By BRIAN COSTELLO, AP
Posted: 4:14 am
June 29, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. - Michael Phelps' second shot at knocking Mark Spitz out of the record book begins today at the U.S. Olympic trials.
He will get in the pool one day before his 23rd birthday to begin his quest for eight gold medals. He came up short four years ago in Athens when he won six golds.
Phelps is entered in nine individual events here, but is likely to drop out of a few of those.
"I don't even know what I'm entered in, to be honest," Phelps said Friday.
He will begin his chase today in the 400 freestyle and 400 individual medley. This week, he is also entered in the 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 200 IM, 100 fly, 100 and 200 backstrokes and the 100 free. He holds the world record in the 200 fly, 200 free and the 200 and 400 IM.
"Michael is entered is more events than he will swim," said Bob Bowman, his coach. "What we have is a basic framework, and we'll go from there. I think the 2004 and 2007 [World Championship] programs worked pretty well. We'll probably stick with that."
The top two finishers in each event qualify. Phelps should qualify in at least five events and then compete in three relays in Beijing giving him a shot at Spitz's record seven gold medals, set at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In 2004, Phelps collected six golds and two bronzes. He is glad the wait is over.
"It's definitely been a long wait," Phelps said. "You wait four long years, and it's finally here. I'm ready to race, and I'm excited about the event I start off with [400 IM]."
Phelps will draw the most attention in Omaha, but there will be other story lines worth paying attention to at the Qwest Center.
What the swimmers are wearing is sure to be a topic of conversation. Speedo's "LZR Racer" has caused a stir. Swimmers are breaking records at a rapid pace in this technologically advanced suit. Records are sure to fall this week, but it will be interesting to see how much credit the suit gets compared with the swimmers.
On the women's side, Katie Hoff is entered in seven events and could be the female version of Phelps. Dara Torres, 41, is making a comeback after having a child two years ago. She has swum in an American-record four Olympics. Playboy model Amanda Beard will be back in the pool, too, trying to make her third Olympic team.
