Lazy Phelps called out by Clary

Phelps is relaxed. To the guy who posted this. If you ever get to meet a successful runner or swimmer in your life you'll notice they are relaxed. It's hard to be the best when you're all tensed up and thinking too much about everything.

The best people are relaxed and that may come off as lazy to a few.

if you watch the 200m breaststroke, Weltz is the last one on the blocks. Everyone else is tight in position before the start. He tucks down at the last moment. Relaxed for the first hundred he maintains contact for the final all out sprint. Beat everyone by a full second. That's a lot of time to win an Olympic trials event.

Relaxed is not lazy

jimji wrote:

Phelps is relaxed. To the guy who posted this. If you ever get to meet a successful runner or swimmer in your life you'll notice they are relaxed. It's hard to be the best when you're all tensed up and thinking too much about everything.

The best people are relaxed and that may come off as lazy to a few.

if you watch the 200m breaststroke, Weltz is the last one on the blocks. Everyone else is tight in position before the start. He tucks down at the last moment. Relaxed for the first hundred he maintains contact for the final all out sprint. Beat everyone by a full second. That's a lot of time to win an Olympic trials event.

Relaxed is not lazy

What? This is not at all what Clary was saying. And Phelps is far from relaxed. He is actually a pretty uptight guy in and out of the pool.

If you're looking for relaxed, look at Peirsol (before he retired) and Lochte.

Phelps is FAR from relaxed. He's been officially diagnosed with ADHD, but that's a frequent misdiagnosis for being on the Autistic Spectrum. There's been much speculation he has Asperger's, and those who spend time around those who do have an official diagnosis would recognize many similarities in Phelps.

This Clary guy sounds like a little baby jealous that he isn't as good as Phelps. Sure Phelps slacked off after Beijing, so would I if I just won 8 gold medals. I saw a 60 minutes piece on him and his training for Beijing, it was insane.

I for one am impressed that he decided to come back for another olympics.

I don't know anyone that wants to be Pre, his greatest accomplishment was just broken by the ugliest person in Track and Field.

Phelps however, can claim to have more gold medals than any other man in the history of the Olympics.

[quote]o.O wrote:

I don't know anyone that wants to be Pre, his greatest accomplishment was just broken by the ugliest person in Track and Field.

What accomplishment, and what person are you talking about?

Ex-AA Swimmer wrote:

hobo w/shotgun wrote:

Everyone says he trained harder than anyone on the planet up until the last olympics. After he broke the medals record he supposedly did chill out quite a bit. It sounds like he was coasting on past hard work and talent more than being lazy.

Trust me. Michael trains as hard or harder than any elite swimmer in the world not named Lochte.

You wouldn't say that if you knew who Alexander Dale Oen who passed away of a heart attack this spring trained. That guy was crazy. And he did most of his training when he was home in a little crappy 25meter pool alone out on the countryside.

Barakus Obama wrote:

Ex-AA Swimmer wrote:

Trust me. Michael trains as hard or harder than any elite swimmer in the world not named Lochte.

You wouldn't say that if you knew who Alexander Dale Oen who passed away of a heart attack this spring trained. That guy was crazy. And he did most of his training when he was home in a little crappy 25meter pool alone out on the countryside.

Yes. Everyone in swimming knows who Dale Oen was. The swimming fraternity is very tight - especially foreign swimmers training in the US. As a former Arena guy, I had the pleasure of meeting him once. It had been only a few months after the tragedy in Norway.

coach d is the only loser I see

In the video Tyler is a man of fine character and work ethic.

Who knows where the author of the article got his source information or if it is completely exaggerated.

Phelps probably is Lazy, and doesn't want it as much as he used to. Tyler sounds hungry to me and that is a good thing and to be admire.

Clary said his statements were off the record.

A friend of my said that training camp has been chilly.

Lady's Track Club wrote:

coach d is the only loser I see

In the video Tyler is a man of fine character and work ethic.

Who knows where the author of the article got his source information or if it is completely exaggerated.

Phelps probably is Lazy, and doesn't want it as much as he used to. Tyler sounds hungry to me and that is a good thing and to be admire.

Tyler is a man of fine character??? I sure didn't get that from his remarks. He came across as an envious, whiny baby. Now he is saying that his words were "off the record". What a joke. A guy who hasn't done anything, dissing the one of the greatest Olympians ever.

Junk Master wrote:

Let's face it, he's a genetic FREAK. Of course he didn't/doesn't have to work as hard.

Do you think Secretariat just out worked every horse in history?

Yeah, Phelps is a genetic freak. Such a freak that he doesn't have to work near as hard as some others to still beat them.

The notion that a winner just wants it more or worked harder is bogus. For sure there ARE athletes who simply did put in more work and reaped the benefits of that work, but time on task does NOT just equal victories. If you had spies following around all your top competitors and you just made sure to outwork them, that doesn't guarantee anything.

Phelps has said he's had huge stretches of time when he just didn't do anything. This Clary guy saw first hand what he considers lack luster preparation. Could be that Phelps is lazy. Could be that Phelps' training is appropriate for his body and maybe in general...maybe other work themselves too much. Probably not though.

The most likely reality is that Phelps is just a genetic freak of nature who never has had to work hard for serious success. Human nature is to not work harder than you have to, and he hasn't had to. I wouldn't call out the greatest swimmer ever as being lazy, because he still has a real chance of kicking ass in London...MOST people will look at stellar performances by Phelps and believe he must work hard, so there's really no point in saying that he's lazy. If Clary had taken a different path and just marveled at Phelps' ability by saying, "He's so good, the rest of us have to work extra hard just to stay close", then it would have come off better.

I'm actually looking forward to the retirement of Phelps. I think he's a idiot (DUIs and smoking dope) and is in no way a good role model for anyone. That he doesn't work all that hard at swimming is not a shock to me. I'll be surprised if does responsible respectable things post swimming career.

Such an idiotic post on so many levels. Clearly, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Tiger Woods needs to be lazy

he wrecked his body running and working out to compete against fat guys

How so brother? Are you saying that Phelps out works everyone and that is why he's better? Are you saying that Phelps is a smart guy and a good role model? What exactly do I know nothing about?You don't believe in physical freaks? Ken Griffey Jr. was often labeled as lazy and stories about him not working hard are legendary...he just had a truck load of talent.Eager to hear your answer.

performance = talent + training

To say that Phelps is the best because "Phelps is a genetic freak" or because "Phelps outworks all the other swimmers" are both incorrect statements.

A swimmer having more talent doesn't have to work as hard to reach the same level as a swimmer with less talent. That does not mean the more talented swimmer is not working hard.

Galen Rupp jogging 10 miles per week will not run a sub 14 5k. Flagpole running 120 miles per week will not run sub 14 5k.

Before I go into it, do you have any specific knowledge of Phelps' training versus the training of other elite male swimmers or swimming in general?

I hate having discussions with people who have no knowledge of the subject. You bringing Ken Griffey into the conversation makes me think that you likely had never heard of Clary before today.

Clary and Phelps have cleared the air at TC and on the surface everything seems ok between them.

webfoot wrote:

performance = talent + training

To say that Phelps is the best because "Phelps is a genetic freak" or because "Phelps outworks all the other swimmers" are both incorrect statements.

A swimmer having more talent doesn't have to work as hard to reach the same level as a swimmer with less talent. That does not mean the more talented swimmer is not working hard.

Galen Rupp jogging 10 miles per week will not run a sub 14 5k. Flagpole running 120 miles per week will not run sub 14 5k.

I am in 100% agreement with all of this and said nothing to the contrary.

1) I do not have to have knowledge of anyone's training schedule to make the comments I made. Several things have been said about Phelps by numerous people over the years, mostly talking about what HUGE talent he has. Most of them brought this up in a more diplomatic way than Clary did, but the message was the same...he doesn't work as hard and doesn't need to; that doesn't mean he doesn't work...even uber talented people have to work to recognize their talent...but generally speaking, no one marvels at Phelps' work ethic. I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said about him before...he admits to long stretches of laziness, and even some behavior during training that some might view as lazy...apparently Clary did.2) Clearing the air is fine...doesn't mean that Clary took back anything he said. They have to coexist at least until the games are over, so it behooves them both to "clear the air"...doesn't mean Clary respects Phelps or has changed his stated opinion about him.3) An elite athlete who drives drunk and smokes dope just opens himself up for people to believe (as Clary said) that he doesn't have a great work ethic. I tend to believe a guy who sees him train and believe him due to past statements about Phelps and from Phelps. His DUIs and pot smoking don't do him any favors either.

Ex-AA Swimmer wrote:

Before I go into it, do you have any specific knowledge of Phelps' training versus the training of other elite male swimmers or swimming in general?

I hate having discussions with people who have no knowledge of the subject. You bringing Ken Griffey into the conversation makes me think that you likely had never heard of Clary before today.

Clary and Phelps have cleared the air at TC and on the surface everything seems ok between them.