Well my thoughts on American swimming are that our prospects look favorable, but we may not have as strong a showing in the gold medal count as in previous Olympics. But I am not coaching.
quote by Mark Spitz

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Sincere Thanks
Sincere thanks to the Africans who,
Made us proud at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games;
For there their talents were exposed to the world.
Thanks to Kenya who got the total of 14 medals:
Made up of 5 Gold medals,5 Silver medals and 4 Bronze medals.
Thanks to Ethiopia who got the total of 7 medals:
Made up of 4 Gold medals, a Silver medal and 2 Bronze medals.
Thanks to Zimbabwe who got the total of 4 medals:
Made up of a Gold medal and 3 Silver medals.
Thanks to Cameroon who got a single Gold medal,
Thanks to Tunisia who got a single Gold medal,
Thanks to Nigeria who got the total of 4 medals:
Made up of a Silver medal and 3 Bronze medals.
Thanks to Algeria who got 2 medals:
Made up of a Silver medal and a Bronze medal.
Thanks to Morocco who got 2 medals:
Made up of a Siver medal and a Bronze medal.
THanks to South Africa who got a single Silver medal,
Thanks to Sudan who got a single Silver medal,
Thanks to Egypt who got a single Bronze medal,
Thanks to Mauritius who got a single Bronze medal,
And tanks to Togo who also got a single Bronze medal.
You've really made Africa proud and we do thank you all!
poem by Edward Kofi Louis

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Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics.
quote by Dan O'Brien

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When you're expected to win and you have the press saying that you are going to win the Olympic gold medal, and you're the only sure thing in the Olympics, it can undermine your confidence.
quote by Scott Hamilton

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The greatest memory for me of the 1984 Olympics was not the individual honors, but standing on the podium with my teammates to receive our team gold medal.
quote by Mitch Gaylord

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2008 Beijing Olympics Poem - Lin Dan versus Lee Chong Wei
lin dan, chong wei
look alike faces
shape like
shuttlecocks
eyes gleaming
like diamonds
the shine of white
velvety feathers
between their
masterful strides
the feverish desire
of two nations
to top the world
to and fro, to and fro
their hearts flew
smashing into one
lifting the other
onto its wing of gold
China's Lin Dan triumphed over Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei to grab the men's single gold for badminton yesterday at the Beijing Summer Olympics. Chong Wei got the first silver medal for Malaysia for the Olympics. Lin seemed to be a far superior player in the two matches that lasted less than 40 minutes beating Chong Wei by 21 - 12 and 21 - 8.. Lin seemed to be flying on wings after he was crowned gold. First he fell flat on the court, then rose to salute the audience afterwhich he threw his racket and shoes to them as presents.
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo

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The Olympics are coming... and it's a big problem in American politics, because the problem with holding the Olympics this fall is that we're all going to be focused on the Olympics, and it makes that window of opportunity for Gore to win the election that much smaller.
quote by Susan Estrich

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On The Retirement Of Ian Thorpe
I heard on the radio in the sports news today
That Ian Thorpe the great swimmer has give competitive swimming away
A winner of nine Olympic medals five of them gold
Of his greatness in story and song we've been told
Australia's greatest ever swimmer if not the World's best
He was never found to be wanting when put to the test
But at twenty four years he said enough for me
At the World Championships and the Olympics him we'll never more see
At the prime of his life one might say a young man
But at top competitive swimming top swimmers do not have a long span
In the World of swimming he is an all time great
And his world Championship and Olympic victories Aussies did celebrate
A world renowned swimmer since he was a boy
And life after competitive swimming may he now enjoy.
poem by Francis Duggan

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To anyone who has started out on a long campaign believing that the gold medal was destined for him, the feeling when, all of a sudden, the medal has gone somewhere else is quite indescribable.
quote by Sebastian Coe

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Ringing The Bell: The Olypics
You still have fire.
I also have my fire.
we can take both, one's
own, or one unique fire and go
to race in the Olympics;
or we can leave some fire for the next winter
Olympics;
so we can both
sprint run,
wrestle,
do all the gym acrobats,
sand volleyball,
free four hundreds swimming, and
ski under the heavy blue sky.
So, do you have
enough
fire?
or do you need
to barrow some of my fire?
poem by Atef Ayadi

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I made a gym, it's the best gym in Nicaragua, I have kids that this year July 6th through the 11th will be fighting and then will go on to the Central American Games and I'm sure at least one will win a gold medal.
quote by Alexis Arguello

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Gold Medal Blues
Please hide the newspapers-and turn off the news.
Please, nobody talk. I’ve got the gold medal blues.
No radio talk show can cure what I got.
Why couldn’t Sid hit the post with that shot?
America’s team gave it their best
We beat those Canadians on the first test.
We out skated the Swiss, steamrollered the Finns-
yet only got Silver for all of our wins.
Though we were the home squad it all seemed so wrong
The crowd in attendance was booing our song.
They dressed all in red, waved the maple leaf flag
One fan looked like Celine Dionne in drag.
Luongo, their goalie, was playing at home
While he made basic stops he did not look that strong.
The American goalie did more to impress
With grace under pressure- no hint of distress
J.P. Parise’s boy gave us some hope
with time running out it was tied like a rope.
But sudden death hockey well deserves its name
Crosby’s second chance shot quickly ended the game
Please hide the newspapers-and turn off the news.
Please, nobody talk. I’ve got the gold medal blues.
No radio talk show can cure what I got.
Why couldn’t Sid hit the post with that shot?
poem by John F. McCullagh

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The Wet Monkey lll
The sheet spread behind me on the green
like a detachable white train. I
studied the in-trouble monkey
flailing feebly, spinning or just drifting,
its squirrelly face fixed on the sky,
mouth open, fangs showing, caught
in the grip of the meniscus, barely keeping afloat,
my ten, square toes curled over the edge,
several new minutes of sun-up
having added their gold to the trough.
Did I want to be the savior of a monkey, I thought,
that would never thank me?
but that would otherwise drown
and need to be fished out dead with a long pole
leaving the jungle less one monkey, of which there were lots,
and that probably carried a disease?
That was the question.
In one day there's time for lots of good deeds
most of them pass un-noticed.
From the sky pity rained in my soul
I've a swimmer's body, lithe and long,
with good legs, I've been told,
I won a medal in the Pan South American games
bronze, mind you, but hey,
a medal, no less. I ran. So, it was no big deal
to save a drowning monkey before breakfast.
Should I, all things considered, take a risk?
Did I want to, really. While thinking, the monkey sank-
it looked like a rag, underwater, outspread
limbs fine for swinging through trees useless now:
'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, ' I cried,
then instinct kicked in-
Identifying with the monkey's plight, I jumped....
Or dove, whatever you want to say...
poem by Morgan Michaels

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So I don't really believe that how many years you've had in the league determines how well your players play... Coaching is coaching.
quote by Steve Spurrier

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Your mind's ocean
Swimming away
swimming away
swimming away yeah
swimming through the deep blue ocean
nothing but red skies ahead
so put on ya hat and sun screen lotion
operation over cooperation
go swimming in your mind's ocean
The water so still
and the wind in motion
i'll be up and alive
before i'm down and moping
wake up in the water
before you drown
i'll make you want to smile
with my speechless frown
so put on ya hat and sun screen lotion
operation over anticipation
go swimming in your mind's ocean
Thoughts of doom and no hope
I'll dropp them in the oceans deep
To save my eyes when i grope
Dead to the world in this cool sleep
Swimming away
Swimming away
we'll swim all night
And walk all day
so put on ya hat and sun screen lotion
operation over destination
Lets go swimming
Lets go Swimming
in your mind's ocean
poem by Allen Steble

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The Pub or the Gym?
The Olympics is on it's way to the U.K.
but I remember the last one in Bejing
it caused lots and lots of couch potatoes
to take up Running, Swimming, and Cycling.
But that's what the Olympics can do
it can make you go suddenly to the Gym
go running for hours on the treadmill
lift heavy weights and go for a swim.
The unfit bought tracksuits and trainers
stopped smoking and going to the pub
they became regulars at Holland and Barrets
and spent a fortune at their local Health Club.
But alas all those years lying on the sofa
hadn't helped to strengthen the back
so that noise you heard whilst pumping iron
that was someone's Spine going crack.
But the novelty finally wore off
as the Gym became a living nightmare
so it was goodbye to circuit training
and hello again to the local The Dog and Hare.
So a word of warning to all you couch potatoes
watch out as the Olympics may get you off your settee
so I'd advice those who are out of condition
just lie there and watch it all on your T.V.!
poem by Kevin Halls

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Yeah, that's what kind of, we get the idea a little bit yeah, because other people from different countries also try as hard as they can to get a medal or a gold medal in the Olympic Games. And you know, if they can work hard, we can work hard as well.
quote by Inge de Bruijn

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Gather Together Olympians
We are gathered here together
To make this world better.
Athletes from every nation
Participating in this celebration.
Everyone with a goal in mind
To leave their mark at this time.
It mattered not if it was swimming
Pole vaulting, running, volley ball
In the water or on the land
They was there to take a stand.
Then I stop and think and in complete awe
How this world gets together to reach a score.
All problems are forgotten at this particular time
As they cross the finish line.
If we can do this for this short spell
Then we should send these problems
All to hell.
Many walked away with smiles on their faces
And some with tears in their eyes, and not
Because they didn't try.
The OLYMPICS come every four years
And they start training at a very young age
Just so they could climb up that two foot step
So that a judge can put a medal around their neck.
They do this for their own gratification
And to be honored by their nation.
To feel the joy that this event brings
Just like a ball player who gets that ring.
I salute you one and all -you have reason to stand tall.
poem by Louis Rams

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From reading a previous answer, you know that I consider all those aspects to be part of American cultural myth and thus they figure into good American poetry, whether the poet is aware of what he is doing or not.
quote by Diane Wakoski

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I have to consider my greatest accomplishments winning the Olympics because everything that I've done after that is really because of the Olympics.
quote by Brian Boitano

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So Many Thoughts About My Life
So many thoughts
About my life
So many thoughts
About my medications
So many thoughts
About God
So many thoughts about peace
So many thoughts about swimming
poem by Aldo Kraas

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