Translated material
"Bronze" timing
The Russian and the Australian climbed to the podium with the same result
The first medal for the Russian team at the 2008 Olympics in swimming was won by Arkady Vyatchanin. He completed the 100-meter backstroke in 53.18 seconds. Australian Hayden Stoekel finished with exactly the same result, who, together with Vyatchanin, rose to the third step of the podium. The winner of the swim, American Aaron Piersol, set a new world record - 52.54 seconds. A little earlier, Pirsol’s compatriot Michael Phelps (1:42.96) updated the world record in the 200 m freestyle.Phelps' phenomenal swims at the Olympic Aquatic Center no longer seem to surprise anyone. Only three days of competition have passed, the result is four world records with his participation (two in the freestyle relay) and three gold medals. Phelps's number of Olympic titles increased to nine. But, as you know, he has set himself a super task - he wants to earn eight gold medals at this Olympics. And so far he is rowing towards this goal very confidently. Excited spectators want one thing: for each Phelps start to end with a new record. And, surprisingly, he most often manages to cope with these plans.
The phrases “world record” and “Russian swimming” are still incompatible. The level of our athletes is European Championships. However, at this Olympics they do not reach him. In Beijing, the limit of our capabilities is Russian records. And we have to come to terms with this.
This was confirmed by yesterday's finals. Russian athletes Yulia Efimova and Anastasia Zueva were left without awards. But it was with them that the coaches of the Russian team connected their medal plans. At a distance of 100 m backstroke, Zueva finished fifth (59.40), losing to the winner, American Natalie Koglin, by less than two seconds. She qualified for the eight finalists with the fourth result, and was second in the preliminary heat. Yulia Efimova was 11 hundredths of a second short of bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke - 1.07.43. Mirna Djukic from Austria was faster at the finish. The Russian lost to Olympic champion Australian Leisel Jones by more than 2 seconds.
After the competition, covering her head with a towel, Efimova quickly walked past Russian journalists. A day earlier, she also refused to communicate. Zueva acted differently. Wiping away tears, the athlete said that she needed to continue working, that she had made many mistakes, in particular in turns, but she still needed to look at the layout. It was impossible to clearly explain what happened to her. “I wasn’t worried at all,” said the athlete. But a minute later she refuted herself. “Of course, my unsuccessful performance in Beijing can be attributed to the fact that this is my first Olympics. I hope not the last. But there were a lot of debutants here,” she explained. “I didn’t think it would be so hard.” I felt this yesterday, and today it’s even worse. In the last meters of the distance I got the impression that I just “stood up.” I make an effort, but don’t start from a place. It's not a matter of excitement. Rather, technical shortcomings and physical condition had an impact.”
However, many coaches agree that our young swimmers, who came to the Olympic Games for the first time, simply needed the presence of a psychologist. Some of the guys were so worried that they stopped sleeping at night. Despite all the efforts of the mentors, it was impossible to force the wards to switch to another topic, relax, and not think about competitions. To the question “How did you recover and come to your senses after a difficult semi-final?” Zueva just shrugged: “How so? I slept a little and took a walk.”
The most interesting thing is that throughout the entire season, an experienced psychologist Gennady Gorbunov worked with the team. He, according to the coaches, knew better than anyone else how to “straighten and clear his brain,” put his head back in place. However, for unknown reasons, he was not taken to Beijing. As, indeed, some other specialists whose presence at the Olympics was simply necessary. Danila Izotova’s coach only got to China by miracle. Literally at the last moment, a fan was found who acted as a sponsor and paid for her trip.
“I don’t know why they left our psychologist in Moscow? - Anastasia Zueva reasoned out loud. - I think he would help us. We couldn’t cope with our problems alone.”