Michael Phelps
Michael has dominated his peers since he was twelve years old. In 2000 he was a surprise qualifier in the 200 butterfly who went on to final in… ...More about Michael
so basically half of you are saying hes not a good ambassador for the sport of swimming......
Soooooo, why did he win 8 medals? I think its the races that counts guys, not how well he can analyze his training. Geez.
Glcc727 posted August 5 at 11:00am.
Guys,
What is the problem with Phelps. Everyone always wants to take shots. Let the kid deflect questions like having no idea about his taper. Someone said he was bad for the sport because he is always "playing dumb" and really all he is doing is taking care of himself. Anyone notice he is still a little awkward - he needs to keep it simple because everyone knows when they just start to get their mouth running something comes out the wrong way. Also, people are complaining he "is Bowman's puppet." It sounds to me like he is a world class swimmer who listens to his coach and deflects training question to Bowman. This is what a good swimmer is supposed to do - trust in their coach! I didn't see anyone posting how Webber-Gale believes in his coaches is bad? Nobody likes the guy on top and in this case it is a particularly awkward one (even though he is getting better he is not there yet) - give him a break. In 10 years we will all have been happy to have watched.
Hotdog Lover posted July 31 at 10:50am.
i know! lol i can imagine, once, he fell on me! seriously
Hotdog posted July 28 at 12:28am.
the pale guy with the buff legs in the background is bowman.
=]
Hotdog posted July 28 at 12:26am.
a couple of weeks ago i was at a clinic with bowman and i asked him about michael running and he says that he does not run because he is extremely clumsy outside of the water.
I Am... posted July 22 at 4:05pm.
the chuck norris of swimming.
Wyatt posted July 21 at 8:28pm.
you know, I think phelps is great with the press. we don't need to know everything about his taper. he is a great ambassador, because he knows how to deal with them. phelps knows what is going on. he just does the smart thing by not saying
Daaave posted July 21 at 5:16pm.
Oh man.
1. Of course he's not lazy. Clearly posted by a non-swimmer. Swimming tens of thousands of yards a week for 8 years and racing some of the best in the history of the sport is the polar opposite of lazy
2. He obviously knows how tapered he was. Are you kidding me? He's one of the most self-aware swimmers out there. He just doesn't feel the need to reveal specific details of his physical conditioning to his global competition days before the biggest meet of his life. He might as well tell them his goal times. "I don't know" is a polite way of saying "None of your business/you'll find out how rested I was in August."
Summary posted July 21 at 4:33pm.
I am the best... I do not shave... even my beard for the olympics. I do not like green eggs and ham unless bob bowman tells me i do, yet he does not even tell me if if im resting/taperd simitaperd or simirested for the OTs... so how should i know if i like green eggs and ham.
Michael was just kidding about napping and watching TV. Actually he runs marathons in between workouts. I also heard when the team flies to Singapore Michael is going to join them a couple days late because he want to go climb Mt. Everest first.
? posted July 21 at 9:51am.
Lazy? You have got to be kidding me. Lochte goes out and skateboards and chases his dog, I can tell you that he is the exception. Most elite swimmers rest a lot, because this sport takes a huge toll. I thought the interview was good, he has matured a lot, and he knows whether he was rested or not.
Roana Facot posted July 20 at 11:06pm.
?Will you perhaps finish this interview and what was said about Eric the breast stroker?
Slick posted July 20 at 9:36pm.
umm i think watching tv and taking naps is the favorite activity of almost every swimmer...especially when all you're doing is working ass of in practice
Amanda posted July 20 at 9:02pm.
anyone see what he does for fun in the people magazine article?
his favorite activity is to watch tv with his dog and take naps, that just shows how lazy he is
MPhelps posted July 20 at 7:56pm.
I'm just trying to pshyc out Lochte, I feel hes going to own me..
Also In His Defense posted July 20 at 7:13pm.
He said he had no idea prettttttyyy fast when they asked that question about his taper. Pretty sure he knew it was coming and is keeping quiet
In His Defense posted July 20 at 4:56pm.
I think that swimmers tend to lie about how tapered they actually are to make their successes seem higher and their failures not as low. I have had guys tell me they didn't taper at all and then go on and drop 2-5 seconds in a 200. So if the normal swimmer can lie about it why can't he?
Monkey posted July 20 at 4:15pm.
what, no bean question
C'mon Man posted July 20 at 3:51pm.
Seriously, how do you "not know" if you fully tapered for trials???
Anonymous Coward posted July 20 at 2:10pm.
What phelps say is prob rehearsed but it is to keep the media frenzy minimal if he didnt everything he said would be looked at for a double meaning espically about taper etc
Anonymous posted July 20 at 12:50pm.
Garrett, you do ask the best/most interesting questions
BigNowhere posted July 20 at 12:50pm.
I think Warkentin's interview was more interesting. But, that was a one-on-one interview, while this one is obviously one where Phelps is interacting with a bunch of different reporters, some of whom are obviously not full-time swim reporters.
I think that makes a difference. His answers are obviously the kind of canned, rehearsed answers that you tend to see from people that have to talk to reporters on a regular basis.
Anonymous Coward posted July 20 at 12:40pm.
how do you not know if you fully tapered for trials?
he ALWAYS plays dumb in his interviews, its pretty frustrating
Rabble posted July 20 at 12:39pm.
Did you fully taper for trials? I have no idea. I've heard lochte is the same way. Dumb as a rock and a body for their coach.
Ughhh posted July 20 at 12:37pm.
"I dont know if I had a full taper"
whatever, he does. He just knows if he says he didn't, then everyone will have high expectations for him. If he says he did, it makes his trials look not as great as everyone expects from a "full phelps taper" or whatever.
He's whipped by Bowman.
The way he answers the questions make swimmers seem dumb. I think that Mark Warkentin's interview was 1,000 times better. Not to mention his out of the pool habits.
We're lucky enough to be witness to one of the most dominant athletes in history. He rolled through trials just as scheduled, and my question is when's the last time a meet didn't go as scheduled for Michael Phelps... July 20, 2008
The Golden Ticket
Soooooo, why did he win 8 medals? I think its the races that counts guys, not how well he can analyze his training. Geez.
What is the problem with Phelps. Everyone always wants to take shots. Let the kid deflect questions like having no idea about his taper. Someone said he was bad for the sport because he is always "playing dumb" and really all he is doing is taking care of himself. Anyone notice he is still a little awkward - he needs to keep it simple because everyone knows when they just start to get their mouth running something comes out the wrong way. Also, people are complaining he "is Bowman's puppet." It sounds to me like he is a world class swimmer who listens to his coach and deflects training question to Bowman. This is what a good swimmer is supposed to do - trust in their coach! I didn't see anyone posting how Webber-Gale believes in his coaches is bad? Nobody likes the guy on top and in this case it is a particularly awkward one (even though he is getting better he is not there yet) - give him a break. In 10 years we will all have been happy to have watched.
=]
1. Of course he's not lazy. Clearly posted by a non-swimmer. Swimming tens of thousands of yards a week for 8 years and racing some of the best in the history of the sport is the polar opposite of lazy
2. He obviously knows how tapered he was. Are you kidding me? He's one of the most self-aware swimmers out there. He just doesn't feel the need to reveal specific details of his physical conditioning to his global competition days before the biggest meet of his life. He might as well tell them his goal times. "I don't know" is a polite way of saying "None of your business/you'll find out how rested I was in August."
his favorite activity is to watch tv with his dog and take naps, that just shows how lazy he is
I think that makes a difference. His answers are obviously the kind of canned, rehearsed answers that you tend to see from people that have to talk to reporters on a regular basis.
whatever, he does. He just knows if he says he didn't, then everyone will have high expectations for him. If he says he did, it makes his trials look not as great as everyone expects from a "full phelps taper" or whatever.
He's whipped by Bowman.