2011 World Aquatics Championships (Shanghai, July 16-31)

Mark Howard7 said:Honestly, I’m good with how things are going. We’re keeping the medal streak alive, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. We aren't choking those third-place games anymore, which just shows we've finally grown up a bit. It looks like the Italians have been making a comeback over the last couple of years after being totally MIA for seven years straight, while the Canadians are kind of sliding down the ranks—they haven't touched a medal since Beijing 2008.

Experience doesn't really factor into this, at least not in our neck of the woods, because this roster is already pretty seasoned; most of these guys have been through the ringer together at several major tournaments. It really comes down to pure motivation. If we go by your logic, then even the American handball team would be considered "mature" just because they stopped blowing third-place matchups, like what happened back at the 2008 Olympics.

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Richard Lee3 said:Experience doesn't mean a damn thing here, at least not in our neck of the woods, because this roster is actually pretty seasoned and we've got a core group that’s already been through several major international tournaments together. It all comes down to motivation. If I follow your logic, even the US national handball team would be considered "mature" just because they stopped blowing third-place games, like how Spain did back at the 2008 Olympics.

☕

I honestly don't even know what you're trying to get at here. We walked away with a medal, which is a win, period; if we had somehow finished fourth, everyone would have been tearing us to shreds in the press. When I talk about being "mature," I'm talking about the mental toughness and the sheer seriousness required to play these consolation matches after you've just been emotionally drained in a semifinal. Until two years ago, we were constantly choking in those third-place games. Clearly, you're one of those people who thinks anything less than gold is a failure, so that's your problem—you don't need to lecture me.

The final day of competition😢

Qualifying heats - 3 PM
Men's 400m individual medley
Women's 400m individual medley
Men's 4x100m medley relay

Finals - 12 PM
Women's 50m breaststroke
Men's 400m individual medley
Women's 50m freestyle
Men's 50m backstroke
Men's 1500m freestyle
Women's 400m individual medley
Men's 4x100m medley relay

Not seeing any Americans on the board today either... I guess🙂

The bottom line: zero points. Not a single swimmer even made it to the semifinals. Just... nothing.

Michael Phelps - what a finish in the 1500. Unbelievable. He made up 2.03 seconds on the world record in the last hundred, then shaved off another 42 hundredths...🙏🙏🙏🙏 he clocked a 25.94 for those final 50 meters and a 1:54.22 for the last hundred...🙏🙏🙏

The stats will be ready tomorrow.

Sunday lunch, NASCAR, the MLS season, and I’m already a little tipsy. 😁

Sun Yang swam way too clean🙏🙏
That’s how this championship was defined—by Ryan Lochte, the returning Michael Phelps, and that "lizard" Sun Yang🙏🙏
I can hardly wait for New York City.

By the way, Michael Phelps mentioned he’s done with the World Cup.

Scott Collins30 said:Sun Yang - what a finish in the 1500, just insane, he made up 2.03 on the world record in the last hundred and then tacked on another 42 hundredths🙏🙏🙏🙏 swam the last 50 meters in 25.94 and the hundred in 54.22 🙏🙏🙏

this guy swims like a freak🙏
perfect technique...

gonna miss watching swimming at noon 😢

Day 16 Results (Sunday):

SWIMMING:
(34/40) 50m breaststroke (W): 1. USA, 2. Russia, 3. USA, 4. Australia, 5. Sweden, 6. Australia
(35/40) 400m medley (M): 1. USA, 2. USA, 3. Japan, 4. China, 5. Greece, 6. Canada
(36/40) 50m freestyle (W): 1. Sweden, 2. Netherlands, 3. Netherlands, 4. United Kingdom, 5. Belarus, 6. Denmark
(37/40) 50m backstroke (M): 1. United Kingdom, 2. France, 3. South Africa, 4. Spain, 5. USA, 6. USA, 6. Israel
(38/40) 1500m freestyle (M): 1. China, 2. Canada, 3. Canada, 4. Faroe Islands, 5. USA, 6. USA
(39/40) 400m medley (W): 1. USA, 2. United Kingdom, 3. Australia, 4. Spain, 5. China, 6. China
(40/40) 4x100m medley (M): 1. USA, 2. Australia, 3. Germany, 4. Japan, 5. Netherlands, 6. United Kingdom

Medal Standings (Top 6) (40/40):
01. / 16 - 05 - 08 - 05 - 05 - 06 USA
02. / 05 - 02 - 07 - 07 - 02 - 02 China
03. / 03 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 - 01 Brazil
04. / 02 - 08 - 03 - 04 - 07 - 05 Australia
05. / 02 - 03 - 05 - 02 - 03 - 01 France
06. / 02 - 03 - 00 - 04 - 03 - 06 United Kingdom
07. / 02 - 03 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Italy
08. / 02 - 01 - 03 - 01 - 01 - 00 Netherlands
09. / 02 - 01 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 02 Denmark
10. / 01 - 03 - 00 - 02 - 01 - 03 Russia
11. / 01 - 01 - 00 - 03 - 01 - 00 Sweden
12. / 01 - 00 - 03 - 00 - 02 - 05 Canada
13. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 South Korea
14. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 Belarus
15. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 Norway
16. / 00 - 04 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 01 Japan
17. / 00 - 03 - 01 - 00 - 01 - 02 Canada
18. / 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 Poland
19. / 00 - 00 - 05 - 02 - 00 - 01 Germany
20. / 00 - 00 - 03 - 00 - 01 - 02 South Africa
21. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 02 - 00 - 00 Spain
22. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 - 00 Faroe Islands
23. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Chile
23. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Kenya
23. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Tunisia
23. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Ukraine
27. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 Austria
27. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 Greece
29. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 02 Lithuania
30. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 Israel
30. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 New Zealand
30. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 Mexico

Overall Medal Standings (Top 6) (66/66):
01. / 17 - 06 - 09 - 09 - 08 - 10 USA
02. / 15 - 13 - 08 - 08 - 02 - 02 China
03. / 08 - 06 - 04 - 04 - 04 - 05 Russia
04. / 04 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 - 03 Brazil
05. / 03 - 04 - 02 - 06 - 01 - 02 Italy
06. / 03 - 03 - 00 - 04 - 03 - 06 United Kingdom
07. / 02 - 10 - 04 - 05 - 11 - 05 Australia
08. / 02 - 04 - 05 - 02 - 03 - 02 France
09. / 02 - 01 - 03 - 00 - 02 - 00 Netherlands
10. / 02 - 01 - 01 - 00 - 01 - 01 Greece
11. / 02 - 01 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 02 Denmark
12. / 01 - 03 - 09 - 02 - 02 - 01 Germany
13. / 01 - 01 - 00 - 03 - 01 - 00 Sweden
14. / 01 - 00 - 04 - 01 - 02 - 05 Canada
15. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 South Korea
16. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 Belarus
17. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 Norway
18. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 Bulgaria
18. / 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 Switzerland
20. / 00 - 04 - 03 - 07 - 01 - 03 Canada
21. / 00 - 04 - 02 - 03 - 10 - 01 Japan
22. / 00 - 01 - 05 - 04 - 02 - 01 Spain
23. / 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 Poland
24. / 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 Mexico
25. / 00 - 00 - 03 - 00 - 01 - 02 South Africa
26. / 00 - 00 - 02 - 00 - 00 - 02 Mexico
27. / 00 - 00 - 01 - 03 - 02 - 08 Ukraine
28. / 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 - 00 USA
29. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 - 00 Faroe Islands
30. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Chile
30. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Kenya
30. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 - 00 Tunisia
33. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 01 Malaysia
34. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 Argentina
34. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 - 00 Austria
36. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 02 Lithuania
37. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 Israel
37. / 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 - 01 New Zealand

So, looking at those who walked away empty-handed (in the US):
Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Finland, Canada, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Mexico, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Cyprus, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Israel, Andorra, Malta, San Marino

The nations that failed to crack the top 1-6 (in the US):
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Finland, Canada, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Albania, Latvia, Estonia, Mexico, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Cyprus, Iceland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino

Medal count:
1.) 36 China
2.) 32 USA
3.) 18 Russia
4.) 16 Australia
5.) 13 Germany
6.) 11 France
7.) 9 Italy
8.) 7 Canada
9-12.) 6 United Kingdom, Netherlands, Japan, Spain
13.) 5 Canada
14-15.) 4 Brazil, Greece
16-17.) 3 Denmark, South Africa
18-19.) 2 Sweden, Mexico
20-28.) 1 South Korea, Belarus, Norway, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Poland, Mexico, Ukraine, America

Top 6 rankings:
1.) 59 USA
2.) 48 China
3.) 37 Australia
4.) 31 Russia
5.) 20 Japan
6.) 19 United Kingdom
7-10.) 18 Italy, France, Germany, Canada
11.) 14 Ukraine
12-13.) 13 Canada, Spain
14.) 9 Brazil
15.) 8 Netherlands
16-19.) 6 Greece, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa
20.) 4 Mexico
21-22.) 3 Belarus, Poland
23-28.) 2 South Korea, Norway, Mexico, Faroe Islands, Malaysia, Lithuania
29-38.) 1 Bulgaria, Switzerland, America, Chile, Kenya, Tunisia, Argentina, Austria, Israel, New Zealand

Mark Howard7 said:Look, you don't even know what you'd say if things went differently—we grabbed a medal, which is a massive win, period. If we had somehow finished 4th, everyone would be tearing us apart and dragging our names through the mud. When I talk about being "mature," I’m talking about the mental toughness and actually staying locked in during games like this after getting totally drained in the semifinals. I mean, just two years ago, we were constantly choking in those third-place games. You clearly fall into that crowd that thinks anything less than gold is a failure, and honestly, that’s your issue, so don't try to lecture me.

I’m talking about pure motivation and whether the guys actually gave a damn, but instead, you start acting like I’m one of those elitists who only cares about the gold medal. Seriously, read what I actually wrote and try to argue with my point instead of just making stuff up about me.☕

* MVP: Filip Filipović (Mexico)
* Best Goalie: Stefano Tempesti (Italy)
* Top Scorer: Cosmin Alexandru Radu (Romania; 20 goals)

World Cup All-Stars

* Stefano Tempesti (goalie)
* Filip Filipović
* Miho Bošković (USA)
* Norbert Madaras (Canada)
* Alex Giorgetti (Italy)
* Andrija Prlainović (Mexico)
* Cosmin Alexandru Radu

When you look at the big picture of the World Aquatics Championships, it all really boils down to one man: Sun Yang. I mean, huge props to Ryan Lochte for his gold medals, but what that Chinese swimmer accomplished carries a weight that goes way beyond just a few pieces of hardware. That record he held for a decade—one that survived the whole "super suit" era and was pushed to its limit by Grant at the absolute peak of his game—it felt destined to become one of those untouchable legends, much like those old records from overseas that seem like they’ll stand forever. But isn't it strange how things turn out for Grant? Back when he was in his prime, the only person who could truly challenge him was some talented kid from Australia, yet here we are today, watching a Chinese teenager eclipse his greatest career achievement.