GOLD MEDAL MEL GOSSIP: The Missouri Grand Prix

I'm already missing the swimming action from the Missouri Grand Prix, though the action was only action in between moments of an audience that was yawning and even sleeping. 

The crowd politely applauded the winners. The few times I heard whopping cheers, however, they were disappointing. Ryan Lochte, aka Reezy, got his standard screams. They came from his ever expanding female fan-base, a phenomenon I witnessed in December at the Short Course Nationals and in mid January at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

 Above, I grabbed this shot of Reezy waiting to do a pace 50 doing warmup. He's so funny, you never know what face you're gonna get when you snap a shot. 

Ryan's times in Missouri were all incredibly fast, and all the more impressive because he was wearing a tiny Speedo. I know his coach, Greg Troy, is a little "old school." I know Coach Troy isn't afraid to hammer his swimmers during a heavy training cycle. That's where Ryan's at now, and that may be the reason for the sad face above. At one point during the weekend competition, Ryan meandered to the blocks, looked back at me and said, "This race is gonna be the death of me."

What's sick about Ryan's talent is him going a 53.84 for 2nd in the 100m fly, then turning around and going 4:19 for 1st in the 400 IM.... Ryan is Reezy for the female fans who cheer and scream. To me, he's one of the greatest swimmers I've ever seen compete. 

As a stretch, I can't peer into Ryan's brain. I can't tell you his thoughts and his dreams. But I do think he might see an opening now to be USA Swimming's top star. So far, Ryan's played second fiddle to Michael Phelps. With all the pressures of fame Michael's experienced, it's yet to be seen how it will affect his swimming. I'm a huge fan of both athletes and want to see them at their best, but factors outside the pool can cause immense stress. 

I worry for Michael, though not as much as people might think. I know his coach, Bob Bowman, is a pro. Bob's unflappable. The Bowman-Phelps team comes across almost mean. 

On deck in Missouri, Bob was affable and focused. It was clear that while he guides Phelps, he also coaches many other greats. 

Katie Hoff, one of Bob's new pros, swam tough the entire meet. She essentially negative split her 400m free, if you factor in the dive. I'm a huge fan of Katie's. I think she's poised to have a very long, successful pro career. It's clear she's unhappy with her 2008 Olympic performance, and that she's prepared to show the world she's the best in all her events. 

 In the swimnetwork interview above, after a win, I screwed up a question so bad Katie started laughing. Under normal circumstances, I would've just yelled cut! I couldn't, however. Our interview was blaring over the PA system for all to hear. I felt terrible for Katie, and apologized when we were done. Pro swimmers deserve pro-treatment, and that's not what Katie got. Luckily, Katie was sweet, as she always is. She said, "That's ok. You got one question right."  Katie's nothing but positive.

Nick Thoman is also swimming for Bowman, and he's a swimmer to watch. He went sub 53 in the 100m back last year while the rest of the world was watching backstrokers in Beijing. Nick's about 6 feet 2 inches tall, but sounds like he's 8 feet. His voice rattles your bones because it's so deep. Nick got 2nd to Ryan in the 100 back at the Missouri Grand Prix. Nick said Bowman had been beating him up in practice, and that he wasn't even expecting a fast swim... 

Mary DeScenza swam fast. I love Mary because she swims 200 fly, but she also does every other event. I predict that Mary will be the overall high-point winner and net the $20,000 Grand Prix purse in the end. 

Outside of the competition pool, love was in the air. Sounds silly, but maybe not considering Laure Manadou, the French swimming star, was in Missouri. She's apparently dating Fred Bousquet, one of the most exciting sprinters to watch in swimming. He's French, and an artist of sorts, with the coolest body art of any athlete I've ever seen on deck. 

Fred's not big, but he looks like a monstrosity when he sprints. He blazed a 21.59 in the 50 free for the win. It was the only time the Missouri crowd seemed to really wake up and get excited. It was in that moment that Jack Roach (a coaching guru) pointed out Laure Manadou in the stands. Jack said, "I'm pretty sure she's living in Auburn with Freddie Bousquet. Why don't you go talk to her? Get an 

interview?"

So I did, or rather, I tried, but it didn't work. Laure obviously wanted to remain anonymous, and support her man, Fred Bousquet. She did let me snap a quick pic. 

I'm fan of Laure's. She's a great talent. And I hope she continues in the sport.  (I was very angry when the infamous naked photos of her circulated on the net. It was clear to me they were very private and not meant for public viewing. I got a lot of emails saying I should blog on the topic, but I felt it wasn't news.)  

French swimmers are big news. The Frenchmens' 400 free relay, after their loss in Beijing, will be formiddable over the next four years. After Fred's 50 free win in Missouri, I asked him about their chances in 2012. Fred, a member of the Frenchmen's 400 free relay, said "Rome would be it." 

Comments

[Kris]

Thanks for the insider info on the Missouri Grand Prix. It's too bad there wasn't any live streaming, but I enjoyed your recap very much.

Have you seen the photos of Reezy at Fashion Week in NYC? He's getting a lot of notice from the non-swimming world.

[Robin]

Thanks for the roundup! I wished I could have been there, but this and the SwimNetwork videos are the next best thing. (And thank you, Tif, for changing the comment field back so non-TypePad users can join in.)