Who is better: Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte?
Michael Phelps has garnered a lot of praise from his critics after a series of brilliant performances at the U.S. Swimming Championships that took place in the beginning of August. Phelps is probably the most popular name at the moment but the American’s all-time rival and competitor Ryan Lochte is trying to snatch this position from his friend with full force. Lochte was successful in winning more gold medals than Phelps at the recent Pan Pacific Swimming Championships that took place at Irvine, California. It did not, however, have any significant effect on the athletic record of the 14 time Summer Olympic gold medallist.
Phelps’ swimming credentials are way better than Ryan Lochte’s record. However, sports critics are having no doubts about Ryan Lochte being the better swimmer right now.
As a result, Ryan Lochte is on his way to become the best American swimmer. He has given up eating fast food and is headed towards a more healthy diet. Lochte keeps a strict check on his weight and has improved his exercising hours due to which he feels very strong in the pool. The athlete from Florida is changing his habits for the better.
At the U.S. Championships that took place in the beginning of the month, Lochte managed to win away three gold medals and two silver medals. He was also successful to hold off Michael Phelps in the 200 metre individual medley. Lochte hardly missed an event in the Pan Pacific Championships and gave every meet his best shot.
Lochte won a gold medal in the 200 metre freestyle race that took place on Wednesday in Irvine. This victory was followed by another gold medal that he won on Thursday in the 400 metre individual medley. He headed the U.S. team towards winning the gold medal at the championships in the 800 metre freestyle relay. Lochte also clinched the gold in the 200 metre individual medley on Saturday evening.
On the other hand, Phelps won his first gold in his very first meet in the championships. This was the 200 metre butterfly which took place on Wednesday. Phelps failed to take part in the 400 metre individual medley which was scheduled to take place on Thursday. This was because only two swimmers from one country could be a part of this meet and Ryan and Tyler made it to the top two in the heats. Thus Phelps’ hopes of taking away the gold were brutally crashed. Later on that day, Phelps opened the relay race and was well ahead of Peter Vanderkaay and was yet not satisfied with the way he performed at the event. He rated his fitness 4 out of 10 after the race ended.
Michael Phelps withdrew from the 200 metre individual medley which took place on Saturday with the plea that he needed to save some energy to give his best shot in the 4 into 100 metre medley relay in which he was to play the butterfly leg. He disappointed his fans but made up for the displeasure caused by helping the U.S. team win gold in the event. Lochte took away the gold medal in the 200 metre IM. He anticipated this race because he wanted to compete in the same meet as Michael Phelps. After Lochte finished 0.30 seconds slower than the world record mark in the event, he admitted that he would have definitely broken the record if Phelps would have been there to push him further. He also confessed that he loves racing with the Olympic champion.
The final conclusion as to which one of the two American athletes is a better swimmer cannot be made before the Summer Olympics 2010 that will take place in London. Their performances and victories at the Olympics will determine which swimmer is better in the U.S. and the world.
Tags: