{"id":485476,"date":"2021-08-20T07:01:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=485476"},"modified":"2021-08-20T07:01:12","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:01:12","slug":"7-favorite-moments-from-past-olympic-games-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/7-favorite-moments-from-past-olympic-games-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Favorite Moments From Past Olympic Games (Videos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Favorite Moments From Past Olympic Games (Videos)<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Gigi Picard Swimming World College Intern<\/em><\/p>\n

Six world records and 24 Olympic records in swimming later, the 2020 Tokyo Games<\/a> have ended \u2013 albeit in August 2021! Despite the lingering pandemic, and the disturbing \u201csounds of silence\u201d in the empty stands, it was a fascinating Olympics for the swim world. New events like the women\u2019s 1500-meter freestyle, emerging stars like Bobby Finke<\/strong> and Regan Smith<\/strong>, the amazing performance of the Australian women, and a few \u201cWhat were you thinking?\u201d moments \u2013 it was all there for our at-home viewing pleasure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We were moved to the edge of our seats by the performance of USA\u2019s Lydia Jacoby<\/strong> in the 100-meter breaststroke. She was Alaska\u2019s first Olympic swimmer who, we learned during the broadcast, had never trained in a 50-meter pool! In the race for the medals, Lilly<\/strong> King<\/strong> pushed the first 50, while South Africa\u2019s Tatjana Schoenmaker’s<\/strong> superior wall made it seem like as if she were a lock for gold. But Jacoby’s back half and \u201clow rise\u201d breaststroke technique helped her surge to gold. It was her race that inspired me to click into YouTube to locate other Olympic heart-pounding races from these and other Olympics. Here\u2019s a few t I thought I\u2019d share.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Spread Your Wings and Fly: Caeleb Dressel<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"Aug

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher<\/p><\/div>\n

If you own a TikTok account and are in any way attached to the swimming world, then you surely are familiar with the remarkable Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> and his colorful tattoos. In Tokyo, Dressel smashed his world record in the final of the 100 butterfly, posting a time of 49.45 seconds. Rowdy Gaines<\/strong> gushed over Dressel\u2019s superman start, as his reaction time was .60 seconds. No surprise, in both the semifinal and final, Dressel had the lead from the beep to the final touch. As his tattoos promised us, he literally flew over the water to victory. For all of us who sometimes struggle with fly, it was a miraculous display. Hard to believe that butterfly was actually derived from breaststroke and that it started as a combined stroke (breaststroke kick and butterfly arms). To watch a swimmer like Dressel perfect this potentially ungainly stroke – turning it from grasping and splashing to gliding and flying – was inspiring to say the least.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n