VDH vs. Thorpe vs. Phelps

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 11:52 schreef Lurky_Luke het volgende:
Kijkend naar de individuele tijden gisteren op de 4x100: VDH was ruim een seconde sneller dan al die 31 anderen gisteravond (including Phelps en Thorpe).

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 12:30 schreef FritsVanEgters het volgende:

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Waar kun je alle tijden zien?

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 13:45 schreef FritsVanEgters het volgende:
On-topic:
Pieter was 1,35 seconde sneller dan Thorpe en "a whopping" 1,95 dan de 'nieuwe Marc Spitz'.

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 13:45 schreef FritsVanEgters het volgende:
Pieter was 1,35 seconde sneller dan Thorpe en "a whopping" 1,95 dan de 'nieuwe Marc Spitz'.

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 15:12 schreef Vince_ven het volgende:

De medaillespiegel tot nu toe zegt nog niks, de beste afstanden van thorpe en phelps zijn nu geweest dus , duh, ze hebben nu meer medailles dan VDH. Maar laatstgenoemde liet gister zien dat hij fantastisch in vorm is!!

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This is the one we've all been waiting for -- especially Phelps, who has longed for the chance to go head-to-head with Ian Thorpe for an Olympic gold medal.

On Monday, it finally happens.

Phelps vs. the Thorpedo in the 200 free final has provided the Olympic pool with its own version of Ali-Frazier. And everyone, it seems, wants to weigh in on this heavyweight clash.

"It will be the race of the century," said Bertrand Bristol, a little-known swimmer from the Seychelle Islands.

They are the two greatest male swimmers of this generation: Thorpe, who already has four gold medals in his trophy case; and Phelps, who was audacious enough to challenge Mark Spitz's record haul of seven golds at one games.

Phelps lost his chance to break Spitz's record when the Americans struggled to a bronze in the 400 free relay Sunday, their worst showing ever in that event. If he doesn't beat Thorpe, the quest to win seven golds will be over, too.

But Phelps said he wasn't thinking about records when he decided to take on the Australian.

"I wanted to race Thorpe in a freestyle event before either one of us is done," Phelps said. "It's been his race the last four years."

They aren't the only swimmers in the final. There's defending Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands, not to mention Australian star Grant Hackett.

As van den Hoogenband walked off the deck after Sunday's preliminaries, someone shouted out: "Will this be the greatest race?"

"Ever," van den Hoogenband replied, smiling.

But the focus remains clearly on Thorpe, who holds the world record, and Phelps, the 19-year-old challenger from Baltimore.

This will be their only head-to-head meeting in an individual event. In a sense, Phelps is like a boxer who puts on a few pounds to take a high-profile fight in a higher weight class. This is clearly Thorpe's territory, the Aussie having posted eight of the top nine times in swimming history, including the world record of 1 minute, 44.6 seconds at the 2001 world championships.

Phelps' best time in the 200 is 1:45.99, making him the clear underdog.

"He has little chance to beat Thorpe," Greek swimmer Ioannis Kokkodis said.

But Phelps has never shied away from a challenge. He qualified for a record six individual events at the U.S. Olympic trials this year. He dropped one for competitive reasons, but left himself with a schedule that could encompass eight events and as many as 18 races over the eight-day Athens meet.

"It's going to take a fast time to win," Phelps said. "It's going to be a very challenging event."

Thorpe insisted that he wasn't spending too much time worrying about Phelps, who has supplanted the Aussie as the world's most dominant swimmer.

"I don't look too much at my competitors," he said. "I'm focusing in on what I have to do. If I can do that and do it well, I'll have a good 200."

This showdown will have to stand on its merits, because neither champion nor challenger did any trash-talking in the days leading up to their clash. In fact, they seem to have a genuine respect for each other.

"I like Michael. We're friends," Thorpe said. "Michael is one of the most talented athletes that we've seen. I'm very supportive in his quest to chase seven gold medals."

The two gave a tantalizing preview in Sunday night's semifinals, swimming side-by-side in the second heat. Thorpe touched first, with Phelps just 0.43 seconds behind. They bumped fists at the lane rope and headed off in opposite directions to climb out of the pool.

Thorpe has said all along that he doesn't think Phelps -- or anyone else -- will approach Spitz's record. While that sounds like a dig at Phelps, Thorpe said he's actually worried that people will downgrade the teenager's achievements if he doesn't match Spitz.

"The risk that comes and the worry that I have when people concentrate so much on that one particular number is that anything that is short of that will be deemed as being a failure, and I don't want to see that happen," Thorpe said. "Michael has a tremendous future in this sport and we should be judging him on his own performances rather than trying to compare him to someone else."

On Monday, Phelps will see how he stacks up to the Thorpedo.

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 18:23 schreef FritsVanEgters het volgende:
Volgens Jack van Gelder ergert VdH zich aan de mediahype rond Thorpe en Phelps.

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 18:23 schreef Zwansen het volgende:

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Net zei ie zelf toch echt van niet...

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 16:43 schreef julekes het volgende:

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cnn.com

Erg vreemd dat cnn de kansen van VDH volledig negeert...

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Op maandag 16 augustus 2004 18:32 schreef FritsVanEgters het volgende:
18.45