August 17, 2008

So, everybody following Phelps likely knows about the magical 7th gold he attained in the 100m Butterfly edging Cavic by 0.01 seconds. It’s moments like these you cannot manufacture and reaffirms your faith in human progress through the relentless pursuit of perfection. Phelps is about as close as it gets to the adage ‘born to swim’ as this freeze will attest to:  

Phelps Butterfly

Anybody watching the replays on the seemingly endless camera angles would have to marvel at the speed Phelps’ hands surge into the touchpad to beat a seemingly ahead Cavic. In swim-speak, this is called a ‘half-stroke’ and it is a testament to Phelps’ preparation, pool awareness and will to win that he chose to go with the half-stroke vs. Cavic’s stretch option. Even if you watch the underwater replays in slow-motion, it blows the mind as to how fast Phelps finished that half-stroke to Cavic. The difference in frame-rate is amazing and explains why the optical illusion of Cavic in the lead was emphatically nullified. I couldn’t help but draw an odd parallel to one of the football greats - Diego Maradona and his ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup Quarter-Finals. If you watch itin real-time, it’s near impossible to pick-up on Maradona’s lightning quick hand-flick to assist the ball into the net. It put Argentina ahead and was eventually the difference in the 2-1 victory. Maradona said:

un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios

Which translates to:

a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God

There’s no questioning the illegality of that goal and Maradona’s ethics when it comes to that act. But it is funny how champions always assess opportunities in a most sub-conscious way mortals cannot even begin to understand. It’s not as though this ability falls into their laps, it is really a result of their relentless preparation and training. At that moment, they didn’t need to consciously think of anything, they just did it because they’d walked this road before. They found a way to win. This photo (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated) really captures the improbability of it all: They both had a choice, fortune favored the more prepared mind.

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