It has been all over the news now and I am guessing that I am probably one of the last people to blog about this but still, I have to give my two cents on the matter.
In the most anticipated relay in London, surprises were abound as the USA failed to defend their gold and brought home the silver medal everyone expected they would. But the team they yielded their supremacy to was not the heralded Australians with their Weapons of Mass Destruction--the collective nickname of the sprint tandem of James "Missile" Magnussen and James "Rocket" Roberts. Rather, it was their French arch-rivals who did the dethroning behind the blistering chase down anchor swim of Yannick Agnel.
In a rather surprising twist of fate, the Americans found themselves at the receiving end of an upset after a Jason Lezak-esque Hail Mary swim from Agnel who split a 46.74 to Ryan Lochte's 47.74. The French have finally won that elusive Olympic gold medal while the Americans, as a consolation prize of sorts, still managed to defeat the mighty Aussies.
The Duel that Never Happened
Many thought, myself included, that this relay will be a duel between the Aussies and the Americans while the other teams slug it out for third place. After all, America is the defending gold medalists while the Australians have their freestyle WMD's--Magnussen and Roberts--to reckon with. But what went wrong that this highly anticipated duel never materialized? Let's break it down and find out.
The Aussies went with the team of Magnussen, Matt Targett, Eamon Sullivan and James Roberts. Strategy wise, the arrangement of the swimmers is sound and should have been dominating. Their lead off swimmer is the fastest 100 freestyler in the world; more than capable of clearing 48 seconds and can possibly challenge the world record of 46.94. After him are two battle-hardened veterans who have the ability to swim a 48-low on a flat start. Special mention has to be made of course to third swimmer Eamon Sullivan who is a former record holder himself in the 100 freestyle. And to bring them home, you have the other half of the WMD in Roberts who should easily be able to time a 46-high to a 47-low given that he will be able to use a flying start--a relay turnover technique which would at least subtract half a second to his flat start personal best of 47.54.
On paper, the Aussies could have gotten a 3:09.1 with Magnussen timing a 46.90, Targett a 47.60, Sullivan a 47.50 and Roberts a 47.10. That would have been good enough for the gold as well as the second fastest time in history in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
But, like I said in my previous entry, what is good on paper does not necessarily translate to reality especially when your two aces did not quite deliver.
The middle-swimmers of Targett and Sullivan could have swum faster but timing a 47 point is a good enough. But the WMD's bombed greatly, so to speak. Magnussen led the Aussies off with a 48.03--a full second off his personal best. Roberts closed with a 48.09--from a flying start I might add; which means he could have gone slower if it were a normal flat start--half a second off his personal best.
What happened you might ask? I really do not know the answer to that. Perhaps the pressure got to Magnussen and Roberts who, mind you, are first time Olympians. Perhaps the two miscalculated their speed and employed a wrong strategy. Whatever the reason was, your guess is as good as mine.
Reshuffling the Aces
For the USA, I have to give them credit for assembling the best swimmers at their disposal to go up against their rivals. Everyone was wondering who would join Nathan Adrian and Cullen Jones in the finals. Would it be the ever reliable Michael Phelps who holds the world record in that event with Jones, Garett Webber-Gale and Jason Lezak? Or would it be the inexperienced 100 freestyler but the current holder of the Greatest Swimmer in the World moniker Ryan Lochte?
Or would it be both of them? Which makes perfect sense because in times like these, you need your best swimmers in the front lines; swimmers who do not crack under pressure but rather, thrive in it.
In the end, the USA was represented by Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, Cullen Jones and Ryan Lochte. Reading into their arrangement, with Phelps ceding his traditional lead-off spot to Adrian, the Americans wanted to get as close to Magnussen as possible by having their fastest swimmer go first. That would give Adrian enough incentive to go a 47-mid to high since he will be holding off a hard-charging Magnussen in the return 50. After Adrian, it would be Phelps' turn to chase the leaders and turn in a 47-mid. Jones would then turn in a 47-mid to low to give Lochte enough of a lead to close it or enough distance to make up. Lochte then would be tasked to bring it home possibly with a 47-mid to high.
And the plan worked! But only to a degree, of course. Adrian out-swam Magnussen, finally breaking 48 seconds in the process by turning in a 47.89. Phelps left everybody in his wake by turning in a 47.15 split--the fastest among his teammates. Jones did his part by swimming a 47-high though I thought he could have gone a bit faster to give Lochte enough of a cushion to bring it home. Lochte, though being chased down in the end by Agnel, still managed to get a decent 47.74.
Second Guessing the Greatest
After that chase down, as well as Matt Grevers' 47.5 split in the morning prelims, some have been second guessing the decision to insert Lochte instead of Grevers in the finals. It makes sense that Grevers could have swam faster by almost half a second from his morning time. Also, Grevers is a much more experienced freestyle relay swimmer--or a 100 meter freestyler for that matter--than Lochte. So why would Lochte be inserted when it seems that Grevers is the better choice?
Like I said, in times like these, one needs to assemble the greatest swimmers in one's line up--swimmers who do not crack under pressure. Ryan Lochte is without a doubt one of the greatest swimmers of all time. If such an ace is at your disposal, does not logic dictate that you utilize him? For a decorated swimmer such as himself, his genius and skill in the water trumps whatever disadvantage his inexperience may bring about.
Also, one has to remember that the US team was built to withstand the challenge imposed by the Aussies, them and them alone. If you look at the splits, Lochte clearly got the better of his counterpart in James Roberts, 47.74 to 48.09. That should count for something.
Ryan Lochte was the best choice to be the fourth man of the team. He and Phelps are the two greatest swimmers in the world and to have them both in one relay team makes that foursome a powerhouse.
Yannick Agnel was simply faster than Lochte. Lochte did not let up nor did he allow Agnel to chase him down.
The Americans lost to the better team. While everyone expected--even wanted--that team to be the Australians, it was the French, who were all but forgotten but nonetheless had a score to settle, who dethroned them.
If anything, that is the Olympic spirit right there. Never giving up and fighting until the very last moment.
Take Your Mark!
The Duel that Never Happened
Many thought, myself included, that this relay will be a duel between the Aussies and the Americans while the other teams slug it out for third place. After all, America is the defending gold medalists while the Australians have their freestyle WMD's--Magnussen and Roberts--to reckon with. But what went wrong that this highly anticipated duel never materialized? Let's break it down and find out.
The Aussies went with the team of Magnussen, Matt Targett, Eamon Sullivan and James Roberts. Strategy wise, the arrangement of the swimmers is sound and should have been dominating. Their lead off swimmer is the fastest 100 freestyler in the world; more than capable of clearing 48 seconds and can possibly challenge the world record of 46.94. After him are two battle-hardened veterans who have the ability to swim a 48-low on a flat start. Special mention has to be made of course to third swimmer Eamon Sullivan who is a former record holder himself in the 100 freestyle. And to bring them home, you have the other half of the WMD in Roberts who should easily be able to time a 46-high to a 47-low given that he will be able to use a flying start--a relay turnover technique which would at least subtract half a second to his flat start personal best of 47.54.
On paper, the Aussies could have gotten a 3:09.1 with Magnussen timing a 46.90, Targett a 47.60, Sullivan a 47.50 and Roberts a 47.10. That would have been good enough for the gold as well as the second fastest time in history in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
But, like I said in my previous entry, what is good on paper does not necessarily translate to reality especially when your two aces did not quite deliver.
The middle-swimmers of Targett and Sullivan could have swum faster but timing a 47 point is a good enough. But the WMD's bombed greatly, so to speak. Magnussen led the Aussies off with a 48.03--a full second off his personal best. Roberts closed with a 48.09--from a flying start I might add; which means he could have gone slower if it were a normal flat start--half a second off his personal best.
What happened you might ask? I really do not know the answer to that. Perhaps the pressure got to Magnussen and Roberts who, mind you, are first time Olympians. Perhaps the two miscalculated their speed and employed a wrong strategy. Whatever the reason was, your guess is as good as mine.
Reshuffling the Aces
For the USA, I have to give them credit for assembling the best swimmers at their disposal to go up against their rivals. Everyone was wondering who would join Nathan Adrian and Cullen Jones in the finals. Would it be the ever reliable Michael Phelps who holds the world record in that event with Jones, Garett Webber-Gale and Jason Lezak? Or would it be the inexperienced 100 freestyler but the current holder of the Greatest Swimmer in the World moniker Ryan Lochte?
Or would it be both of them? Which makes perfect sense because in times like these, you need your best swimmers in the front lines; swimmers who do not crack under pressure but rather, thrive in it.
In the end, the USA was represented by Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, Cullen Jones and Ryan Lochte. Reading into their arrangement, with Phelps ceding his traditional lead-off spot to Adrian, the Americans wanted to get as close to Magnussen as possible by having their fastest swimmer go first. That would give Adrian enough incentive to go a 47-mid to high since he will be holding off a hard-charging Magnussen in the return 50. After Adrian, it would be Phelps' turn to chase the leaders and turn in a 47-mid. Jones would then turn in a 47-mid to low to give Lochte enough of a lead to close it or enough distance to make up. Lochte then would be tasked to bring it home possibly with a 47-mid to high.
And the plan worked! But only to a degree, of course. Adrian out-swam Magnussen, finally breaking 48 seconds in the process by turning in a 47.89. Phelps left everybody in his wake by turning in a 47.15 split--the fastest among his teammates. Jones did his part by swimming a 47-high though I thought he could have gone a bit faster to give Lochte enough of a cushion to bring it home. Lochte, though being chased down in the end by Agnel, still managed to get a decent 47.74.
Second Guessing the Greatest
After that chase down, as well as Matt Grevers' 47.5 split in the morning prelims, some have been second guessing the decision to insert Lochte instead of Grevers in the finals. It makes sense that Grevers could have swam faster by almost half a second from his morning time. Also, Grevers is a much more experienced freestyle relay swimmer--or a 100 meter freestyler for that matter--than Lochte. So why would Lochte be inserted when it seems that Grevers is the better choice?
Like I said, in times like these, one needs to assemble the greatest swimmers in one's line up--swimmers who do not crack under pressure. Ryan Lochte is without a doubt one of the greatest swimmers of all time. If such an ace is at your disposal, does not logic dictate that you utilize him? For a decorated swimmer such as himself, his genius and skill in the water trumps whatever disadvantage his inexperience may bring about.
Also, one has to remember that the US team was built to withstand the challenge imposed by the Aussies, them and them alone. If you look at the splits, Lochte clearly got the better of his counterpart in James Roberts, 47.74 to 48.09. That should count for something.
Ryan Lochte was the best choice to be the fourth man of the team. He and Phelps are the two greatest swimmers in the world and to have them both in one relay team makes that foursome a powerhouse.
Yannick Agnel was simply faster than Lochte. Lochte did not let up nor did he allow Agnel to chase him down.
The Americans lost to the better team. While everyone expected--even wanted--that team to be the Australians, it was the French, who were all but forgotten but nonetheless had a score to settle, who dethroned them.
If anything, that is the Olympic spirit right there. Never giving up and fighting until the very last moment.
Take Your Mark!
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