Friday’s opening ceremony was certainly not on the same line as Beijing’s, but nonetheless it was one that will be remembered.
The first day of the Olympic Games provided some surprising results, especially with the duel between Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. While it is now Monday and we are about eight hours behind the UK, looking at the first day can help see what might happen for the rest of the Games.
Ryan Lochte was first in the semi-finals and won gold in the finals for the 400 meters individual medley. This is a race that Michael Phelps dominated in throughout his career, including in the last two Olympics where he won the gold medal. Phelps did not make the podium at all for this race, placing fourth. Fans were shocked and are left wondering if Phelps has it in him to win any medals this time around in London. It would be a wonderful and great feat to see Phelps gain more medals so that his total career medals break the record for most Olympic medals in history. Fans are certainly cheering on Phelps and hope for better results in his next four races.
In a different race, Park Tae-hwan, the South Korean favorite, won silver in his race Saturday. He held the lead for most of the race but lost to China’s Sun Yang. This was after the trouble Park had in even qualifying. After the judges reviewed the tapes of his semi-final race from various angles, they decided that he did not go early.
Jon Huser
