Day 4, Blog 5
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The world is buzzing with this historical moment: Michael Phelps the Swimmer has become the greatest Olympian ever! He has now acquired 15 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals giving him a total of 19 medals.
Phelps is now "universally recognized as the greatest swimmer in history. He won eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Games, the most first place finishes at any single Olympic Games. He has won a total of sixty-six medals in major international competitions, fifty-four gold, nine silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships
Has anyone ever wondered whether records will continue to be broken ad infinitum or will there be a time when it will be impossible for man to get any faster at anything?
Remember when Carl Lewis was the first to win 100 m in under 10 seconds? Now as Kim Collins has predicted, possibly all the sprinters in the 100 m event this year will be runners who have achieved the under 10 second status for this race. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) now holds the record at 9.69 secs.
“The gymnast whose career record for most Olympic medals was broken by Michael Phelps says she doesn't mind that the American swimmer has surpassed her mark.
Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics while competing for the Soviet Union, was at the Aquatics Centre in London on Tuesday to watch Phelps, and she says she was happy for him.
"I saw him swim, and I saw my record swim away," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
"He's very talented - no doubt about that," the 77-year-old added. (Sacramento Bee)
As sportsmen and sportswomen prepare during the four year interval between the Olympic Games, their aim is to reach or over reach the limits set by previous Olympians. So far they have managed to cause these records to tumble in the London 2012 Summer Games.
For those who like details, here they are:
World and Olympic records broken at London 2012
ARCHERY
Men
72 Arrows Ranking Round – Individiual — Im Dong Hyun, South Korea, 699, July 27 (Previous Record: Im Dong Hyun, South Korea, 696, May 2, 2012).
216 Arrows Ranking Round – Team — South Korea (Im Dong Hyun, Kim Bub-min, Oh Jin-hyek), 2,087, July 27 (Previous record: South Korea – Im Dong Hyun, Kim Woojin, Oh Jin-hyek, 2,069, May 2, 2012).
SWIMMING
Men
100m Breaststroke (Final) — Cameron van der Burgh, South Africa, 58.46, July 29 (Previous Record: Brenton Rickard, Australia, 58.58, July 27, 2009).
Women
100m Butterfly (Final) — Dana Vollmer, United States, 55.98, July 29 (Previous Record: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden, 56.06, July 27, 2009).
400m Individual Medley (Final) — Ye Shiwen, China, 4:28.43, July 28 (Previous Record: Stephanie Rice, Australia, 4:29.45, Aug. 10, 2008).
Women
100m Backstroke (Heat) — Emily Seebohm, Australia, 58.23, July 29 (Previous Record: Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe, 58.77, Aug. 11, 2008).
100m Butterfly (Heat) — Dana Vollmer, United States, 56.25, July 28 (Previous Record: Inge de Bruijin, Netherlands, 56.61, Sept. 17, 2000).
100m Butterfly (Final) — Dana Vollmer, United States, 55.98, July 29 (Previous Record: Dana Vollmer, United States, 56.25, July 28, 2012).
200m Freestyle (Final) — Allison Schmitt, United States, 1:53.61, July 31 (Previous Record: Federica Pellegrini, Italy, 1:54.82, Aug. 13, 2008).
200m Individual Medley (Semi) — Ye Shiwen, China, 2:08.39, July 30 (Previous Record: Stephanie Rice, Australia, 2:08.45, Aug. 13, 2008).
200m Individual Medley (Final) — Ye Shiwen, China, 2:07.57, July 31 (Previous Record: Ye Shiwen, China, 2:08.39, July 30, 2012).
400m Freestyle (Final) — Camille Muffat, France, 4:01.45, July 29 (Previous Record: Federica Pellegrini, Italy, 4:02.19, Aug. 10, 2008).
400m Individual Medley (Final) — Ye Shiwen, China, 4:28.43, July 28 (Previous Record: Stephanie Rice, Australia, 4:29.45, Aug. 10, 2008).
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay — Australia (Alicia Coutts, Cate Campbell, Brittany Elmslie, Melanie Schlanger), 3:33.15, July 28 (Previous Record: Netherlands – Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis, 3:33.76, Aug. 10, 2008).
WEIGHTLIFTING
Men
62kg (Total) — Un Guk Kim, North Korea, 327, July 30, 2012 (Previous Record: Zhang Jie, China, 326, April 27, 2008).
Women
53kg (Clean & Jerk) — Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Kazakhstan, 131, July 29 (Previous Record: Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Kazakhstan, 130, Nov. 6, 2011
DID YOU KNOW THAT
The Olympic Motto which is “Swifter, Higher, Stronger” came from Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Games who in 1921 borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger")?
