By Siobhan Dale, Swimming World College Intern
Often times looking back helps to prepare you for what’s to come. With the 2016 Olympic Games ahead I wanted to add to the buildup and to my own excitement by taking the opportunity to reflect on my personal favorite moments from past Olympics.
Each one of these remarkable feats is important and particularly memorable to me for a specific reason. Memories of an individual, a country, or simply the overall spirit of the Games— I believe that each one of these moments embodies a part of what makes the Olympics meaningful to so many people.
So let’s get excited for Rio by looking back on all of the times the Olympics have been simply remarkable and hope for many more of these moments to happen at Rio!
1. Men’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay, Beijing 2008
I’m positive that anyone in the United States who bore witness to this moment can cite it as one of the greatest in Olympic history. Ahead at the start, the U.S. men’s 4×100 freestyle relay made up of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak fell behind on the third leg. Coming into the fourth leg the U.S. men trailed France.
On the blocks Jason Lezak stood next to the world record holder in the 100 freestyle, Alain Bernard. The next 100 meters swum by Lezak was the fastest split (by a lot) in the event’s history. Lezak’s remarkable comeback helped Team USA clench gold, garnering Phelps his second of eight gold medals, in world record fashion.
As Lezak swam the commentators thought aloud. “I just don’t think he can do it,” Rowdy Gaines memorably said. At the end of the race Phelps’ expression showed what we were all feeling when against all odds, Lezak pulled it off. One of the greatest comebacks in sports history, one of the most fantastic moments for American Olympians; easily one of my favorite memories from the Games.
2. Katie Ledecky, 800 Freestyle, London 2012
I distinctly remember watching this moment from a hotel room in Buffalo with a few other members of my swim team. The 2012 Olympics were being held at the same time our team was swimming at our championship meet. Katie Ledecky’s club team was also attending the meet. All of them were wearing shirts that read “Go USA! Go Katie!”
We were all a little stunned that she was leading from the race’s start. She was 15! And all of us in the room were sprinters who could barely imagine swimming half of what Ledecky was doing, even at an older age. One of my teammates said that she really hoped Ledecky would manage to hang on to a medal place. Around the halfway point the screen switched to a commercial. More proof of how insanely long those distance races feel.
I had left the screen to fill up my water bottle when the race came back on and the person still in front of the TV shouted over, “Oh my gosh you have to see this!” There was Ledecky, not just ahead, but with a substantial lead going into the last 100 meters. She became the youngest ever to win the 800 freestyle at the Olympics.
When we went back to the pool deck for finals Ledecky’s team did over five cheers for her through the course of the night. It was incredible to see how much that race had inspired them. Each person on that team walked with more confidence and swam with a little more passion than everyone else that night. Being able to see the impact a phenomenal swimmer has on those around them made an Olympic gold medalist seem like a real person instead of simply an idealized figure. That perspective was what made Katie’s race such a powerful memory for me.
3. Katie Hoff (400 Meter Freestyle, 400 Meter IM, 4 x 200 Meter Freestyle Relay), Beijing 2008
When I was eleven years old I had a subscription to multiple swimming magazines. An avid reader and swimmer, my favorite articles to read were interviews with swimmers. Growing up these swimmers always seemed like celebrities to me. I found them far more interesting than movie stars or singers. Eventually, I read enough articles that I was able to firmly decide who my favorite swimmer was, Katie Hoff.
I cut out her articles and hung them on my wall. I followed all her results and cheered her on at the Olympic Trials. When our fifth grade class had to do a project on our favorite athlete other people did theirs on Lebron James, Stephen Curry, and Shawn Johnson. I proudly did mine on Katie Hoff.
I was most excited to watch her races during the 2008 Olympics. Each one of her three medals was a favorite memory in my eyes. The races were the first time I had ever truly been invested in watching the sport of swimming, and the first time I felt a real attachment to the results of one athlete.
Looking back I think I was as excited to see her win those medals as I was winning any of my own. That shared joy is one of the greatest things about the sport. There are bonds and connections that we share with our teammates and also ones we share to the people we see as making our sport truly sensational. Those connections are what inspire us and drive us to be the best we can be in the hopes that one day we might have a similar impact on younger generations of swimmers. I know that if I inspire anyone half as much as Hoff motivated me I will have achieved that goal.
4. Moss Burmester, 200 Meter Butterfly, Beijing 2008
At the time of the 2008 Olympics I was living in New Zealand, which is a country focused on sports other than swimming. New Zealand prides itself on rugby, cricket, and crew. All sports which I grew to love. However, it meant that New Zealand rarely had swimmers in Olympic finals other than rowing. So when the time came that our country had someone with a shot at the podium, it was huge. That someone was Moss Burmester and his shot was in the 200 butterfly.
Beyond a chance at a medal, he was racing Michael Phelps, an honor which we all thought was amazing. A New Zealand athlete racing the best in the world, in swimming! For the event my whole school made New Zealand flags and signs that said “Go Moss” and other more ambitious ones that read “Beat Phelps!” We all proceeded to the auditorium at the time the race was about to occur. When the announcer read his name everyone in the auditorium started chanting it and continued to do so until the race started. At the 50-meter mark Moss was winning! Actually leading Phelps by .03 seconds! To us that was as exciting as winning the race.
At the 100, he was only behind by .03! We were all screaming and cheering. In New Zealand swimming it was one of the most memorable moments ever to see a cap reading “NZL” neck and neck with a cap that bore the name “Phelps”. After 150 meters, Moss was still in second place. Burmester ended up placing fourth, just shy of a medal but it was by far the most exciting swim I had ever seen. To be in an auditorium of over 200 people, all screaming and waving flags cheering for one country’s swimming superstar, was an experience that defined the Olympics for me.
It defined the Games as a time when people turn on the television no matter what the sport, and a time when a country stands behind one person no matter how much of an underdog they might be. Moss Burmester fought for every single person who has ever stood behind the blocks, looked at the person next to them, and thought “no way. No way can I beat them.”
Anytime someone asks me what my race strategy is for the 100 freestyle (my event) I always give one response, “My motto is if you can’t win the race, win the 25.” Although it sounds like I’m joking, and most people laugh, I’m really just saying what Moss Burmester taught me. If you fight like crazy, then no matter what the result, you’re always going to have people cheering for you– whether it’s a room of 200 fans, your family, your teammates, or even just a few of your close friends. That’s what the Olympics is. It’s people standing behind not what they believe, but who they believe in. This year I know that we’ll come to stand with each individual on Team USA, no matter who they might be or what they might do.