2009 World Aquatics Championships (Rome) - Discussion Thread

Good grief, who exactly are you trying to defend? Making it to the quarterfinals in a sport where barely eight nations even play professionally isn't much of an achievement.
Just accept that this was a total blowout. The NYSE provided a much deeper breakdown. We beat the Germans, Romanians, Russians, Australians, Americans, and Greeks. It’s only a matter of time before we start handing wins to Kazakhstan and North Mexico.

Terry Fisher2 said:Just wanted to jump back in on those water polo stats. Honestly, what Boldano pulled off is seriously impressive. Real heavy hitter stuff right there.

European Championship (7):

Two silvers. That's it. Just two silver medals to show for all that sweat.
Four fourth-place finishes. Just four. You gotta love it.
And they got knocked out in the group stage—and that’s when only the top three were even moving on! Talk about a disaster.

Killer performance when it comes to making it into the semifinals: We made it to the semifinals in 6 out of the last 7 European Championships. Honestly, we're basically a playoff team at this point.
Rough semifinals. We only managed to snag two spots in the playoffs. Just two. Total disaster.
The recent run of games while fighting for medals? Absolute disaster. We’ve dropped all six of our last matchups—four attempts at the bronze and two straight losses in the Finals. Total meltdown.
4) That quarterfinal score was absolutely insane: We swept all five quarterfinals. Total domination. Besides that, we've had our moments—one time we cruised straight into the semifinals, and another time we completely choked and got stuck in the group stage.
5) When we go head-to-head against the heavy hitters in the group, our track record is sitting at 8 wins, 6 losses, and 6 ties. Not exactly a powerhouse run, but hey, we're still breathing.
So, looking at our group stage stats, we're sitting at 7 wins, 0 losses, and 10 draws. Honestly? It’s a weird vibe. We aren't losing, which is great, but those ten ties are killing us. It's like driving a car that only goes 20 mph—you're moving, sure, but you're never actually getting anywhere fast.

World Championship (7):

One gold. That’s it. One.
Zero to one, man. Total blowout.
Just a couple of fourth-place finishes. Not quite the podium, but hey, at least you're in the conversation.
So, two teams got booted in the second round—you know, that stage where only the top two move on to the semifinals. Basically, they crashed out in the quarterfinals. Total bust.
And just like that, they're out. Bounced right in the Playoffs before they could even sniff a Quarterfinal. Tough break.
Zero. Not even a chance. They went out in the first round. Total blowout.

Not a bad showing when you look at who actually made it into the semifinals: We hit the semifinals in 4 out of the 7 World Championships we played.
Rough semifinal score: we only managed to snag one spot in the semifinals.
If we end up going toe-to-toe with the Americans, our record for these final medal hunt games is gonna look pretty mediocre. Right now, we're sitting at one win and two losses. Not exactly the momentum we were looking for.
4) An absolutely killer quarterfinal ratio: We absolutely crushed it—three clean sweep quarterfinals in the bag. Total dominance. Look, let's be real here—our track record is kind of a mess. We’ve been stuck grinding in the quarterfinals twice now, we choked once in the playoffs when it actually mattered, and then there was that one lucky break where we cruised straight into the semifinals. It's been a total rollercoaster of nothingness.
5) When we're going head-to-head against the heavy hitters in our group, our track record sits at 7 wins, 3 losses, and 6 ties. Not exactly a clean sweep, but hey, we're still in the fight.
6) We’re sitting at 6-0-5 in the group stage matchups. Not exactly a blowout, but we're holding our own.

Olympic Games (4)

One silver—but man, that win in the Final felt like everything.
One slip-up in the Playoffs and you're out. That's it. Game over.
One single slip-up in the quarterfinals and it's all over. Boom. Done.
One single slip-up in the group stage—and you're out. Only the top three move on. It's brutal.

There’s zero point in overthinking this or digging any deeper. Everything was already laid out right there—every single nuance, plain as day.

1996—man, what a wild ride that tournament was. Absolute blast, right up until the wheels fell off. We ended up sitting there at the end with no coach on the sidelines, just staring at the wreckage after that heartbreaking loss in the Final. Total disaster.
Back in 2000, we were absolutely tearing it up in our group. We crushed the Canadians, felt unstoppable, but then we hit the quarterfinals and ran straight into the Spanish squad—who happened to be coming out of that fourth group. They knocked us out, but honestly? It was a solid run.
2004—what an absolute disaster of a tournament.
2008 was such a killer start, too. We had everything lined up to take down the USA and cruise straight into the semifinals, but instead, we completely choked. Then we go and lose to Mexico in the Playoffs? Absolute disaster.
So, looking at how we've fared against the heavy hitters in our group, the tally stands at 7 wins, 1 tie, and 6 losses. Not exactly the powerhouse performance I was hoping for, right?
So, looking at the group stage standings right now, we’re sitting at 2 wins, 0 losses, and 3 ties. Not exactly a blowout, but hey, we aren't sinking yet.

So, we ended up playing in the semifinals for 11 out of the 18 events. Total grind.
Out of 18 events, we’ve managed to make it at least to the quarterfinals in 13 of them—and that’s even if you count the playoffs as hitting the semifinals. Not bad, I guess.
We pulled nine quarterfinals out of the bag and only dropped two. Not bad, right?

One win in the Final (and three total losses). Tough break.
Three losses in the finals and just one win. Tough break.
Six losses in the bronze medal match? And zero wins? Talk about a total disaster. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion—just pure, unadulterated misery. Zero for six. That’s not even a slump; that’s just straight-up painful.
One win and one loss in the Playoffs. That’s it. That's the whole story.
One loss in the quarterfinals (and 8 wins, for those keeping track).
One win and one loss in the Playoffs to miss out on the Quarterfinals. That's it. That's the whole story.
Two exits in the group stage. Just wow. Total disaster.

Ratio:

The Final: 1-0-3.
Third-place match: 0-0-6. Total disaster.
Semifinals: 4-0-7
Playoffs for the semifinals: 1-0-1.
Quarterfinals: 8-0-1
Playoff bracket for the quarterfinals: 1-0-1.
The Group (facing all the heavy hitters): 22-10-18
The group's sitting at 15-0-19. Total mess.

Look, these aren't exactly terrible results, but let's be real here—we should’ve been much better. We had opportunities. When you're fighting for a bronze medal, it's embarrassing to see us getting outplayed by teams like Mexico, who haven't actually done anything significant in water polo for ages. It’s just frustrating. I can still feel the sting from that loss against...

Drew Edwards8 said:These aren't exactly bad numbers, but let's be honest—we really should have performed better. When you're fighting for bronze, getting edged out by teams that haven't done anything significant in water polo for ages just stings. I can still feel the sting from that loss against

the art team, I'm sure you'll hit 😁

Nađa Higl grabbed her second gold medal for the US in the 200m breaststroke
Honestly, what a pleasant little shock—huge props to the queen🙏
The race was absolutely wild; this American swimmer, Sonny, was leading for almost the first 150m by nearly a full body length, leaving Nađa sitting in 5th place, where I was basically just praying for a bronze, and then suddenly—boom—that final stretch, Nađa turns on the jets and sprints for the gold🙏
If anyone actually wants to see the chaos unfold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5AMb...layer_embedded

Meanwhile, Cavic smashed the world record in the 100m butterfly semifinals, 😁 so we are looking at one massive showdown: Cavic vs. Phelps

Way to go, Cavic, you master 🙏🙏🙏

Go out there tomorrow and tear that American punk apart

Let's go, Cavic, you legend!!!!! Let's gooooooooooo!!!
And tomorrow we take down the Spanish😁!

What kind of championship is this where records are being shattered during the heats? ☕

Fortaleza—everything would be fine if we weren't talking about water polo. In any other sport, these would be world-class results, I mean, we make the semifinals all the time... 😁but in a sport taken seriously by maybe five or six countries, where we definitely belong in the Top 3 by reputation, it’s a complete disaster. Look at it this way: in a sport played at a high level in just 5-6 nations, where we consider ourselves one of the elite, we’ve only picked up five medals across twenty-seven competitions. That’s terrible. Not just "not great," but truly awful. Or look at it from another angle: in a sport where only 5-6 countries really compete, we failed to even crack the top three in twenty-two out of those twenty-seven events...

Swimming—well, even if Draganja swims something decent... it would be nice to see him grab a medal, though the odds are stacked against him...
As for the world records, it's almost laughable; looking at other news outlets, they don't even bother mentioning them anymore, it seems only Mica still gets excited about it. Even L'Equipe doesn't mention them in their coverage, they just list the winners and move on...
And that's really it, you just have to enjoy swimming without obsessing over the scoreboard, because tomorrow Cavic and Phelps will go head-to-head, it should be a hell of a race and I'm curious to see who comes out on top. But I won't even check the result, because honestly, it's both ridiculous and pathetic at the same time. I just hope FINA sticks to their ban on those suits and somehow manages to nullify every single world record from this era...

lonebadger6 said:I just really hope FINA sticks to their guns regarding the swimsuit ban, and maybe even considers voiding all those world records set during that era.

👍

results:
(46/65) swimming / 100m freestyle Women: 1. Germany, 2. Britain, 3. Australia, 4. USA, 5. USA, 6. Netherlands
(47/65) swimming / 200m backstroke Men: 1. USA, 2. Japan, 3. USA, 4. Russia, 5. Spain, 6. Russia
(48/65) swimming / 200m breaststroke Women: 1. Mexico, 2. Canada, 3. Austria, 4. USA, 5. Japan, 6. Japan
(49/65) swimming / 200m breaststroke Men: 1. Canada, 2. USA, 3. Lithuania, 3. Australia, 5. Australia, 6. Italy
(50/65) swimming / 4x200m freestyle Men: 1. USA, 2. Russia, 3. Australia, 4. Japan, 5. Germany, 6. Italy
(51/65) water polo / Women: 1. USA, 2. Canada, 3. Russia, 4. Greece, 5. Netherlands, 6. Australia
Water Polo (Women):
- for 7th-8th place: Canada - Spain: 11-6
- for 5th-6th place: Netherlands - Australia: 12-11
- for 3rd-4th place: Russia - Greece: 10-9
- Final: Canada - USA: 6-7

Medal standings after Day 15 of the WC (top 1-6; 51/65):
01.) 10 -- 06 -- 10 -- 02 -- 03 -- 02 China
02.) 08 -- 09 -- 06 -- 07 -- 06 -- 04 USA
03.) 07 -- 07 -- 04 -- 02 -- 02 -- 03 Russia
04.) 06 -- 03 -- 00 -- 02 -- 03 -- 01 Germany
05.) 04 -- 01 -- 04 -- 08 -- 05 -- 04 Italy
06.) 03 -- 04 -- 06 -- 03 -- 07 -- 03 Australia
07.) 03 -- 02 -- 02 -- 03 -- 01 -- 03 Britain
08.) 02 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Mexico
09.) 01 -- 06 -- 02 -- 02 -- 02 -- 01 Spain
10.) 01 -- 01 -- 02 -- 00 -- 00 -- 02 Canada
11.) 01 -- 01 -- 01 -- 05 -- 05 -- 03 Japan
12.) 01 -- 01 -- 01 -- 03 -- 03 -- 00 Brazil
13.) 01 -- 00 -- 02 -- 00 -- 01 -- 02 South Africa
14.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 Netherlands
15.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 Sweden
16.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Mexico
17.) 00 -- 03 -- 05 -- 08 -- 01 -- 01 Canada
18.) 00 -- 02 -- 02 -- 01 -- 03 -- 03 France
19.) 00 -- 02 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Tunisia
20.) 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 -- 02 -- 01 Denmark
21.) 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 Greece
22.) 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Poland
23.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Malaysia
24.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Austria
24.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Lithuania
24.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Romania
27.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Cuba
28.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 -- 00 Belgium
29.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 Chile
30.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 Venezuela
30.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 Zimbabwe
32.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 02 -- 03 Ukraine
33.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 Belarus
34.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 South Korea
34.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Kenya
34.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Canada

I'm fairly certain Cavic is going to lead the way at the 50m turn, and Munoz will likely be right there with him looking strong during that stretch... Phelps tends to really find another gear in those final 50 meters. For Cavic, the real key is going to be how he executes that turn and whether he can manage a smoother approach to the wall than what we saw back in Beijing...

semifinals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC2rf088DEs

good luck Duje 🎉🎉🎉

[Link] http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...ng/8177910.stm

Everyone is looking forward to seeing Cavic vs. Phelps—it’s easily one of the biggest matchups happening in Rome.

Cavic absolutely crushed Michael Phelps' world record on his way to the 100m butterfly final at the World Swimming Championships in Rome.

Phelps beat Cavic by a hundredth of a second AT Last year's Beijing Olympics to stay on course for his record haul of Eight Gold medals—it was absolutely razor-thin.

Cavic actually outdid Phelps here—clocking a 50.01 in his semi-final—whereas Phelps took his heat in 50.48.

Phelps set the previous Mark of 50.22 AT The US nationals on 9 July.

Michael didn't make it to the Final—he finished 13th with a 51.41—but at least he managed to shave some time off the record he set earlier this morning.

"I wasn't trying to burn through my energy so early—it just happened because I felt so strong," Cavic said. "I know I can break the 50-second mark—that's more than enough to take home the gold."

Even after that loss in Beijing, Cavic is still dead certain he’s the faster swimmer—he actually went as far as offering to buy Phelps a brand new 100% polyurethane suit in Rome, just to settle any debate about what kind of gear is being used.

Phelps is sticking with his Speedo contract—which means he’s staying in that older LZR suit with just 50% polyurethane—even though everyone knows the X-Glide Arena used by Cavic, along with some similar gear from Jaked, is basically the gold standard right now. It’s wild to see, especially since we've already seen 29 world records shatter during just the first five days of these championships.

"If Michael wants an arena, he just has to say it," Cavic added following the morning heats on Thursday.

If he’s looking for a Jaked and they won't just hand it over—I'll personally buy it for him. Honestly, he has plenty of options. The media keeps pushing this narrative that he's stuck with Speedo and has no choice, but that's just a total lie.

Cavic added—"I think there are three ways this could go for Michael."

He could stick with the suit he’s currently wearing—that's the first move—or he could opt for one of those polyurethane suits. Honestly, I'm certain Arena would have one ready for him in under an hour if he just asked.

Honestly—the third option would be a total dream for me—to see everyone competing in the Final wearing briefs. I’m telling you, that’s exactly what I’d love to see, even if it’s probably the most unrealistic scenario of them all.

Phelps kept his 200 butterfly title on Wednesday—shattering the world record while he was at it—but he wouldn't say a word about the whole situation. His coach, Bob Bowman, just shrugged off Cavic.

"The guy is an incredible athlete—truly talented—and honestly, he can say whatever he feels like saying," Bob Bowman noted. "We all know Michael typically prefers to let his performance in the pool speak for itself, so we’ll have our answer by Saturday night."

People try everything to get under Cavic's skin, but honestly, the guy is just too composed and sharp for their games. He always shuts them down with class. Unlike Phelps, he’s actually highly educated, so he isn't just grinding in the pool for ten hours every single day; he can still hold his own against him without losing his cool.
People are trying to rattle him, but it doesn't work. Given how much confidence he's radiating right now, there's a real chance he might just tear through the entire field tonight. He even went as far as saying he'd give his life just to beat Phelps. Well, if he does that, I'll give him mine so he can go out there and beat him a few more times.

Looks like Piggy managed to scrape some data from this place. 😁

We're already falling behind, aren't we? 🙄

Things are looking pretty rough again, aren't they? Even if we manage to pull off a win, we really have to be honest with ourselves—the way the game was played over these last two matches was nothing short of a disaster.🙄

Game Score: 2/15 🙏

This is rough. Our offense is completely headless, just wandering around without any organization at all. Luckily, our defense is holding things together somewhat.

They hit one of ten gates

Honestly, I feel like the Americans could pull this off even without a goalie in the net.😬