look focused on the ancient tradition of acrobatics in China (which is also true for some other Asian nations), especially for girls, which creates a bedrock for Chinese women to move on to gymnastics. I don't how accurate my perception is, but I've always felt like gymnastics in the U.S. was a place where white trash girls (like me) could find easier access to sports, because it combines individual and team effort (solo effort and glory is contrary to working class ethics) and it emphasized sexual dimorphism/female infantilism (also congruent with working class ethics).

Perhaps this is all a carryover from peasant culture and ethos. Several years ago, a prominent genealogist who was sick of the "hereditary societies" found in genealogy which are almost always racist and classist in nature retaliated by created what he loftily titled "Society of Descendants of 11th Century Peasants", limited to those who could prove such descent. The joke was, of course, that every human being on the planet is descended from at least one 11th century peasant. (Feel free to create your own gilt-edged membership certificate.)

Peasants were dependent on farming and community for survival. The values which emerged from this reality, no matter the local geography, included manual labor over other forms of labor, limiting education to only a few, sexual division of labor (which eventually became mythologized as the result of biological difference, but was mostly an economic response to non-biological pressures), conformity and collective action valued over individualism, dependence on community rather than institutions, suppression of angry response to oppression because of reprisal against the entire community, and the development of a certain body type after generations of repetitive labor on limited nutrition.

Perhaps gymnastics is the sport preferred by modern-day descendants of peasants.

Later in the coverage was another special report, this time on the Soviet boycott of the Olympics in 1984. Part of the point of this story was to illustrate how beneficial rejoining the Olympics community has been for Chinese athletes, which is clearly true. But a lot of political narrative and outright deception was folded into the story. To set it straight: The FIRST use of boycotting the Olympics for the purpose of political pressure and grandstanding was done by Ronald Reagan. His claim of the "noble" cause as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is belied by the fact that his administration constantly invaded, manipulated, and wreaked havoc on Central American nations, primarily for U.S. corporate interests.(Sound familiar? Those men found new life in Bush administration.) [NOTE: There is an error in the above paragraph. It was Jimmy Carter who ordered the 1980 Olympics boycott. However, in the NBC story it was credited to Ronald Reagan. I should have verified it independently before repeating it.]

Reagan paid for his illegal assaults on other nations by illegal sale of arms to Iran. I wonder if his contacts in Iran were the same men who helped delay release of American hostages until it cost Jimmy Carter the election.

After the farce of our 1980 Olympic boycott, we had no moral high ground to protest the equally stupid Soviet boycott in 1984. I hope such idiocy is behind us, but I won't be assured until every last Bushie is removed from any access to decision-making on a governmental level.

The rest of my Olympics attention for yesterday was consumed by swimming, where breaking world records (and stereotypes) became almost matter of fact. Eight new world records were set, many of them during qualifying races instead of finals. This kind of surge forward begs the question why? The streamlined suits so popular were in use in 2004. I'm reminded of the past Olympics (I want to say 1976, but I'm not sure) when a revision in the pool structure itself resulted in an explosion of new world swimming records. I particular remember new dampers at the sides of the pool then, as well as perhaps a shift in depth and lane ropes all designed to minimize waves and turbulence. Does this ring a bell with anyone else? Any theories about why we're seeing the current extreme improvement in swimming times?

After winning silver the first day of the Olympics in the women's 400 meter individual medley, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe during the semifinals set a new world record in the women's 100m backstroke with a time of 58.77 seconds. The previous record of 58.97 set by Natalie Coughlin this past July, and Coughlin had set five consecutive world records in the event before Coventry took the record off her. Coventry is the second woman to ever break 59 seconds in this event. Her swimming style makes her strong as a closer, where Coughlin tends to get her best work in early. Perhaps ominously, in the heat for the 100 meter backstroke, Coughlin (who is the world record holder) swam in the lane next to Coventry and lost the heat to her. Coventry is a swimmer whose boundaries are bursting open, keep your eyes on her.

Also during the trial heats for the women's 400 meter freestyle, Katie Hoff of the U.S. broke Janet Evans' record which had stood for 20 years. This was after she raced to win a bronze in the morning's 400 meter individual medley.

Only minutes later, in the next heat for the women's 200 meter freestyle, Federica Pellegrini of Italy set another world record at 1:55:45, replacing the old record set by Laure Manaudou of France.

In the men's 100 meter breastroke final, Kosuke Kitajima of Japan not only won gold, defending his title from Athens, but set a new world record at 58:91, breaking the old one set by Brendan Hansen of the U.S.

Michael Phelps also set a new record during his heat for the men's 200 meter butterfly, beating his own old Olympic record at 1:53.70.

Early in the evening, a personality close-up focused on U.S. swimmer Cullen Jones, only the second African-American to appear on a U.S. Olympics swimming team. Jones talked about his experience of nearly drowning at age five in a water park, when his inner tube flipped over, he sank and swallowed enough water to become unconscious. CPR was performed, and he coughed up a pint of water. He tells this story to children as part of his outreach work teaching African-American children how to swim. He stated that African-American children are three times more likely to drown than other children.

(Cullen Jones gives swim lessons to Tavion Traynham at the Butler-Gast YMCA in Omaha on in March 2008; photo by Daniel Johnson, AP)

I was thrilled to see him take head on the racist myth that African-Americans are somehow deficient in knowing how to swim. This is vicious stereotype which saw public exposure in 2006 when Tramm Hudson (white Republican) running against Katherine Harris for Congress decided to declare "I grew up in Alabama and I understand, uh…I know this from my own experience; blacks are not the greatest swimmers, or may not even know how to swim." (For great coverage of the incident, check out Crooks & Liars.)

The reality is, of course, African-Americans have the same swimming ability as anyone else. However, as a population subject to racism, they have been prevented from the chance to learn, originally by slaveholding practice which (no doubt correctly) interpreted the ability to swim as beneficial to escaping from slave territory. Later, segregation denied urban blacks the chance to use public swimming pools. This became intensified during the 1950s when polio swept the country, seeming to target children. I remember clearly hearing adults (whites) state that polio was being spread by black children at public pools. This was broadcast on the radio in Southern Louisiana, where the term used for black children is not something I can repeat here.

This is living memory for a huge section of the population. Racism is deeply imprinted on our culture, whether you know about it/admit it or not. To read more about Cullen Jones' work, check here.

Cullen Jones returned to the spotlight in the most electrifying swim of the day, the men's 400 meter freestyle relay. The French team was heavily favored, and without Jason Lezak of the U.S., the French certainly would have won. But the U.S. took the gold with a world record time of 3:08.24 and an astounding performance by Lezak who swam his 100 meters in 46.06 seconds, absolutely shattering what anyone else has ever done.

And let's be clear here: All of the American men who swam this relay deserve the gold, but some deserve it much, much more than the others. Michael Phelps is getting a lion's share of the credit, despite the fact that his lead-off leg lost to Eamon Sullivan of Australia, who swam it in 47.24, a new world record. If everyone had performed at Michael Phelp's level, the U.S. might have wound up with only the bronze.

Garrett Gale-Weber swam the second leg for the U.S., and he managed to catch and pass the Australian swimmer for that leg, Andrew Lauterstein.

During the third leg, however, the French surged, with their Frederick Bousquet passing both Cullen Jones and Australia's Ashley Callus. At this point, all three of these top teams were swimming noticeably faster than world record pace. I was sitting up screaming at the TV. My cat Dinah went to hide in the closet.
In the final leg, Alain Bernard, powerhouse for France, was off the blocks first. Jason Lezak, looking almost the entire length of a swimmer behind, entered the pool. At 350 meters, the turn, Bernard was ahead by 0.18 second. It looked like a done deal.

But Lezak got close to the lane marker between himself and Bernard, and he began the swim of his life. At 30 and 20 meters, Bernard was still ahead. Lezak kept closing, and in the last few meters, he evened up with Bernard. Lezak touched the wall first by 0.19 of a second.
It's Jason Lezak, my darlings. He did the job.

REPORT:
Women's 400 meter freestyle final -- Gold, Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain; Silver, Katie Hoff of U.S.; Bronze, Joanne Jackson of Great Britain

Women's 100 meter butterfly -- Gold, Libby Trickett of Australia; Silver, Christine Magnuson of U.S.; Bronze, Jessicah Schipper of Australia

Men-s 100 meter breastroke -- Gold, Kosuke Kitajima of Japan (new world record); Silver, Alexander Oen of Norway; Bronze, Hugues Duboscq of France

Men's 400 meter freestyle relay -- Gold, U.S. (Michael Phelps, Garrett Gale-Weber, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak); Silver, France (Amaury Leveaux, Fabien Gilot, Frederick Bousquet, and Alain Bernard); Bronze, Australia (Eamon Sullivan, Andrew Lauterstein, Ashley Callus, and Matt Targett)

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS: Available here.


[Cross-posted at Group News Blog]

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SOMEBODY BEATS NATALIE -- AND I'M THRILLED (UPDATED)

(Natalie Coughlin)

Last night they aired the sixth day of swimming trials for the upcoming summer Olympics. I got my chance to see Natalie Coughlin qualify in the 100 meter freestyle -- she came in second. But even better was the woman who beat her, Dara Torres: 41 years old, who has competed with honor in FOUR previous Olympics (1984, 1988, 1992, and 2000), who has retired from swimming twice, but came back to now qualify for an unprecedented fifth Olympic appearance -- becoming the oldest woman ever to compete in Olympic swimming.

I've seen Dara race at each of the previous years she came to the Olympics. I'm impressed as hell. (Maturity is SO HOT.) So, in addition to the requisite Natalie Coughlin pic above, I'm now including a photo of Dara. See ya'll in Beijing.

UPDATE ON 6 JULY 2008: Last night, Dara Torres set a new American records in the women's 50 meter qualifying swim. She's ON FIRE.

(Dara Torres, photo by Robert Maxwell)

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NATALIE COUGHLIN IS ON HER WAY TO BEIJING

It's really rare for me to have open estimation for a sports figure. They have to do a lot more than physical feats to get my admiration as a human being. Olympians are most likely get my attention, and few more than Natalie Coughlin, who is remarkably mature, intelligent, and generous to others, as well as winning medals like she's jotting down notes on a pad.

I am IN AWE of this woman's shoulders, too. I have to admit it.




So I was very happy to read today at Associated Content that she is once again favored for gold at Beijing:

"Three years after her sterling performance at the Olympics in Athens, Natalie Coughlin's competitive fire is still burning. The golden girl of American swimming has been rounding into shape rather nicely with both wins and world records at the 2007 FINA World Cup. Natalie, who was named US Today's "Olympic Athlete of the Week" after a three gold medal performance at the first leg of the World Cup in Durban South Africa, collected a world record in the 100 meters backstroke (short course) in the second leg of the Cup. Coughlin who took home 2 gold medals and a total of 5 medals, from the Athens Games, won the 100 Fly, 100 Back, and 100 IM at Durban.





"A competitive swimmer since the age of six, Coughlin was winning state and national races as a young teenager. By the time she turned 20, Sports Illustrated had dubbed the prodigious swimmer "The Future of U.S. Swimming." Holding true to the titled bestowed upon her, Natalie started breaking both US and world records on her way to Athens.

"This year, Natalie, who says she is not doing any special preparation for Beijing other than "train hard," kicked off her racing season by clocking 56.60 for the 100 Fly at Durbin. The gold medal performance came despite Natalie's contention that after months off from competitive racing, that she "felt a little rusty." Though she also took home the gold in the 100 IM, Coughlin does not currently have plans for adding the Medley to her already exhaustive schedule of races she competes in which included, the 50/100/200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Fly, and relays.

"Yet with the 2008 USA's National Team now comprised of the top six American times in Olympic events (taken during finals or semifinals of competition), Natalie's great opening to the swim season makes her once again a favorite for gold at Beijing. Aside from the tremendous natural talent she possess, Natalie by her own account, is at her best in international competition. Fond of international travel and new experiences, Coughlin prides herself on being able to say commonly used phrases in eight different language, including Mandarin, which should make her experience in Beijing a bit more pleasant. Despite her recent success, Natalie has pointed to both the Chinese and the Australia as two of the teams to watch out for at the Olympics. Though regardless of competition, look for Natalie Coughlin to do well at the next Olympics, especially in the backstroke and the shorter free style events, and pencil in America's golden girl of the pool for a few more medals."

(Natalie Coughlin doing the backstroke, 25 June 2006, Santa Clara, CA, photo by Donald Miralle)

All the press adulation will center on fifth-grader-mentality Michael Phelps, I'm sure. The men get all the attention, regardless of actual wins. Remember how American speed skater Bonnie Blair won FIVE gold medals at Lillehammer in 1994, becoming the first woman to do so and setting all kinds of world records which still stand. But -- all the press coverage focused on Dan Jansen, who failed repeatedly, whined about it endlessly on camera, and eventually won a single gold medal, for which HE was honored with the right to carry the U.S. flag in the closing ceremony.

Olympic trials are now underway and some are being televised. Don't miss seeing Natalie if you can help it. She's the real deal.

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KICKIN' ASS AND TAKIN' LAPS

Best dialogue on TV last night:

Sarah Connor: Field trip.

John: I call shotgun.

Summer Glau: I call 9 millimeter.



Best reason to watch the 2008 Summer Olympics:

Natalie Coughlin (again)

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