WATERCOOLER CHAT: LOCHTE NEW CHAMP, USA BBALL ON TOP
OLYMPICS
It has finally begun:Â The 2012 Olympics.
The first notable story came from swimming in the 400m medley. Michael Phelps won an incredible 8 gold medals in 2008. He was an American hero for the next 4 years, picking up countless endorsement deals and being renowned as one of the world’s best athletes. But, this year, there’s a new U.S. swimmer right on his tail hoping to unseat Michael Phleps as the world’s best swimmer. And that is Ryan Lochte.  In the 400m medley he took on Phelps, and while it was an intense competition, Lochte won the event… by a lot in the end. Phelps finish didn’t even warrant a medal. Is there a new hero on the horizon?
Given Lochte’s immediate new status as the best swimmer out there, the U.S. decided he should anchor in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay. In lamens terms, that’s when the top 4 swimmers swim as fast as they can — freestyle being the easiest form of swimming that we all learned as kids. So it’s always interesting to see who the best freestyle swimmers in the country are. Lochte would anchor, and Phelps would go second. But, even though the Americans are the reigning Olympic champions in this event, the Australians were the favorites in this relay. The Americans led the whole way, and then Lochte got in the pool and in the final lap, France pushed ahead in alarming fashion (something only possible with extreme adrenaline) and won the race by less than a second. The Americans got silver — disappointing, but not bad.
And, in basketball, Team USA finally took the court in their first official Olympic game. They would have to take on Tony Parker and Team France. France is a formidable opponent, but when they’re going against a team that has LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant… that’s not gonna be easy. Kevin Durant led the way with 22 points, and LeBron James didn’t even have to try his hardest. Team USA looks quite good, and their most difficult competitor will likely be Argentina (which has Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola). But, as of now, Team USA looks rather sharp out there. Team USA 98, France 71.
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