By John Lohn
Beijing, China, August 9. THE Chase for Eight has begun.
The most-hyped story of the Olympic Games opened without a hitch Saturday night, as Michael Phelps cruised through his preliminary heat of the 400 individual medley in a time of 4:07.82. That effort was good for the top seed for the championship final, and broke Phelps' Olympic record of 4:08.26 from Athens. Of course, Phelps is pursuing eight gold medals at these Games, which would eclipse the seven-gold haul by Mark Spitz at the 1972 Games in Munich.
Phelps, who won seven gold medals at last year's World Championships in Melbourne, looked comfortable during the first outing of his third Olympics. He took charge during the opening butterfly leg and settled into a rhythm over the final 300 meters. It was a perfectly controlled showing by a man who must intelligently negotiate a demanding slate. If all goes accordingly, Phelps will race on 17 occasions, including relay duty.
Looking so much stronger than the rest of the field, Phelps couldn't have asked for a better beginning to what could be an historic week, and one that will undoubtedly draw significant attention. Phelps went through the butterfly leg in 55.28, touched after the backstroke in 1:57.34 and was timed in 3:09.48 following the breaststroke leg.
"I'm pretty satisfied with the time," Phelps told meet organizers. "I didn't think I'd swim that fast in the preliminaries. All I know, is I wanted to be in the middle (lane) of the pool tomorrow."
Grabbing the second seed for the final was Hungary's Laszlo Cseh, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the 400 IM. Cseh took top honors in the second of four heats, thanks to a time of 4:09.26. He was followed in the third position by Italian Luca Marin (4:10.22), the bronze medalist at last year's World Champs.
American Ryan Lochte, the second-fastest performer in history, was fourth. Lochte checked in with a time of 4:10.33. Any medal picture not including Phelps, Lochte and Cseh will be a surprise. Rounding out the field for the final were Hungary's Gergo Kis (4:10.66), Italy's Alessio Boggiatto (4:10.68), Canada's Brian Johns (4:11.41) and Brazilian Thiago Pereira (4:11.74).
