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Saturday, August 14

Phelps closer to Olympic `miracle'

ATHENS - On introduction, Michael Phelps stood there with his hands on his hips, bypassing the traditional wave to the Summer Games crowd for a cold-as-ice staredown with a lane of perfectly flat water that was Mount Everest tall.

He had entered the arena with Eminem's ``Till I Collapse'' raging in his ears. Collapse? This kid was a million miles from any collapse. Phelps' amazing athletic energy would've blown the roof off the Olympic Aquatic Center, if only the Greeks had ever put the roof on.

Swimming has never seen a specimen like this, a 6-5 condor with LeBron-like skills. Like James, Phelps only reminds you that he's 19 when he smiles in that goofy-kid way of his.

And no, he wasn't smiling in the seconds before his first race, the 400-meter Individual Medley. You don't smile when you're trying to win your first gold medal while the world is waiting for you to win your eighth.

He'd caught most of ``Miracle'' Friday night, bypassing tradition one more time. Never mind attending the opening ceremonies; he didn't even watch them on TV. Phelps fell fast asleep before the American college boys could beat the Soviets' Big Red Machine all over again, but he still had his dreams.

Did he believe in miracles?

Swimming people said Phelps had the talent to break Mark Spitz' record of seven gold medals in a single Summer Games, but only this much was clear: Phelps wasn't going to break that record if he gagged in an event he dominates, the 400 IM.

So he didn't gag. The great ones never do. Phelps wasn't nervous as race time approached; he'd gotten the jitters out of his system in the morning heats. His coach, Bob Bowman, reported that his prodigy had been uptight on the ride over to the finals.

But that was anticipation, not nerves. ``I was never more excited about a race before,'' Phelps would say.

So he dove headfirst into his historic challenge, taking the early lead in the butterfly and then spreading his majesty across the backstroke, breast and free. At the end, Phelps was only racing against himself. He touched the wall and stopped the clock at 4:08.26, beating his own world record by 15 hundredths of a second.

From Lane 4, Phelps grabbed his head with his hands as if in a state of disbelief. He thrust his left fist into the air and then studied the board. Finally, that big goofy smile made him 19 again. ``I was pumped,'' Phelps said. He heard his teammate, Erik Vendt, shouting in Lane 1. Phelps looked back at the board and saw that his friend had finished second, 3.55 ticks behind, making the race more perfect than it had already been.

``I flipped out,'' Phelps said.

The swimmers hugged. Vendt raised Phelps' right arm in heavyweight champeeen form.

``This is a dream come true to me,'' the winner said. ``Since I was a little kid, every single day (I was) waking up and hoping to win an Olympic gold medal. ... This is everything I've always wanted to do.''

Not quite everything. Phelps needed to get up on the stand and hear his country's song.

They put a gold medal around his neck, then an olive wreath on his head. Phelps kept fighting back the tears as he placed the wreath over his heart and mouthed the anthem's words.

``I thought about this every day for my whole entire swimming career,'' Phelps would say. ``Standing up there on the podium is something I've always wanted to do, and it's an amazing feeling. Standing up in front of 10,000 people here and hearing your national anthem play, there's nothing better than that.''

Nothing except doing it over and over again, until a sport desperate for a transcending megastar decides that eight is enough.

``He broke the record without taking too much out of the tank,'' said Bowman.

That was the coach's way of saying his boy was ready to take a whack at breaking Spitz' record, and not merely tying it.

``I got one event down and six to go,'' Phelps had said.

Six to go?

``I think he wasn't thinking very clearly,'' Bowman said.

Eddie Reese, the American coach, hasn't officially added Phelps to the relay team that goes Sunday night. Phelps didn't swim the 100 free at the Olympic trials, but Reese isn't dumb enough to throw himself in front of this train. The Games, NBC and corporate America want Phelps in eight races, and so Phelps will compete in eight races.

That doesn't mean he'll win all eight and turn Spitz' record to dust. Once upon a time, Tiger Woods was going to shred Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles. Remember?

So Saturday night, Phelps made sure he stayed in the blissful moment. He wasn't getting caught up in the relay debate, or in Monday night's mano-a-mano with Australia's Ian Thorpe.

``This is probably one of the most emotional swims I've ever had,'' he said. ``I'm going to dedicate this to myself.''

He was the one who put in all the blood, sweat and tears.

``My goal is right here,'' he said at his post-race news conference, holding up his medal with his right hand. ``I'm perfectly happy right now.''

Can he stay happy with one when the world wants eight? If the Americans beat the Soviets in Lake Placid, why can't Phelps beat Spitz in Athens?

The kid couldn't finish watching his inspirational movie Friday night, but he did end his first race in the arms of Vendt, native of North Easton, Mass., the very home of a goalie named Jim Craig.

Does Phelps believe in miracles?

Where's Al Michaels when you need him?

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