I'm just old-school, I guess....

I like the way Peaty et al handled it. Just a big-ass smile and a fist pump, or something along those lines.

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I think you have to give the Bear a pass after the Bear was poked and he emerges as Papa Bear. He just needed to declare the status visually after his time confirmed he was the Papa Bear! My dad who knows nothing about swimming though and saw the number 1 gesture was immediately turned off saying something like, "I thought this guy wins 20 something gold medals, I think the world already knows he is number 1, why does he need to do this. No class". That was his immediate reaction, and there are likely a billion non swimmers (not Americans but from other countries) watching getting the same impression.

I don't need to give him a pass. I watched the video, leClos didn't do anything wrong that I could see. He was just getting himself ready, my guess is he was nervous after the 200 free.

LeClos made no secret about wanting to beat Phelps again, but so what?

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Its' called smart racing in an international meet. He's 31. He can't recover like he's 23 or 27 years old. His training coming in probably reflects that, and it's why the 400IM wasn't a goal, nor is trying to set records.

If he buries himself in the 200 fly needlessly, he can't anchor the 4x200 as effectively for team USA and could miss out on another gold... and he still has one more event.

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I think his kid did something that took him totally off-guard, and he just couldn't recover

Did anyone else notice the Baltimore "O!" during the anthem?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I thought the same thing.

Hosszu is probably more relieved that she's not to get screamed at and told to drown herself by her husband than anything else

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I wonder if I can get my wife to do that to me at my next IM....do you think that will elevate me to a poidum and KQ? Or will she just give up knowing I have no hope and save her energy and go to the spa?

True.

He's .... odd..... to put it mildly.

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In an interview I read earlier this morning he said he was reacting to the Baltimore "O" when he was laughing. Apparently it was a long time buddy of his that did it.

I'm not sure he has much in terms of slowtwitch capacity, or the desire to swim that long continuously. Hell, he might be like Janet Evans and hates open water. That's his challenge now. His top end, VO2 is slowly diminishing with age mostly from inability to recover as fast and absorb as much training load. He's getting it done with stroke mechanics, turns, starts and good pacing and whatever training he can absorb.

Might he make one last comeback just to qualify for #6 and maybe be fast enough for a relay? Maybe grab one last medal in the 200Fly? and 4x100 relay? But he won;t be dominant, but medals in 6 Olympics a major Olympic sport, would really be something nobody may ever match again in our lifetimes.

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What is a Baltimore "O"?

I think it is really cool what he is doing. Do I want to see him back in Tokyo....well only if he has a sold chance at a gold medal in something. As Springsteen said, the hard part is to know when to put the guitar down and stop going back on stage. If you can go out on top like he is now, that's the most awesome exit from the stage. His priorities could change with family life too.

I think it was more relief. Anyone who has followed him knows this was the race he REALLY wanted. The extra antics just added to the desire. As you were an exceptionally high level swimmer, did you ever have someone smack talk you? Sweet revenge is great, and I think Michael just felt so much relief and reward.

Obviously he was quite touched by this win. If you watched the award ceremony, he was tearing up early in the ceremony, and as it was 20+ golds he's been through, why tear up on this one. That gives a taste of how much this one meant. As to the laughing, he said some buddies came down from Baltimore, where he grew up and chanted an old thing they used to do for the Orioles. It took him back and broke the moment. I think you're seeing a guy that knows it's his last go-round and he's simply sucking every moment for all it has. He's the best that ever jumped in the pool, and that's saying a LOT. If you listen to Rowdy, he understands too.

Normally I'd agree 100% with you on this. But at this point with his career I found myself thinking you earned it.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

Baltimore Orioles fans shout out "ooohs!" during the singing of the anthem at the beginning of the line: "Oh, say does that star spangled banner..."

I'm not a fan of it in general, but at Camden Yards for an Oriole game, it is a "local flavor" kind of thing I guess. I do find it out of place at other venues but it still happens frequently at events (pro and college football) within driving distance of Baltimore.

I was never an exceptionally high level swimmer, but yeah, there was smack talk on deck. Never took it seriously, it was just fun.

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Thank you very much for this explanation. I had never heard of it.

My 14-yr old daughter noted that he seemed awfully "cocky" afterward and shouldn't he be above that by now?

Interesting, my 12 year old daughter made the same observation a few days ago, after an interview on TV.

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But let's be honest, Kitajima was the greatest breaststroker of all time (maybe still has that title) and Americans flipped out when he cheered the way Phelps did.

I was watching with my 13 year old who's also a swimmer. His initial reaction was to be turned off by it but after maybe 3 seconds he said some like"

"Good for him. He's literally the most decorated Olympian in history. If anyone deserves to do something like that, he does."

I don't remember that but that is definitely a fair point to make. Although we are comparing the greatest breaststroker to the greatest swimmer of all time. IDK and I don't want to defend it too much. I just found myself thinking MEH.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

Worth noting that dude swam a 5000 in practice in 47 minutes and kicked 50 x 100's in LCM on 1:20. But I agree that a 10k OWS wouldn't be the right event for him.

My guess is...he will be back. He seems like a lifer. While he did just fine, he shouldn't have been on the 800 free relay last night. He really enjoys the spotlight. He is one of the top 5 or so 100 freestylers in the world right now and he hasn't trained for it. So I'd love for him to do that event.

I think if the Olympics were held in December he wouldn't win the 200 fly. It doesn't diminish anything but objectively he got a little lucky last night. Lots of guys have gone under 1:53 in the past 4 years...just not last night

Also, if we are going to get rid of some of the antics can we stop being subject to Hosszu's husband. The yelling and chest pounding is brutal. Someone should grab that little pony tail and make him sit down.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "