It recalls the halcyon days of the Bulls, the seasons when they were billed as “Michael Jordan and the Jordanaires.”
With competition set to begin on Saturday, Michael Phelps is the Jordan-like center of attention for the U.S. Olympic men’s swimming team as he seeks to equal or top the seven gold medals Mark Spitz collected in 1972.
That story line will be followed closely through next week. But there is more than Phelps to the U.S. team, particularly on the men’s side.
“I’ve been out on a limb all year, but I’ve felt this is the best men’s team we’ve had since ’76, when they won every gold medal but one,” men’s coach Eddie Reese says.
Mark Schubert, the U.S. women’s coach, is more circumspect.
“I’m not going out on any limb,” he says.
That comment reflects the uncertainty surrounding his team, which includes two world record-holders and a plethora of question marks.
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Amanda Beard, in her third Olympics, is the record-holder in the 200-meter breaststroke (2 minutes 22.44 seconds), but will be challenged by Australia’s Leisel Jones. Natalie Coughlin, in her first Olympics, is the record-holder in 100-meter backstroke (:59.58) and remains the only woman to break one minute in that event.
That makes her the only prohibitive favorite among the U.S. women, who will need to produce big surprises to achieve any kind of success.
Some of them could come from 15-year-old Katie Hoff, a club teammate of Phelps, who is entered in the 200 and 400 individual medley. Others could come from 31-year-old Jenny Thompson, who is competing in her fourth Olympics. With 10 medals on her resume, Thompson has a chance to top the 11 won by Spitz and Matt Biondi and become the U.S. leader in Games career medals won.
No such uncertainty surrounds the men’s team, which will renew its rivalry with Australia armed with Phelps and four other world record-holders.
Lenny Krayzelburg set his mark (:53.60) in the 100-meter backstroke in 1999 and will swim as an underdog to teammate Aaron Peirsol, who won the event at the Olympic trials. That’s where Peirsol set his own world record in the 200 back (1:54.74), a race he hasn’t lost in four years and is expected to dominate here.
The trials also saw Ian Crocker set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly (:50.76) and Brendan Hansen do likewise in both the 100- (:59.30) and 200-meter (2:09.04) breaststroke.
“It kind of makes me get chills because I know this team has so much potential,” Peirsol says. “Potential can be a dangerous thing, but we know how to use it.”
Says Crocker: “All of us have gas left in the tank and something left to burn.”