Michael Phelps finished sixth in the final of the men’s 100m backstroke on day four of the 2104 US Nationals. The finish isn’t the worst case scenario for Phelps considering that he already secured his spot on the Pan Pac roster with a second place finish in the 100 fly with a time of 51.30 on day three.
His time of 53.95 was slower than the 53.75 he posted in prelims to take the fourth fastest seed heading into finals.
He speculated in the interview that he was unsure whether or not he would swim his last event of these championships, the 200 IM, on the final day of competition.
You guys are giving him too much credit. I personally think it’s getting annoying hearing every year since 2009 how he’s going to learn from his dissapointing performance, turn it around and put in the extra work. He says this every year and fails to do it so what makes you think this time he’s serious.
Bob is an overrated coach and his team failed a this meet. Other major programs outperformed NBAC and this seems to be a trend (his swimmers not improving much on a tapered meet). Time for Bob to make adjustments in his training regime and how he prepares his swimmers for the big meets
Pretty sure this is just trolling…but what? How did NBAC “fail” at this meet? Not getting enough swimmers on Pan Pacs and/or national teams?
Thanks to the way Phelps has increased media attention for our sport and the hard work of the staff here at SwimSwam we’re getting to see LOTS of interviews along the way during this comeback, including lots of less “scripted” moments and a little of the raw emotion!
A few years ago we would have had to be happy with seeing the results of a meet and excerpts from a final press conference with only the biggest stars in a newspaper article. Now, we get to watch live streaming video of prelims and finals, read commentary by experts pre and post event, participate in discussion with other fans, watch all these great interviews and, oh yeah, see the event… Read more »
Where is the ” it’s all about having fun” attitude. Looks like that’s gone quick!
reality has other emotions to deal with as well , as deception or ” not yet there ” …. so it’s not all about fun here but accomplishment nontheless . Fun in between sessions with team mates surely happen but not as easely as we could imagine . Just a feeling …..
Michael is a great role model. He’s showing the world his process, his transformation from tepid to all-in, and what it takes to be the best. It took racing at Nationals to stick the burr under his saddle and reignite the perfectionist in him. It’s exciting to see this story unfold. He wants to go back home to Mt. Olympus to dwell among the gods.
If MP wants to swim back at PanPacs, will he be able to? What if 6 people want to swim it? How do they decide who gets the opportunity to swim another event?
My understanding, and I hope somebody will correct me if I’m wrong, is that Prelims of Pan Pac’s is kind of like this meet with lots of heats and anybody can swim (I guess with coach’s permission) any event. There is a Final and Consolation Final at night. I believe a max of 3 US athletes can participate in the Finals Session per event. The 3 that swim in that session is determined by Pan Pac Prelim swims, NOT the results of this meet. If 3 athletes make the top 8 overall times, then the #3 person goes into Consol’s; if only 1 makes top 8, then #2 & #3 go in Consol’s.
Any time swum in Pan Pac Finals… Read more »
Love that he’s already talking about doing doubles. Nice that he realizes he’s going to have to up the yardage and time in the pool to be able to do what he wants to do.
I’m going to bummed if he doesn’t swim it. Would much rather see him in that than the 100 back.
Get that 200 IM under your belt, Michael! I have been waiting anxiously to see that race.