2016 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
- Sunday, June 26 – Sunday, July 3, 2016
- CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- SwimSwam Preview Links and Schedule
- Psych Sheets
- NBC Broadcast Schedule
- Sunday Heat Sheets
At their pre-Trials press conference, Michael Phelps and coach Bob Bowman touched on the upcoming meet, his future career as a coach, and fatherhood.
One of the things that stood out from the conference was the stark difference between 2012 and now.
“I mean, going into ’12 I just didn’t want to do it,” he said. “That’s it. That’s pretty much the only thing that needs to be said. I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing. I sure as hell wasn’t training, we all saw that. I tried to fake it, pretty much.”
However, he emphasized that he is enjoying the process much more now, and he is happy to be in the water.
“It’s exciting to be back here again, you know,” he said. “I was warming down off doing a couple of 50s today, and Ryan [Lochte] and Elizabeth Beisel and I were joking around and laughing, and it was actually enjoyable. It wasn’t like a fake laugh or this or that. I was actually enjoying myself, and we were telling jokes with one another. That’s what I didn’t have in 2012. That was nowhere to be found.”
Sharon k.Parks
Not sure if anyone has noticed, but he speaks so much better than he used to. I suppose it’s a level of maturity and new experiences to allow him to be able to articulate things in a different way than the superficial medal count that defined him for so long.
So, after 4 years, Tyler Clary has finally been vindicated.
Yep. In fact, in retrospect, Clary was pretty tame in his criticism of Phelps.
Yeah, after achieving his lifelong dream and accomplishing one of the most amazing feats in sports history by winning 8 Olympic gold medals in Beijing, Michael had a hard time finding the motivation to train as hard as he did during the TWELVE years leading up to that day. He still managed 2 silver medals and 4 gold medals (the top medal count of any athlete) in London.
NOW, after achieving his lifelong dream of winning one Olympic gold, we’ll all get to see whether Mr. Clary was able to maintain the level of motivation and training necessary to repeat that feat in Rio! I hope he does. However, if he can’t, maybe life experience will make him better… Read more »
I also think people somehow think Clary did that to help Phelps or provide some PSA when in fact it was just a scornful kid mad that someone was better than him and didn’t have to put in the work. Remember, he was mad that Michael may swim the 400im, and he would get beat him like he always had before.
The point isn’t whether or not he was factually correct, it was whether or not it was appropriate for him to divulge that information.
https://staging2.swimswam.com/2016-us-olympic-trials-preview-can-lochte-hold-400m-im/#comment-427440
What does this mean?
This reply has the quotes from what Clary said about Phelps in 2012′ just prior to trials.
https://staging2.swimswam.com/2016-us-olympic-trials-preview-can-lochte-hold-400m-im/#comment-427440
It is my understanding that Phelps only trained with Clary from 2004 through 2008 at Michigan. Was Clary suggesting in 2012 that Phelps did not train hard in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics? I haven’t heard anyone else say that and, if true, that is amazing given what Phelps achieved in Beijing.
Phelps broke his wrist 9 or 10 months before 2008 olympics
Boy is it great to see Michael look so HAPPY. His smile has never looked as genuine and all encompassing as it does when he shares news about his son. He seems totally content, eager to compete, and sobriety fits him well. I couldn’t be more thrilled for him. It will be so exciting to see where this new depth of joy can take him in the pool. I’ve never been this excited to see him swim.
This guy is awesome.