Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Phelps Spitz on Tradition The highly touted swimmer Michael Phelps will fall short in his quest to equal Mark Spitz's record of  seven gold medals in a single Olympics.  After the USA men finished third in the 4x100 freestyle relay and Phelps himself came in third in the 200 meter freestyle, Phelps can win no more than six golds at Athens. Spitz must be basking in Schadenfreude over this development. About five weeks before the start of the Olympics, the LA Times' Bill Plaschke wrote a column called "Much on His Shoulders, He Shrugs Off Spitz."  A few excerpts: A kid [Phelps] who has made no effort to meet Spitz . . . . Imagine a young Tiger Woods never bothering to meet Jack Nicklaus. . . . Amazing, indeed, that one month until they could be forever linked in Olympic lore . . . Spitz and Phelps have never shaken hands. The shaggy-haired Phelps politely brushed aside questions about meeting Spitz as if he were being asked to meet the cousin of a friend of a friend. When asked about his chances of tying the record, Phelps did give an indication that he had finally heard of the legend. "I don't think I would say it's impossible," he said.  "Spitz did it." That's Mr. Spitz to you. A few days after that, I was a spectator at the Olympic trials in July when Spitz and Phelps met for the first time.  It was described by USA Today as "Spitz Passes Baton to Phelps": Mark Spitz, presenting him [Phelps] the award for the 200 fly [butterfly] victory, spoke a few words of encouragement into his ear, then ascended the awards stand to raise Phelps' arm like a winning prizefighter. But it seems to me that after being dissed by Phelps in public, the words Spitz actually poured into Phelps' ear that day must have gone something like this: "Listen, you arrogant schmuck, you break my record and I'll tie those goddamn medals around your neck and drop you into the pool head-first after they drain it when the Olympics are over." 12:01:06 AM