Beijing: Michael Phelps' quest for Olympic immortality begins Saturday, when he opens the Beijing Games swimming competition with a race he says may be one of his toughest - the 400m individual medley.
The 23-year-old star has owned the 400 IM world record since 2002, and lowered it for the seventh time at the US Olympic trials in June.
However, teammate Ryan Lochte has closed the gap on Phelps in the event since finishing more than three seconds behind his celebrated teammate at last year's world championships in Melbourne.
At the US trials, Lochte notched the second-fastest time in history as he finished less than one second adrift.
"They're all going to be hard," Phelps said of his ambitious programme that will call on him to swim at least 17 times as he pursues Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals set at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
"I think one of the hardest will be one of the first, the 400 IM. It's the one I'm most excited to swim," he added.
Phelps hinted this week that he believed he had found a little more in the 400 medley, in which Hungarian Laszlo Cseh and Italian Luca Marin are also likely medal contenders.
"I've been working over the last few weeks to fine-tune a few things and hopefully improve the 400 IM."
Coach Bob Bowman says having a rival like Lochte only spurs Phelps to a higher level.
"That's what he does - rise to the level of competition," Bowman said.
But Lochte would like nothing better than to spoil Phelps's eight-gold bid right out of the gate.
"I wouldn't mind at all," Lochte said. "He's my friend. But if he doesn't do it, it means I did something right."
Another American with her sights on a slew of gold medals in Beijing opens her campaign in Saturday evening's heats as Katie Hoff tackles the women's 400m medley.
Hoff, the reigning world champion, will square off against Australian Stephanie Rice, who set a world record in the event at the Australian trials in March before Hoff wrested it back at the US trials in June.
"I think we're on a really level playing field," Rice said. "But I can't just focus my attention on Katie Hoff.
"I think the 400m is going to be a great race," the Aussie said. "There's not only Katie Hoff, there's Kirsty Coventry, Hannah Miley."
Australian Libby Trickett opens her five-event campaign in the 100m butterfly, with teammate Jessicah Schipper one of the biggest threats to the world champion, who will also swim the 50m and 100m free as she seeks a first individual Olympic gold.
Grant Hackett, his sights on a historic third straight Olympic 1,500m freestyle title, will warm up for his signature event by tackling teenage South Korean sensation Park Tae-Hwan in the 400m freestyle.
"It's my understanding that Park says he's going to swim under the world record, and if he intends to do that he's got a very good shot (at gold)," said Hackett, but the Aussie added he thought the world mark of now-retired Ian Thorpe was a difficult target.
"I think we're still a little bit away from it," he said. "Park has said he'll break it - we'll wait and see how well he swims and what he can do."
Breaststrokers Brendan Hansen of the United States and Kosuke Kitajima of Japan will renew their rivalry on Saturday in the 100m breaststroke.
Kitajima bested then world record-holder Hansen in both the 100m and 200m races in Athens, but Hansen emerged with the 100m world title last year in Melbourne.
All of Hansen's hopes for individual Olympic glory rest in the 100m after he failed to qualify in the 200m at the US trials.
Kitajima says he's looking forward to tackling Hansen, but the American says he'll be keeping his focus on himself.
"I'm going to swim my race and put my blinders on and not even look around me," he said. "Because if I swim my race, I don't think anybody can compete with me."
Hansen insisted that missing out on a 200m berth didn't raise the pressure in the shorter race.
"I feel that it's given me the opportunity to put a lot more focus on one race," he said.
The unusual schedule of morning finals and evening heats - decided upon at the behest of US broadcaster NBC in order to better showcase Phelps in the United States - means the first swimming finals at the Water Cube will be held on Sunday morning.
Comments
0 comment