Michael Phelps is Lazy,,Say what?
Below is a pretty funny article if you ask me...Don't know what type of work ethic Michael Phelps has but ultimately who cares...the guy has a ton of medals and will get a few more in a couple of weeks...
Its got to make for an awkward locker room situation. Or Michael Phelps doesn't give this guy two thoughts. Love the last line, "To Tyler Clary, Michael Phelps is everything. To Michael Phelps, Tyler Clary is just another guy touching the wall after him."
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olymp...--oly.html
Two weeks after getting smoked by Michael Phelps at the U.S. Olympic trials, swimmer Tyler Clary blasted the 14-time gold medalist and his training habits in a contentious interview with his local California newspaper.
Clary, who qualified for his first Olympic team after finishing 1.5 seconds behind Phelps in the 200 fly, says Phelps doesn't train hard in practice. He resents that Phelps has so much talent but doesn't have the work ethic to go along with it.
He told Jim Alexander of the Press-Enterprise:
"The fact that [Phelps] doesn't have to work as hard to get that done, it's a real shame. I think it's too bad. You see that all too often, where you get athletes that are incredibly talented that really take it for granted. I think the things he could have done if he'd worked as hard as I do would have been even more incredible than what he has pulled off."
Phelps has won the most gold medals in Olympic history. He surpassed Mark Spitz for most golds at a single Games. This year, he's a lock to set the record for most medals ever won. He has 54 gold medals in international competition, will be competing in his fourth Olympics and has set world records for the better part of a decade. But, yeah, he's left a little bit on the table. What more can he do? Set world records in events he doesn't swim? Win medals at the Winter Olympics? Race on the moon?
You can see why Clary would harbor such bitterness and jealousy of Phelps. Clary's delusions of grandeur have turned into realities of bronze. His best international finishes -- 400 IM silver medals at the 2009 and 2011 world championships -- were made possible because Phelps chose not to swim the event. Phelps made his 400 IM return at trials and Clary was promptly booted to third place and off the Olympic team.
"Basically, he was a swimmer that didn't want to be [at practice.] They can talk about all of these goals and plans and preparation they have. I saw it. I know. It's different. And I saw somebody that has basically been asking to get beat for the longest time."
Here's the thing: Clary isn't wrong. It's no secret that Phelps made a conscious decision to take it easy after the 2009 world championships. After nine straight years of international competitive swimming, he probably needed the break. It was a recharging of the batteries. But we're past that now. Phelps' performance at the U.S. Olympic trials -- where, once again he crushed Tyler Clary in two events -- was good enough to quell any concerns about the shape he's in before London. The plan worked. It may not be enough to win seven gold medals in London, but it's going to win him a handful of golds and get him to the podium every time he steps into the pool.
These statements coming from any swimmer not named Ryan Lochte are like a chihuahua snipping at a rottweiler. Even from Lochte (who would never say such a thing, regardless of whether he believed it or not) it'd be over the top. Phelps' results speak for themselves. He hasn't fallen off -- not that we've seen. If Phelps was an example of wasted talent then he'd be ripe for criticism. As it stands now, he's the poster child for making the most of it. Whether or not he takes every set seriously or shows up early to morning dryland is irrelevant so long as he keeps winning.
"I've always called myself more of a blue-collar worker, as far as swimming goes. I work my (butt) off all the time. That's not to say that everybody else doesn't."
Well, that's exactly what you're saying.
"But the fact that I know I work harder than he does makes me appreciate every little goal and every little gain that I make."
To Tyler Clary, Michael Phelps is everything. To Michael Phelps, Tyler Clary is just another guy touching the wall after him.
Comments
I think this is a very good example of the "just world" bias. That is, to assume that performance is based solely on the amount of effort and hours put into something, and that those who work "harder" are more deserving of performing well.
Reminds me of my freshman year in college, when we'd have all our classes graded on pass/fail by default for our first term. I had a friend who was an godly phenomenal mathematician, and who would regularly do stuff like take his exams while drunk and/or high on pot. I recall him doing that for an upper-level math class, and ended up TOTALLY ruining the curve for the upperclassmen who actually had to take the class on grades.
Haha...I've got a college story too. I was a trumpeter in a pretty distinguished music school. All the first chair players were heavy drinker/smoker/drug users who never practiced (no exaggeration). I sweated it out in practice rooms every week for fear of losing my scholarships, while these guys partied to the edge of their lives. Yet, they remained the top players and graduated into serious studio & recording gigs, go figure.
I think everyone is physiologically predisposed to be an expert at a finite group of specific things. The rub is whether or not you figure out what those "things" are in your lifetime.
Phelps has been working at his swimming for most of Clary's life. At this stage of his career, his success depends as much on keeping himself fresh and sharp as it does on sheer workload. Maybe swimming is about more than miles; maybe technique and mental toughness are also involved, and the "work" involved in developing that may not be so apparent to young Mr. Clary. Hopefully, he can learn something from being around Phelps, like how the guy manages to touch out his opponents time after time?
With athletics, I wouldn't have expected that. That seems like the rawest measure of work in - performance out, controlling for intrinsic differences that are nearly the same among the top performers.
Related, in Iron War there is a section on research done at Eastern Michigan University (I think) that uses running form, accelerometers, etc, to put a value on mental toughness. It's really fascinating and starts to explain why people can best themselves in intense race situations.
People talk about "intangibles" all the time in athletic performance. In our world of long distance tri, one of those is race execution (why we're here and not with some other coach), which has nothing to do with hard work, fitness, or innate athletic ability. Why can't the same concept apply to a shorter race.
I have a lot of respect for professional athletes and musicians. I just can't imagine the pressures of performing when your living can be ruined in a matter of seconds from a botched performance, or as the case may be in something like swimming, fractions thereof. Even more so if there's a subjective element in judging. Every time I watch something like Olympic diving or a performance in an international music competition, I wonder how one can split hairs and judge at such a high level of performance. I almost get the feeling that it's really a matter of taking your best guess sometimes. Totally not something I'd be able to subject myself to
. There have been several times when I've been hurting in the middle of a race and I think to myself, "Thank GOODNESS I don't have to make a living out of this!" Just can't imagine what the pros have to deal with... 