We’re just 100 days out from the 2016 Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony ion Rio, which means we have only about 3 months to get psyched up for the world’s biggest competitive sporting event.
Swimming is among the first sports to kick-off the first week, which means we have little time to get geared up mentally and physically to either cheer on our favorite swimmers from home or, if we’re lucky enough, live and in-person in Brazil. Either way, it helps to be an organized swim nerd and we’ve got you covered with a countdown list in order to nab your daily dose of Olympic fever in the final stretch to Rio.
100. Re-watch Michael Phelps on the Today Show from this morning, April 27th.
99. Venture to Louisville, KY to see Olympic hopefuls, such as Kelsi Worrell, Michael Andrew and Josh Schneider, get some pre-U.S. Olympic Trials racing in at the TYR Derby Pro Swim Meet.
98. Buy Your U.S. Olympic Trials tickets if you haven’t already done so.
97. Book air, car, train, spaceship or other means of transportation for Omaha to witness the U.S. Olympic Trials, one of the fastest meets in the world.
96. Book hotel or airbnb, hit up your Nebraskan family member, or buy camping supplies, etc. the aforementioned Trials.
95. Get inside the head of Olympic coach Bob Bowman, long-time coach of Michael Phelps, by checking out his recently-released book entitled “The Golden Rules”.
94. Be like Lochte and learn all the words to “Ice, Ice, Baby” (you know, just in case)
93. Download the Rio 2016 app and get started on your profile, investigating the app features, etc.
92. Eat a Phelpsian breakfast today, filled with healthy carbs and GOAT-sized calories (just don’t forget to swim later to try to undo some of the damage!)
91. Check out the latest Rio 2016 cartoon featuring the Olympic and Paralympic mascots, ‘Vinicius e Tom’, to tap into your playful side.
90. Commit yourself to learning one new Portuguese word per day. Here’s one to start – butterfly in Portuguese is borboleta.
89. Visit the websites of your local swimming clubs and find out who your nearby Olympic Trials-qualifiers are so you can cheer them on in Omaha at the U.S. Trials.
88. At practice today, practice your gold medal-winning cellies on a few finishes. Are you a water slap kind of athlete? A surprised face swimmer? Or are you the full-blow, sit on the lane line while flexing kind of celebratory stud?
87. Swim like the elites by finding out a set or two that your favorite swimmer loves and give it your best shot at practice today. Why not start with the fastest man in a textile suit 100m freestyle, Cameron McEvoy?
86. The Arena Pro Swim Series in Charlotte takes place around now, so be sure to catch the live stream and SwimSwam coverage to get a final glimpse at how the Olympic hopefuls look just weeks out from U.S. Trials.
85. The 2016 Atlanta Classic will also be taking place right around the 85th-day-out-from-Rio mark, so catch Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian and Katie Ledecky at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center for pre-Trials tune-up racing.
84. Skim through the official Rio 2016 catalog, then make a list for your friends, athletes, family members who are going to Rio so they can score the hottest, most memorable gear and bring it home for you to treasure forever.
83. Take a walk through memory lane and look up some of your favorite international Olympic hopefuls back during their college years. It’s fun to see short course yards stats and re-live how some of the Rio medal contenders had breakout years during their student-athlete tenure. Here’s young George Bovell at Auburn to get you started.
82. Read up on Olympic swimming history and visualize the greatest moments our sport has seen over the years.
81. Cut out motivational quotes and hang them all around your bedroom/locker room for extra inspiration.
80. Check-in on your own swimming goals – where are you in achieving them? What’s your game plan for stepping onto podium in a major swimming event in your near future?
79. Buy a miniature version of your nation’s flag so you can wave it proudly during any magical Olympic moment.
78. Rehearse the lyrics to your national anthem so you don’t mess it up when either standing proudly on the medal stand or when you’re singing along with your favorite Olympic athlete during their special moment.
77. Get your own Olympic pump-up playlist ready (tip: Eminem MUST be on there).
76. Get on ebay and see what past Olympic gear, memorabilia, collectible pins you’re able to find and get in your hands on that hard-to-find item in the next 76 days.
75. Visualize yourself on the blocks, moments before your Olympic race starts, hearing your own breath and staring down the lane. What will be in your mind at that moment in time?
74. Start a ‘pool’ with your friends to try to guess on what date Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson’s baby will be born.
73. Guess #BabyP’s baby name (hint: it’s NOT Michael Phelps, III)
72. Give your best MP on-block arm slap impression while at your next practice (or meet, if you’re really bold).
71. Refresh your memory on who Team USA’s Olympic Coaches are for 2016.
70. Practice your own autograph signing. Even if you’re not competing in Rio, your non-swimming friends may still want the autograph of a genuine swim nerd who basks in Olympic-fan glory every 4 years.
69. Less than 70 days! Tweet about how what most excites you about Rio.
68. Choreograph your own pre-race, behind-the-block dance routine, a la Sierra Schmidt.
67. Get some extra energy today re-watching American Misty Hyman’s gold medal-winning upset in 2000.
66. Get your Josh Schneider game face on by trying out one of his favorite sets at workout today.
65. Re-educate yourself on the Canadian Olympic roster so you recognize names and faces in Rio.
64. Practice your selfie smile for when you meet the American superstars at U.S. Trials or when you’re in Rio and see a random swimming warm-up jacket walking among the crowd and you successfully chase him/her down for a photo.
63. Catch the 2016 Elite Invite being held at the University of Texas. Phelps selected this meet instead of the final Arena Pro Swim Series stop as his final pre-Trials competition, just as he did in 2012.
62. Watch and follow all the action at the Arena Pro Swim Series in Santa Clara.
61. Watch and follow all the action at the Arena Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis.
60. Buy a new pair of goggles but don’t open them until you reach one of your swimming goals.
59. Re-watch old episodes of “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”
58. Remind yourself who made the Olympic roster in France and start mapping out possible relay scenarios.
57. Snap your lats just to prove you’ve still got it.
56. Leave a comment on SwimSwam about how fast Mark Spitz would have been with underwaters and a tech suit.
55. Why not make a foray into now extinct swimming territory by trying out an old Olympic event today at practice? 400 breaststroke for time anyone?
54. Try on one of your old tech suits just for funsies.
53. Do #54 for time and compete against your friends!
52. If #61 didn’t go so well, evaluate your swammer diet!
51. Pick out the perfect teddy bear to comfort you behind the blocks, Amanda Beard-style.
50. Start banking up time now with your significant other, dog, mom, etc. so they don’t give you a hard time during the week or so you’re stuck in full-blown Olympic swim fan mode.
49. Peruse through your old summer league swim photos and trophies to remind yourself why you started this grueling sport in the first place.
48. Re-aquaint yourself with the Rio Olympic torch.
47. Convince yourself that you can still swim the 400 IM….long course.
46. Recover from 400 IM.
45. Still recovering from 400 IM.
44. Come up with an iconic behind the block/on the block move.
43. Tap into your arts n’ crafts talents and create a glitterized, bedazzled, blinged-out spirit poster for your favorite swimmer.
42. Make sure you’re following @swimswamnews and @swimswamlive on Twitter.
41. Refresh your memory on who will be swimming in Rio for Japan.
40. OMAHA!!
39. OMAHA!!
38. OMAHA!!
37. OMAHA!!
36. OMAHA!!
35. OMAHA!!
34. OMAHA!!
33. OMAHA!!
32. Rewatch all U.S. Olympic Trials race videos. What.Just.Happened.
31. Start deleting anything non-swimming related off your DVR to make room.
30. Familiarize yourself with the Aussie Olympic swimmers.
29. Feast your eyes on any and all Mike Lewis photo galleries on SwimSwam.com. See every facial expression, each splash, all the intricately defined muscles in action and get ready to see it all happen in Rio. Here’s just one of many to get you started.
28. Review the full Olympic swimming schedule so you can plan your entire life around it accordingly.
27. Check out where the Rio Olympic Torch is traveling to today.
26. Create a list of talking points that will make your non-swimmer friends think you’re cool.
25. Rewatch Phelps’ unforgettable Under Armour ad. Enough Said.
24. Find a handheld bell and put it somewhere easy to reach so you can ring it in sync with the on-deck official when Katie Ledecky enters her final 100!
23. Schedule Olympic Swimming Viewing parties with your teammates. Get creative and float on rafts on the pool and watch it on the big screen/scoreboard, if you have one.
22. Review who made the British Olympic Roster.
21. Make sure you’re following your beloved swim stars on all of their social media accounts.
20. Might be a good idea to follow swim stars’ moms, too (i.e., Mama Phelps!).
19. While you’re at it, follow medal contenders’ significant others, too (i.e., Nicole Johnson)
18. Make some swimming-related pic or inspiring quote as your cell phone wallpaper.
17. Take a swimmer-sized nap (you know, in honor of our aquatic heroes).
16. Channel your inner Mark Spitz with a goggle-less race.
15. Carefully set your DVR to record any and all Olympic swim coverage.
14. Enter SwimSwam’s Olympic Games’ Pick ‘Em Contest.
13. Even if you have no intention of swimming anytime soon, have your legs and any other body hair– every inch of support helps.
12. Rewatch Olympic races from London, especially the three-peat performances by Phelps.
11. Start adjusting to any time zone differences so you’re in your prime during live broadcasting from Rio.
10. Brush up on all of the World Records.
9. Double-check your DVR is set to record for any and all Olympic swim coverage
8. Visit rio2016.com and familiarize yourself with the venues, overall Olympic Park map, where athletes chill between events, etc.
7. Practice breathing exercises and stress management skills to get you through the emotional roller coaster from which we’re just one week away.
6. Pre-design what your Olympic rings tattoo will look like and where you’ll have it imprinted post-Rio.
5. Pick out your Olympic spirit wear for each day of swimming in Rio (i.e., drag out that red, white and blue feather boa from your closet).
4. Check weather.com to see what conditions our Olympians are expected to see during Opening Ceremony and throughout their time in Brazil.
3. Read SwimSwam Magazine’s Michael Phelps Gold Cover Olympic Preview Issue and try to contain your excitement!
2. Engage in the ultimate pump-up Olympic preparation by re-watching Jason “The Anchor” Lezak in the most memorably comeback race in recent Olympic history.
1. FREAK OUT because today is the Opening Ceremony!
Will Licon recently did a 400 breaststroke in a small meet in Austin.
4:40
Would have been second in the 400 IM
clearing that DVR is important. I think it’s capacity is 180 hrs. Plenty enough for all prime time and qualifying sessions
If it’s exactly 100 days out from Rio, wouldn’t #1 (FREAK OUT because today is the Opening Ceremony!) be the day before the ceremony?