Mudge! You don't like the Olympics? Sure the saccharine narratives about "overcoming adversity" are awful--has there ever been an olympic athlete whose mother or dog didn't survive leukemia?--but you can mute it. And those boys and girls can swim, run, and tumble!
I've just never been a fan of the Olympics... It goes on forever... I admire the training and dedication of the athletes, but I can't watch it or get interested.
I learned the names of several (maybe 10) countries that I had never before heard. Seychelles? Nauru? Eritrea? Also there were areas of which I had heard but did not realize were actual countries, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, and Mauritius among them. Apparently I am guilty of a considerably higher degree of ethnocentrism than I had expected. I am determined now to watch Animaniacs until I learn all 195 of the world's countries. Or at least the countries as they existed in 1993: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtdQ8bTvRc
If you watch, you'll see that most of the middle and long distance swimmers have a strong side that they favor. Long ago, Rowdy Gaines and his coaches came up with the idea that you could take advantage of that by really accelerating through your stroke--and kind of "loping" forward--on your strong side and diminish the effect of breathing--which generally slows you down.
Before that, it was thought that you should breathe on both sides, but I think the consensus now is that, if you can, great, but if you don't want to or can't, you can do fine breathing on one side--especially since you'll get more oxygen that way.
Phelps is more obvious because he's really strong on his right side, but most of the other guys do it to some degree, too.
How about Lochte and Soni with their surprise gold-medal finishes last night? I was holding an armload of socks, jumping up and down on my squeaky living room floor cheering for Soni!
9 comments:
FUCK YEAH!!
i was watching that... amazing acceleration at the end. First time i was cheering out loud at a swimming event.
Olympics, ugh...
ugh!?
why you say 'ugh'?... mudgie mudgerson?
Mudge! You don't like the Olympics? Sure the saccharine narratives about "overcoming adversity" are awful--has there ever been an olympic athlete whose mother or dog didn't survive leukemia?--but you can mute it. And those boys and girls can swim, run, and tumble!
ceb
I've just never been a fan of the Olympics... It goes on forever... I admire the training and dedication of the athletes, but I can't watch it or get interested.
I learned the names of several (maybe 10) countries that I had never before heard. Seychelles? Nauru? Eritrea? Also there were areas of which I had heard but did not realize were actual countries, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, and Mauritius among them. Apparently I am guilty of a considerably higher degree of ethnocentrism than I had expected. I am determined now to watch Animaniacs until I learn all 195 of the world's countries. Or at least the countries as they existed in 1993: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtdQ8bTvRc
chinny brah... please comment on Phelps' loping freestyle stroke: right.left..........right.left...... etc....
as opposed to right...left...right...left
Hey Ogre,
If you watch, you'll see that most of the middle and long distance swimmers have a strong side that they favor. Long ago, Rowdy Gaines and his coaches came up with the idea that you could take advantage of that by really accelerating through your stroke--and kind of "loping" forward--on your strong side and diminish the effect of breathing--which generally slows you down.
Before that, it was thought that you should breathe on both sides, but I think the consensus now is that, if you can, great, but if you don't want to or can't, you can do fine breathing on one side--especially since you'll get more oxygen that way.
Phelps is more obvious because he's really strong on his right side, but most of the other guys do it to some degree, too.
ceb
How about Lochte and Soni with their surprise gold-medal finishes last night? I was holding an armload of socks, jumping up and down on my squeaky living room floor cheering for Soni!
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