GO MICHAEL!!!! for setting again a world record :D

antsy? awwww, lol


Steph

--- In michaelphelpsfanclub@yahoogroups.com, zsygenius
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
> Michael Phelps broke his world record in the 200 individual medley
> Saturday night, winning the event at the U.S. championships in 1
> minute, 55.94 seconds.
>
> Phelps, ahead of world record pace at every turn, beat by one-
tenth
> of a second the mark he set at the world championships at
Barcelona
> on July 25. It's the fourth time he has set the world record in
this
> event this year. Since late June, he has progressively lowered by
> more than 2 seconds the mark that had stood since 1994.
>
> "I think I shocked myself tonight, for sure," said Phelps, who had
> warned not to expect another record because he would be tired from
> racing his 23rd race in 19 days.
>
> But, buoyed by the crowd, he led by a full length after the
initial
> butterfly leg. He punched the air several times when he saw the
> result at the finish and pointed to his head, a rare display of
> emotion from the usually calm 18-year-old Baltimore native.
>
> The celebration, as it turned out, was from winning a bet that his
> coach would shave his head if Phelps broke 1:56. His first words
to
> coach Bob Bowman after the race were: "It's gone. It's gone."
>
> "That was a big motivator going into tonight," Phelps said. "I
have
> the little things that really push me."
>
> With the victory, Phelps became the first man to win five
individual
> events at a national championships. He also won the 100-meter, 200-
> meter and 400-meter freestyle races as well as the 200-meter
> backstroke at the weeklong event. He set a personal best in all
five
> events and set American records in the 400-meter freestyle and the
> 200-meter backstroke.
>
> Tracy Caulkins (1978) and Natalie Coughlin (2002) are the only
other
> Americans to win five individual races at the nationals. Phelps
> shared the men's record of four with Johnny Weismuller, Mark Spitz
> and Tom Dolan.
>
> Phelps had one race remaining. He was to swim the butterfly leg of
> the 400 medley relay, the final event of the championships later
> Saturday night.
>
> Phelps, considered the top U.S. swimmer headed into next summer's
> Olympics in Athens, set five world records at the world
championships
> last month.
>
> Phelps said Saturday's race was more of an adrenaline swim because
of
> his grueling schedule. He sped to a 25.15-second butterfly leg and
> hung on, a change from his usual strategy of even pacing
throughout
> the race.
>
> "There are certain times and places for this," Phelps said. "Right
> now, being at the end of this season, that's a pretty good
strategy.
> But if I had done that at the worlds, it would have come back and
> haunted me."
>
> Phelps now gets a well-deserved break from racing, with his next
> competitive meet scheduled for November in Australia.
>
> That doesn't mean he'll take a break from swimming, though. He
said
> he'll take maybe four or five days off before resuming his
> preparations for Athens.
>
> "I guess I'm kind of antsy when I spend too much time out of the
> water," he said.