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. Yes. He took time off after Bejing. I can't remember the quote from Bowman, but before Bejing he missed 2 practices and between Bejing and London he's missed 200. And it showed as Lochte basically kicked his a$$ up and down the pool during that period.
After watching the Trials, I think he's back to close to 2008 form (2007 was really his best year). Neither he nor Lochte were fulled rested for the Trials and should be faster in London. Both admitted that they were holding back and playing cat and mouse at the trials in head-to-head races. Thus, their times were not great. They won't be able to do that in London (as admitted by both Bowman and Troy), so I think they'll both break some of the shiny suit records there.
Clary is generally not well liked. It's really a shame that he came along when both Phelps and Lochte were/are in their prime. The guy is probably the 3rd or 4th best all-around swimmer in the world behind Phelps, Lochte, and Laszlo Cseh.