Mike Gustafson on the 400 free relay

Click on the link and read the whole article.  Here is a taste:

http://usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=4626&mid=8712

BY MIKE GUSTAFSON//CORRESPONDENT

Hey America, an Olympic silver medal is actually awesome.

Last night, when Ryan Lochte was passed by France’s Yannick Agnel in the final length of the men’s 400 freestyle relay, it wasn’t because Lochte had choked. Nor was it because Lochte swam poorly, missed a wall, inhaled water, forgot to warm up, hit the lane line, cramped, was thinking of a failed math test from 3rd grade, or stopped trying. Yannick Agnel was just that fast. You too would get passed against someone swimming a 46.7. Even Phelps. Even Adrian. Yannick Agnel swam a superb time when the time was right, and Ryan Lochte happened to be the unlucky one swimming in the lane next to him.

Piers Morgan Interviews Ryan's Mom on CNN

I usually cannot stand to watch Piers Morgan, but this is a pretty good interview.

800m Free Relay on Tuesday

There's a video on swimswam.com that previews the race:



In this video Gold Medal Mel Stewart predicts a US victory over France.

The big question for the U.S. is who will swim in the 800m free relay and in what order?  Obviously Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will swim in the evening.  The rest is up for grabs.  Ricky Berens, who qualified third in the 200 free at Trials, may swim in the evening only, leaving the fourth spot to the guy who swims the fastest in prelims.  The prelim swimmers are likely to be Conor Dwyer, Matt McLean and Charlie Houchin and possibly Peter Vanderkaay as well based on his bronze medal in the 400m free.  Those four should be fast enough to put the USA in the finals in a good lane.

What will be the order for the finals?  I think the coaches will stick with the historical order of Phelps first and Lochte last with Berens and the fourth swimmer swimming second and third.  This likely will pit Lochte against Agnel again.  Will the third time be a charm?

Edit:  Oops I forgot about Davis Tarwater!  Don't know how I could do that, especially since I was cheering for him to make the team at Trials.  The US team of Houchin, McLean, Tarwater and Dwyer (in that order) did so well in prelims and placed the US in lane 4 for the finals.  Dwyer had the best time, which should put him on tonight's relay with Lochte, Phelps and Berens.  Here are the prelim times:

I got Houchin 1:48.22, McLean 1:46.68, Tarwater 1:46.33, Dwyer 1:45.52. RT @joelwilson92 @yahooforde What were the American splits?
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) July 31, 2012

Edit again to add this link:
http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/lochtes-dark-night-of-the-twitter-soul/?smid=pl-share

Ryan Places 4th in the 200m Free - 800m Free Relay on Tuesday

I'm not going to lie, Ryan's fourth place finish in the 200m free really hurt.  Especially after he won gold in Shanghai with a much faster swim.  Ryan's time in London was 1:45.04, which not a personal best (that was 1:44.44 in Shanghai).  It was also not fast enough to beat Yannick Agnel, who finished first in a time of 1:43.14, or Park Tae-Hwan and Sun Yang, who tied for the silver in a time of 1:44.93.  


Agnel really seems to have Ryan's number, having defeated him twice in a row. 


Ryan was interviewed after the 200 free and seemed to have the right attitude.  He was asked if he was adversely affected by the defeat in the 400 free relay and the 4th place finish in the 200 free.  He said:

"Whatever happened last night, happened last night. You have to get over it and move on," he said. "Whatever happened tonight ... I have a couple of more races left. Just have to forget about it and move on."

I watched the race on NBC tonight and Ryan's finish was poor.  He glided to the end, like he's done in every race in the Olympics at at Olympic trials.  Sometimes when he glides it is because he is quite a ways ahead and seems to be conserving energy.  But when the race is close and he's fighting to get his hand on the wall first or second, the glide makes no sense.   


Hopefully he will be able to regroup and gain confidence in the 800 free relay.  


In other news, it was a very good night for USA Swimming with Matt Grevers and Nick Thoman winning gold & silver in the men's 100m back, Missy Franklin winning gold in the women's 100m back and Rebecca Soni winning silver in the 100m breast.  The only USA swimmer missing from the medal stand was Ryan, a situation he is likely to rectify on Tuesday.

NBC Nightly News on Ryan Lochte

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ryan in 200m Free Finals on Monday

This is going to be a tough race, probably the most difficult race on Ryan's schedule.  Here is the field from London2012.com:

01	RENWICK Robbie	1:46.65	+
02	LOCHTE Ryan	1:46.31	+
03	PARK Taehwan	1:46.02	+
04	SUN Yang	1:45.61	+
05	AGNEL Yannick	1:45.84	+
06	BIEDERMANN Paul	1:46.10	+
07	IZOTOV Danila	1:46.65	+
08	FRASER-HOLMES Thomas	1:46.80

Many of these same swimmers were in the 200 free finals in Shanghai last year.  Park, Agnel, Biedermann and Izotov were all there.  Ryan beat all of them along with Michael Phelps.  Sun did not swim the 200 free in Shanghai but his best event is the 1500 free.  He is supremely talented, but hopefully the 200 is too short of a distance for him.  Agnel worries me after what he did to Ryan tonight in the relay, but Ryan is a much better 200 swimmer than 100 so hopefully he will prevail.  I do not want to overlook Park and Biedermann, who are also equally capable of winning.

No matter the outcome, it is going to be a great race.  I'm just hoping Ryan will come out on top.
+

US Wins Silver in 400m Free Relay - Lochte Chased Down by Agnel of France

Ryan didn't swim the smartest race (according to Gregg Troy in the article below) but he sure gave it his all.  How many other 400 IM swimmers are also sprinters?  Lots of interesting quotes in this article by Pat Forde of yahoo.com:  http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--usa-s-risky-men-s-freestyle-relay-plan-backfires-in-an-ironic-twist-.html

Lochte was too amped for his anchor leg, taking it out too quickly. An explosive underwater start sapped his energy. His turnover was too fast. Not a natural sprinter, he immediately engaged in a dead sprint.
"I overswam the first 50," he said, "which hurt me in the last 50."
Said Troy: "I knew on the first 25 he was in trouble."

It was a good decision to put Lochte on the relay.  It was a mistake to leave him off it in the finals in Shanghai.  Of all the options available, he gave the US the best chance at gold.  He didn't lose the race, Agnel won it.  


Agnel's performance makes me very nervous for the 200m free final tomorrow, but that's a subject for a separate post.

Here's another good article about the race by Casey Barrett.  Everyone should read www.capandgoggles.com.  It's a fantastic swimming blog.
http://capandgoggles.com/2012/07/29/a-dish-served-cold/


Here are some photos from the 400 free relay and medal ceremony:

This Photo Says It All

More later after the NBC broadcast....

Ryan Lochte in Two Events Tonight - 200m Free Semi-Finals and 400m Free Relay Finals - Anchor Leg

Ryan Lochte before the 200m free prelims this morning

Ryan qualified second in the 200m free in this morning's prelims.  His time was 1:46.45.  He swam in the same heat as China's Sun Yang who qualified first with a time of 1:46.24.  The 200 free is going to be a complete dogfight and hopefully Ryan will come through like he did in Shanghai last year.

Now the big news:  Ryan is swimming in the 400m free relay and he has the anchor leg.  I had given up on him being in the relay when he didn't swim in the prelims this morning.  It's such a nice surprise to find out that he will be there.  Best of luck to the USA men's team...Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, Cullen Jones and Ryan Lochte.  They are going to need it against Australia and France!!

Wayne Drehs of ESPN on Ryan Lochte's 400 IM Gold Medal

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/swimming/story/_/id/8209900/2012-olympics-ryan-lochte-having-latest-edge-michael-phelps-new

"There are those who will write the story of Saturday's much-hyped showdown as a passing of the torch or a sign there is a new sheriff in the water. Pick your favorite cliché. But the reality is Lochte has been beating Phelps since the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships. He did it in the 200 IM and 200 free at last year's World Championships. He did it in the 400 IM at Olympic trials. And although Phelps beat him in three other events in Omaha, Neb., Lochte insisted he wasn't fully tapered and the real show would come in London. Wow, was he right."

One Down!

Ryan Lochte through to Finals in 400 IM

Ryan placed second in his heat and third overall in he prelims of the 400 IM with a 4:12.35. Two shockers from the prelims: Michael Phelps qualified eighth and barely made the finals and Laszlo Cseh finished ninth so he's out! Oh Laci! Utterly shocking.

 I didn't see the prelims (I know, what kind of a fan am I?) but I heard that Ryan took it easy and did not attack the walls. He won't do that tonight and hopefully will win gold. Still can't count out Phelps for a miracle but I think the 400 IM requires four years of training and he may have started too late.

 I could be wrong, but I don't think top qualifier Kosuke Hagino will medal in the finals. He swam a personal best in the prelims. lochte and the others will swim 6 to 7 seconds faster in the finals. Doubt Hagino will be in the mix. Will look for photos.

400 IM on Saturday!

Heat sheets for prelims can be found here:  http://www.london2012.com/swimming/event/men-400m-individual-medley/index.html

Ryan is in Heat 5, Lane 4.

Finals are Saturday night.  The WR is 4:03.84.  Can he beat it?

So excited for Ryan to win his first gold medal of the 2012 Olympics!

Repost: Ryan Lochte, My Journey

This video is no longer private.

Ryan Lochte's Plans After 2012 Olympics

The article linked below says Ryan is moving to LA to train with a new coach after the Olympics, but will return to Gainesville periodically to train with Gregg Troy.  A new coach in LA with less yardage?  Sounds like he's going to train at USC with Dave Salo.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/sports/local-sports/2012/07/25/lochte-plans-another-olympics-run-in-2016.html

Photos from Second Day in London

Pablo Morales (and others) on Ryan Lochte

Photos From First Day in London

Another Awesome Article by Karen Crouse of the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/sports/olympics/lochte-phelps-rivalry-will-continue-in-london.html?smid=pl-share

Click on the link above to read the whole article.  Love the quotes from Matt Biondi:

Matt Biondi, an 11-time Olympic medalist, can appreciate where both stars are coming from. 

“In the beginning I was a lot more like Michael,” said Biondi, who won five golds, one silver and a bronze at the Seoul Games in 1988. “I was shy and withdrawn and really didn’t know how to handle the attention. My agent really worked with me. He kind of showed me you’ve been given a real gift to impact people’s lives, and he gave me some tips, and over time I grew to be more like Ryan.” 

Biondi has met Phelps but said, “He was busy doing his own thing, and I never spoke to him meaningfully."

He has spent more time around Lochte, his most recent encounter occurring at the trials when Biondi and his two sons, ages 13 and 9, ran into Lochte as he was finishing another impromptu signing session. As a swimmer, Biondi said, it frustrated him when he was asked for “one more” autograph because it invariably led to engaging with strangers for several more minutes.
As a parent, though, Biondi knew how much it would mean to his boys to interact with Lochte, however briefly. He asked if Lochte had time for two more autographs, and, of course, he did. 

“I’m a huge Lochte fan forever now,” Biondi said in a telephone interview. “That’s the kind of gesture from my perspective, from all the years that I put in at that level, that makes the sport better.”

One (of Many) Reason to Cheer for Ryan Lochte at the Olympics

Read about Ryan's charitable work and friendship in this blog:  http://open.salon.com/blog/paulpeavy/2012/06/26/why_we_loves_us_some_ryan_lochte

Universal Sports Video - Ryan Lochte's Road to London

I hate it when videos don't embed, but here's the link:

http://bcove.me/mn8bm8gr

Ryan's Brand New AT&T Commercial - and it's a really good one

Article on Developing Ryan's Brand

http://www.news-journalonline.com/sports/olympics/2012/07/22/former-spruce-creek-swimmer-building-brand-ahead-of-games.html

I agree with this quote:

As Lochte's fame grows, Morgenstein said the Olympian will have to be a more assertive control-the-reins guy.

"As long as he has the confidence to feel like he's in charge and everybody works for him and not the other way around, I think he's going to do great things, because he's really a genuinely nice guy," Morgenstein said.

The article included this video of Ryan swimming in high school:

Photos from France

Finally leaving for London on Monday....

Ryan Lochte's Olympic Schedule

Saturday, July 28 - 400m IM (heats and finals)
Sunday, July 29 - 200m free (heats and semi-finals)
Sunday, July 29 - 400m free relay (heats and finals) - possible
Monday, July 30 - 200m free (finals)
Tuesday, July 31 - 800m free relay (heats and finals)
Wednesday, August 1 - 200m back (heats and semi-finals)
Wednesday, August 1 - 200m IM - (heats and semi-finals)
Thursday, August 2 - 200m back (finals)
Thursday, August 2 - 200m IM (finals)
Friday, August 3 - 400m medley relay (heats) - possible
Saturday, August 4 - 400m medley relay (finals) - possible

17 swims possible
12 swims likely

Behind the Scenes - Time Magazine Cover Shoot

Olympic Venues

I'm in London on a business trip.  Today my colleague and I had 2 hours to kill so we decided to take the train from Liverpool St. station to Stratford, the site of the Olympics.  There's a huge mall just outside the train station and we wanted Olympic souvenirs, so we went to the John Lewis department stores.  I took these two photos from the John Lewis.  The first picture is the athletics stadium  Wonder if the second photo is the swimming venue?

Ryan Lochte on the cover of Time Magazine

This is huge!  Bigger than the Vogue cover I think.  So happy for Ryan.

Parade Magazine interview with Ryan Lochte

Tower Bridge Olympic Rings

I'm in London today and took this photo.  Getting so excited for the Olympics to begin, although hopefully the weather will improve.

Ryan Lochte AT&T Commercial

This is really cool

2012 Olympic Trials - 200m IM

Hopefully it will play for those outside of the U.S.  I was one of those standing the whole time!!

Ryan Lochte's Twitter

I used to love it, but as of late it's so obviously not him tweeting.  I was hoping he would provide some real insight on his journey to the Olympics, but I guess that isn't going to happen.  It's a shame because one of the reasons I became a fan is Ryan was not afraid to reveal himself.

I get the need to support corporate sponsors, and that is fine, but mixed in with the corporate tweets let's see a little more Ryan and a lot less of his manager pretending she's him.  They get so many things right in marketing Ryan, it's a shame they got this part wrong.

A few years ago it would have seemed crazy that Phelps would be viewed as less "corporate" and more "real" than Lochte, but a lot has changed.  I think this analysis is correct:

http://www.digiday.com/brands/battle-of-the-digital-brands-michael-phelps-vs-ryan-lochte/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Twitter: Lochte has 102,000 followers on Twitter. But there’s a hitch. His Twitter feed is operated by Wright Entertainment and Sports (and it would follow that Wright also operates his Facebook page). It’s hard to tell which, if any, tweets come from Lochte. Interestingly, whoever is running his account often retweets people from Wright. There are also retweets of his sponsors. If social media is about engaging an audience through transparency, then Lochte is missing the point on Twitter.

Another Nissan Advertisement/Promotion

Ryan Lochte officially qualifies for 5 events in Olympics

400m IM
200m free
200m back
200m IM
4 x 200m free relay

It's unlikely but possible he will swim the 4 x 100m free relay and/or the 4 x 100m medley relay.

I had so much fun being in Omaha and seeing all of those swims live.  It was great to meet some people who read the blog that I follow on twitter.  Can't wait to see how this plays out in London

Day 6 Press Conference - after 200m back/200m IM finals & 100m fly semi-finals

Ryan Lochte Nissan Commercial - new