Slipped Goggles and Notes on Commentary

Last night, Michael Phelps won the 200m fly.

And after his second race that night (4x200m free relay), it was disclosed that his toss of his goggles at the end of his first race wasn't so much because he didn't meet his personal best, but because throughout his race, his goggles were full of water.

I would have chucked those goggles, too.

However, listening to the commentary, it was of note that the commentators were mainly talking about how "controlled" he was. Sure, they said it was a little different than they expected, especially after seeing the way he had attacked the 200m free the night before. But they were impressed in his pacing and control.

And they also said that Phelps could see his competitors.

However, Phelps later commented that he couldn't see anything. His "control" was due to his counting his paces and hoping he could make his turns:

From NBC.com: "As soon as I dove in, they filled up," [Phelps] said. "I was more or less trying to count my strokes, hoping I'd be dead on at the turns," he said. "I'm disappointed because I know I can go faster, but there was nothing I could do. I handled it the best way I could."

Sidebar: That is definitely discpline at its best. Despite the circumstances surrounding him, he just went back to basics. One has to wonder what would have happened if he didn't capture gold. I'm hoping he would demonstrate the same kind of sportsmanship as he has these Olympics.

Back to my notes...Its interesting to me that no one really know what goes on. They can comment, believing that it is either good or bad, but they don't know what you are experiencing. The commentators believed, as most of us did, that Phelps was doing fine, but his experience was far more interesting and challenging than we realized.

I guess watching the replay of the 200m fly, it reminded me of how we act more like commentators, either commenting on how good or bad someone is handling the situation, all the while oblivious to the person's actual experience.

I suppose we never really know anything about a person.

And after hearing Phelp's account, I hope that if I am faced with circumstances and situations that turn out the way that I had hoped or planned, that I would still do the best I could, even if it meant going back to basics.