Citius. Altius. Fortius. - Epic Fail Edition

Halfway home, let's look back on those pre-Olympic predictions I made last week (hint- poorly):

-Michael Phelps does not win 8 gold medals. I want him to, I really do, but I don't think its going to happen. Either one of the relays lets him down or Ryan Lochte finally snaps after another second place finish and gnaws off Phelps's left arm (to which Phelps goes on to win a few silvers, swimming with one arm).

Wrong.

-Dara Torres wins gold. At this point, how can she not?

Wrong.

-Lui Xiang crumbles under the weight of a billion Chinese and does not repeat as gold medalist in the 110 hurdles (which is too bad for him because he'll probably have to go into exile after the games).

n/a*

-After the 4th day of coverage, the media will be so focused on the games that they will forget to talk about the pollution in Beijing or China's track record on human rights. Except for Bob Costas. He'll find a way ever so often to slip in some backhanded compliment to China, and he'll get away with it because he's Bob Costas. Odds that at some point Costas shouts, "You're excited? Feel these nipples!"- 1084 to 1.

Wrong, mostly.

-Tyson Gay breaks the 100 meter world record. I mean, I already jinxed him once; it can't happen again, can it?

Wrong.

-At least one other US athlete will be tossed out for doping ('cause we're nothing but a bunch of dirty cheaters now).

Wrong, for now.

-Despite Lui Xiang's imminent failure, China uses the home field advantage to win the most gold medals for the games, but the US will still dominate the overall medal count.

Right, for now.

Wow- 1 for 6 with a push. Sure can pick 'em, huh? A closer look:

-Michael Phelps: I honestly thought a relay would let him down. Really, I did. I thought the added pressure to not be the guy who lost the record for Phelps would get to someone. And I guess it almost did; it doesn't get much closer than the finish for the 4X100 relay (well, you know, except for the 100 fly...). I thought someone would crack, and I'm glad no one did. Eight gold medals is astounding.

[Note: Keeping in the tradition of spot on predictions, I said a few hours before the 100 fly finals- and Puddin' can verify this- that I thought Phelps would break the world record and win going away. Wrong and wrong. Unless, of course, you define "going away" as 0.01 seconds.]

-Dara Torres: Speaking of 0.01 seconds....

-Lui Xiang: Push. Hasn't run yet, so there's still a chance for me not to be wrong (yeah, right....). [see edit below]

-Pollution/Human Rights: The mention the pollution/smog/haze every damn day, so I got that one wrong. Talk specifically about human rights has died down (keeping the focus more on the game and less on the politics), but I have noticed that every time anyone praises the Chinese people for anything, like their hospitality, enthusiasm, artistry, etc., they make a point to temper it with something like, "Though there are many things we may disagree with philosophically..." or "Its a different culture here in Beijing..." I feel like its the elephant in the room.

-Tyson Gay: Damn. Didn't even make the finals. Though that doesn't really matter anymore since Usain Bolt decimated the field. Maybe it was better to not qualify for the finals than to get blown away by a guy that really only ran 85% of the race. 9.69 seconds- crazy. And I agree with the commentators about Bolt; if he had run out the final 15 meters of the race instead of looking around, holding out his arms, and pounding his chest, he would have broken 9.6 seconds.

-Doping: Haven't heard anything yet.

-Medal Count: Finally, something I'm getting right! As I write this, the US has a 57-49 edge in the overall medal count, but China's up 27-17 in the gold medal count. Ten's a lot to make up in the last week, but you would have to think that the US has the advantage in potential gold medals in track and field and the team sports. And since I said China would have more golds, you're pretty much guaranteed that the US will pull ahead. Just how it goes with me.






[*Monday morning edit: Lui Xiang's out with an Achilles injury. I don't know if I can chalk this one up as a win because the spirit of the prediction was that he would race and lose, and not that he wouldn't race at all. It was all about failing to live up to expectations. Since he doesn't even have the chance to fail, I think this has to remain a "push" (which, given my track record, is like a win).]