USA: Splendid piece by Amy Shipley at the Washington Post on Michael Phelps, his mind for detail and boyhood ambitions, Bob Bowman and the latest from Baltimore: "When he was 9, 10, 11 ….. he knew all the times; he knew all of the records," Bowman said. "Back then, he was just the same, just in a tiny body, but very competitive. He knew what he wanted to do. He would sit on a chair on the pool deck, and memorize the times. ….. It was pretty remarkable to see an 11- or 12-year-old doing that." Apparently, Phelps has not lost interest in those old, U.S. schoolboy records.
Australia: Michael Cowley at The Sydney Morning Herald gets to the heart of what I found so uncomfortable in the timing and presentation of allegations made against Alan Thompson and the subsequent inquiry. Read Cowley for clarity. On the entirely unrelated and very serious allegations of sexual abuse levelled against the former and late Olympic coach Terry Buck, further explanation can be read in Nicole Jeffery's piece at The Australian.
East Asian Games, Hong Kong: catching up with events in HK, China's Liu Jing won the 200m free in 1:59.55; Japan's Ryosuke Irie clocked 25.18 in the 50 back; China's Jiao Liuyang won the 100 'fly in 57.28; Japan's Yuya Horihata took the 400 medley in 4:14.89; China's Chen Huijia claimed the 100 breast in 1:05.64; Japan's Ryo Tateishi won the 200 breast in 2:09.59; Japan's Matsumi Iwashita won the 1,500 free in 16:36.84; Japan's Takuro Fujii clocked 48.49 in the 100m free and 51.51 in the 100 'fly; Japan's Ryo Tateishi won the to breast in 27.84; China's Gao Chang won the 100 back in 59.77; China's Wang Xinyu claimed the 400 free in 4:11.84; China's Sun Ye clocked 2:22.59 in the 200 breast; Japan's champion of aesthetics, Ryosuke Irie clocked 52.76 in the 100m back.
