Butterfly Bryce

As the Apollo astronauts climbed into outer space, sections of their profession would be dropped. When Michael Phelps returned to the mainland at the end of the trial of the U.S. Olympic swimming pool, he threw his cap, goggles and a second place medal in the stands.
Back at his hotel Monday night, he continued to lighten his load, predictably fall one of the six individual events in which he qualified to swim next month's Athens Olympics. "I do not know if it was easy or hard," Phelps said after sleeping on the issue and formally withdraw the 200 meter backstroke, "but it was the right decision."
No debate, but it has been imposed to think straight after the race over two miles over seven days and placed in 40 others in the practice pool, where he was yesterday morning, working on his starts, trying make up the tenths of seconds that could turn into an Olympic legend.
Today, Phelps is scheduled to be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He missed the closing ceremonies yesterday evening to attend a recording of the Espy. At noon yesterday, he has fulfilled the objective of your 19 years the average American male, getting up close and personal with supermodel Cindy Crawford, but at a news conference during which she was portrayed as a man "ambassador" for Omega watches.
This photo was during the stage on which Phelps has officially announced his individual Olympic program. Four hours earlier, he told The Sun the thought process that still has him on pace to win eight medals, if not match the seven golds won by Mark Spitz. Phelps had reiterated his desire to be on three relay teams, and U.S. coach Eddie Reese is all for it. At a minimum, this means three more races in Athens, Greece, and something had to give.
Three rounds of the 200m backstroke and a climb after Aaron Peirsol were dumped, avoiding a repeat of the August 19 dead Monday night when Phelps finished second in the 200 backstroke, reminded everyone that he is nearly invincible in the 200 individual medley and came back for a semifinal in the 100m butterfly.
Over the next five weeks, will focus on his start and turns in the shortest race on his program, the 100m butterfly, where Ian Crocker board. The gold medal is almost a lock to be on the front of the podium ceremony for the 400 individual medley relay medal, a bit of Aug. 21 pomp that is literally the last point on the eight days the Olympic swimming program.
The U.S. team medley relay is also the favorite that Phelps is in both individual medleys and 200 butterfly. He figures to become the second man to win two more individual gold medals, and the 200 backstroke just too many compromises in a program that could see the race 17 times over eight days.
It has many here in September, but paid the price. "I would not be able to forgive me," his coach, Bob Bowman, said: "If I ran into the ground and someone slipped in the 200m individual medley and beat him. Bowman received an emphatic "no" when asked Phelps if he also wanted to drop the 200 freestyle and go in only four individual events. That's what Mark Spitz in 1972, when he posted his seven medals Golden, an incentive for Phelps.
If the fans here thought the confrontation Crocker-Phelps was great, the 200 freestyle at Athens Olympic promises to be an epic, the NBC analyst Rowdy Gaines called "The Race of the Century".
Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands shocked Ian Thorpe and the host country taking the gold at the Sydney Olympics. Thorpe came back the following year with his world records, fifth and sixth in the distance, but he has not approached its peak of 1:44.06 since.
Fellow Australian Grant Hackett remains focused on 1500, but has also increased faster than the American record of 1:45.99 Phelps. "This will be the only time I get to go head to head in the frequency 200.