Video: Eight for eight
posted at 11:30 am on August 17, 2008 by Allahpundit
What does he do for an encore? Nine golds in 2012? (Nah — just six or seven.) Click the image to watch.
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Human dolphin.
whitetop on August 17, 2008 at 11:32 AM
How about shooting for 20 career gold’s?
eski502 on August 17, 2008 at 11:41 AM
This kid will retire at the age of 31 with a 5 olympics career with 21-25 gold medals and 25+ overall medals.
Insane.
I think that he needs to grow back his goatee just to even the odds a little.
BTW did anyone see “Worlds Fastest Man” last night?
That skinny bastard from Jamaica ran it in 9.69! Remember when under 10 was huge?
Squid Shark on August 17, 2008 at 11:45 AM
The Yankees need a dependable cleanup hitter.
a capella on August 17, 2008 at 11:48 AM
I know he got a million bucks from Speedo for tying Spitz’s record–does he get anything for breaking it (other than the record books, fame, etc…)?
If you haven’t seen the men’s 4×100 relay or the men’s 100m butterfly race from the other night, watch it. Amazing.
Yossarian on August 17, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Pretty remarkable. Even more enjoyable with the close finishes.
Spirit of 1776 on August 17, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Run for president! He has more fans (500,000+) on Facebook than McCain has (200,000). He could run on the platform “A pool in every school!” Of course, he has to wait 12 years to run…
Yossarian on August 17, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Eh, big deal. Obviously you have never seen me paddle across my kids inflatable pool.
Bishop on August 17, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Bishop on August 17, 2008 at 11:55 AM
And who’s fault is that? I demand that it be televised.
Cindy Munford on August 17, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Not only that, but he’s a classy dude, too.
In the race where he beat that smarmy Frenchman, Alain Bernard, (you know, the one who said he was going to “smash” the Americans?) Phelps turned to him after the race to shake his hand in a showing of good sportsmanship.
Athletes like him are the ones our children should look up to. I commend Michael Phelps and hope he has a long and prosperous career.
flyawaybird on August 17, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Congratulations to him! It is exciting for any sports fan.
p40tiger on August 17, 2008 at 12:03 PM
He appears modest – here’s hoping he doesn’t change much. It’s rare in today’s hyped up world. Good luck to this young man. He deserves all the pennies too.
Just one Minute misspelled Johnny Weissmuller’s name. Always liked that name and the guy too.
Entelechy on August 17, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Squid Shark on August 17, 2008 at 11:45 AM
What was crazy about that was that the guy pulled up with 15 meteres to go in the race and was celebrating before he crossed the finish line!
He could have run it at least a 10th of a second (or more FASTER had he run flat out straight through to the end!
And Phelps (and the other Americans) at least in every event I have watched have shown MORE sportsmanship, more class, more espirit than ANY of the other teams!
It’s almost a shame our team had to compete in China, but they have done America proud nonetheless!
catmman on August 17, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Nice, Yossarian:)
Spirit of 1776 on August 17, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Yes! And he could have gone faster. He wasn’t pressed through any of the heats or finals. A man among boys.
mikeyboss on August 17, 2008 at 12:08 PM
In the name of objectivity, here’s part of my partiality to the late Johnny Weissmuller:
Born Peter Johann Weissmüller
June 2, 1904(1904-06-02)
Timişoara, Romania
Timişoara is also the city where the Romanian revolution suffered the most casualties under the brutal Nicolae Ceauşescu, and where his demise a few days later was spawned.
Just trivia. Johnny’s success was all hiw own. He was one heck of a simpatico man.
Entelechy on August 17, 2008 at 12:10 PM
And he actually started slowing down 15 meters from the finish! Gawd that guy can run. I’ve pretty much ignored this Olympics but now I’m actually planning to watch him run the 200 meters.
E9RET on August 17, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Great story… and he’s ADHD. NBC did a segment with his mother and she talked about how swimming helps him focus. Well, I guess that could be the understatement of the year. :-)
Way to go Phelps Family!
cannonball on August 17, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Saw the write-up on a site. I jogged for years, including in marathons, and we thought 7 1/2 min. miles were fast :) He is amazing. Good for/on him!
Entelechy on August 17, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Does Nike make swimwear, yet?
reaganaut on August 17, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Eh, big deal about the “worlds fastest man” too. Obviously you have never seen me trot, beer in hand, to the mailbox and not spill a drop. Let’s see the Jamaican guy do that!
Bishop on August 17, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Of course they do, they just don’t have many swimmers yet.
reaganaut on August 17, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Amazing. Truly is amazing. Shows what hard-work, dedicated effort and eyes on a real goal can achieve. [In a way, am sorry that I was personally boycotting the Beijing Olympics. Would have loved to have seen him winning the gold(s).]
coldwarrior on August 17, 2008 at 12:48 PM
I love how NBC chooses to zoom that camera in on his nostrils every time he’s on the podium. I understand they want to make money, but really, couldn’t they just use a camera to catch the tear (that never came) and use that for their commercials rather than making us all stare at his nose hair?
Secondly, where were the other three guys on the podium? According to the cameraman’s focus, Peirsol, Hansen, and Lezak ceased to exist after the last relay. They should get at least a little credit for their actions.
Lastly, these reporters are ridiculous. How many of these fools kept after Phelps and getting in his way while he was trying to get to his Mother in the stands? During the interview immediately following the race, the reporters asked all the team members, “so, what do you think of this guy Phelps?” Kudos to Phelps for doing this upon his interview immediately following the race. The reporters did the same thing to Dix after the 100m dash. They kept asking him about the Jamaican guy rather than asking him about his race. I mean, goodness, he only got the bronze. Again, he showed enough class by answering the questions politely, though you could visibly tell this agitated him.
Send_Me on August 17, 2008 at 1:07 PM
With that diet of his, Phelps’ post-swimming career will be in competitive eating. Look out, Kobayashi!
Hannibal Smith on August 17, 2008 at 1:24 PM
Congrates to all the players and winners.
BTW, Omama will take credit for the 8 . Somehow.
Texyank on August 17, 2008 at 1:38 PM
I think it was funny watching Ian Thorpe’s reaction…all he seemed to want to do was check out his “guns”.
JetBoy on August 17, 2008 at 1:46 PM
In the words of Bob Costas; eight gold medals; “ridiculous”.!
Johan Klaus on August 17, 2008 at 1:49 PM
Was not going to comment on this, but oh hell… When I learned nobody, and I mean nobody thought enough of MARK SPITZ to get him over to CHINA for a possible record breaker, that he has held for 36 yrs, lost all interest… How insulting to a great athlete, to be shunned like that… And by the way, SPITZ did it without the SUPER-DUPER SUIT, and a little HAIR on his chest… Disgraceful, and disgusting…
pueblo1032 on August 17, 2008 at 1:50 PM
The only person capable of coming close to beating Phelps in these Olympics would have been Kyle Broflovski’s Dad when he turned into a half man, half dolphin on South Park. This was an amazing performance.
heddly_lamar on August 17, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Congrats, human dolphin. That’s an amazing accomplishment. What a great athlete!!!
mjk on August 17, 2008 at 2:21 PM
I think it was funny watching Ian Thorpe’s reaction…all he seemed to want to do was check out his “guns”.
JetBoy on August 17, 2008 at 1:46 PM
Heh, I saw that too. Thorpe looked more than a little envious, especially after opening his yap and saying Phelps couldn’t do it.
Bishop on August 17, 2008 at 2:52 PM
Weightist! Legitimate birthist!
;-)
GISAP on August 17, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Yeah, if only he hadn’t! I can only imagine what his time would have been then -
Wow. I wonder if he considered himself a “Saechsischer” Deutsche (maybe not).
RD on August 17, 2008 at 4:19 PM
What an amazing feat.
AbaddonsReign on August 17, 2008 at 4:22 PM
Ooh, ooh, and with VP pick Mr. T: “I pity the fool with no school pool”
OK, I got only 3 hours sleep last night, pity this fool with insomnia cruel.
Ha, think you can do better?? I hereby double-dog-dare you to do a Mr. T with crewel, newel, shul, Brühl, and/or mewl.
Bonus points for Obaminabool.
Rosmerta on August 17, 2008 at 4:28 PM
He was a schwäbischer Deutsche, from the South-West. The sächsischen Deutsche are from the central and central/North regions (Klausenburg, Hermannstadt). My father was schwäbisch, originally from the Stuttgart area, great grand parents moved to Rom. under Maria Theresia, and mother was sächsisch, from the Hannover area, in Rom. for over 1000 years.
RD, it’s always good when you’re in the HA parlor.
Sorry for the aside.
Entelechy on August 17, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Phelps has more medals than some countries this olympics. Whaddaguy!
Mojave Mark on August 17, 2008 at 4:53 PM
Posters are making light of this but it is a legitimate question. Early success in life can be a curse. Bruce Jenner was a magnificent Olympian, now he’s showing up on reality TV.
My advice for Phelps is to ride the wave of endorsements for a few years and figure out what he wants to do after he can’t swim for a living anymore.
highhopes on August 17, 2008 at 5:34 PM
He seems like a genial kid, maybe he could be a sports commentator.
But yeah, he needs an education and some back-up plans. I’d hate for him to end up in a bad situation.
mjk on August 17, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Uhh, yeeaahhh. No kids were ADHD until there were drugs to “cure” it. If we’d listened to one doctor, my son would be on those drugs now. Instead, we did our own research and found he had Sensory Integration Disorder. A few months of occupational therapy and he’s a regular kid – a regular kid who just made his little league all-star team and was accepted into a school for kids with freaky high IQs.
Don’t EVER take your doctor’s word when it comes to your child. If we had, he’d “have ADHD” and taking drugs that make you feel kinda stoned. (I know be because I wanted to see what they were doing to my nephew.)
slug on August 17, 2008 at 6:55 PM
How long before someone whines about all the focus on “the White guy”?
Go, USA!
SouthernGent on August 17, 2008 at 7:06 PM
Maybe Barry O should watch this footage to gain an appreciation for what it is to be an Anerican.
second digit on August 17, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Not only is he an amazing swimmer, he has great character. An inspiration.
jencab on August 17, 2008 at 7:56 PM
The video won’t play for me and gives me a message showing which browsers are supported. Never mind the fact that I am actually using one of the browsers suggested…
Oh well. Congrats to Phelps.
JimRich on August 17, 2008 at 9:21 PM
What a fine young man.
He is thoughtful and humble.
A real role model.
drjohn on August 17, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Costass may have already done it.
Roger that dr. . .Roger that.
Texyank on August 17, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Might be because, you know, he’s, um…standing on a podium.
fossten on August 18, 2008 at 12:02 AM
Warning: non-American offers opinion:
At the risk of being both shouted down and kicked from pillar to post I must point out that you fellas have lost your objectivity:
the guy is obviously doped to his eyeballs!
Anyone seen how far ahead of the world records’ he’s been? In recent Olympics the US has had the ability to stay ahead of dope detection technology. Combine the stuff in the syringe and a naturally brilliant athlete and you have a guy who breaks world record after world receord day after day with apparent ease. Simple as that.
Seems the most obvious explanation to the rest of the world anyway (flame suit on).
Your friend,
Liam1304
Liam1304 on August 18, 2008 at 12:46 AM
Proof.
Johan Klaus on August 18, 2008 at 12:56 AM
s
School officials and doctors who prescribe drugs to children for this so called desease, should be jailed. I was shown a list of “symptoms” of ADHD and practically everyone of the items on the list are things that normal children do. The major reason for most of the problems is lack of discipline.
Johan Klaus on August 18, 2008 at 1:11 AM
Very hot!!
AprilOrit on August 18, 2008 at 1:29 AM
It’s one thing to see the symptoms listed on paper, it’s another thing to see someone untreated who is suffering from it.
Blake on August 18, 2008 at 6:49 AM
This has already been addressed. The Chinese pool is deeper than other pools used in Olympic events in the past, which means waves made by the swimmers don’t bounce off the floor as strongly, making for a smoother surface. Hence the broken records.
And Phelps does regular blood testing every day of the Olympics, so unless there’s some new undetectable drug out there that he’s taking, your accusation is baloney.
And you don’t have any proof anyway.
Jealous?
fossten on August 18, 2008 at 7:11 AM
Phelps is absolutely stupendously unbelievably amazing.
—
Also: Liam1304 knows nothing about swimming the advancements in training, technology or the actual pool itself.
—
22 year old Bolt, the amazing sprinter from Jamaica, is 6’4″, 168 lbs, according to the IAAF. He will crush his own world record shortly.
Dave Rywall on August 18, 2008 at 8:35 AM
Liam 1304 brings us the inevitable Leftist reasoning, as brilliantly explicated by Evan Sayet in his Heritage Foundation lecture.
Paraphrasing:
The Monster on August 18, 2008 at 10:28 AM
“With that diet of his, Phelps’ post-swimming career will be in competitive eating. Look out, Kobayashi!”
–
I pity the fool who faces Mike at gabbagool !
–
ayyyyyyyy
syberyenta on August 18, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Liam, Phelps spent a lot of his time getting tested every single day. He could’ve been eating or sleeping, but he was submitting to voluntary drug testing so that his wins wouldn’t be marred by unfounded accusations like yours.
Yes, he blew away many world records – but so did quite a few of the other swimmers. If you watched the races, the WR green line would many times be right in the middle of the heat of swimmers. Meaning several of them were well ahead of it – not just Phelps. The Aussie swimmers were blowing WRs and ORs regularly, too. And a few folks have already mentioned the technology behind “faster pools” and swim suits.
Phelps is an amazing athlete and has been a prodigy since his youth. It’s not like he just all of a sudden showed up “doped to his eyeballs” to sweep the Olympic golds. He was outstanding since before Athens.
Sometimes the best is really The Best.
Redhead Infidel on August 18, 2008 at 11:15 AM
BTW, Liam, which of the American athletes have been able to stay ahead of dope detection technology? Share with us this inside information you have. Because we actually prosecute our cheaters and send them to jail. The same cannot be said of other countries.
Redhead Infidel on August 18, 2008 at 11:32 AM
It’s actually sort of depressing…this guy’s one more golds in Beijing than my entire country.
Anyway congrats to him. Quite a competitor.
Gaunilon on August 18, 2008 at 1:34 PM
I have talked to my 9yr old daughter about Micheal Phelps.
Apparently he has ADHD like my daughter.
He has been inspiration for her. People with ADHD can be exceptional and use their qualities to do anything they want.
Thank you Micheal.
Conservaboomer on August 18, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Yep, apparently one of our own New Zealand female swimmers did a time that would have won her the gold @ Athens and didn’t even make the final @ Peking.
But Phelps’ performance is just a wee bit unusual isn’t it? What if he was from Russia or Germany or even little New Zealand? Bet there’d be a few more voices wondering out loud then.
Certainly I make unprovable assertions, but I thought you’d appreciate knowiing what a lot of the rest of the world is thinking.
If there’s one country in the world that can keep ahead of drug testing regimes its the US. I’m afraid I haven’t trusted US Olympic athletes since Carl Lewis. Neither have I trusted Olympic officials since Evander Holyfield knocked out our guy in the Bronze Medal fight after the bell, got disqualified and still got awarded a Bronze medal.
BTW as for being a lefty one of my good Democrat friends in Colorado pegs me only slightly to the left of Genghis Khan
Liam1304 on August 18, 2008 at 3:24 PM