Kitajima wins gold with world record in 100 breaststroke; U.S. takes relay gold
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74 Comments
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0
electric2004
Congratulations.
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ExPrinceska
Wonderful, wonderful, lovely, strong Kitajima, he brings happiness to Japan! He is so perfect for swimming, winning, world records! congratulations, you are the greatest hero of Japan. Forget about judo, swimming is a real sport and Kitajima is the real hero of swimming!
0
pathat
The U.S. just won the 400m freestyle relay over France by .08 seconds in World Record time. Jason Lezak
s final split of 46.06 was the difference over Alain Bernards 46.73 final leg for France. I guess Bernard should not have run his mouth prior to the race. If you are Kosuke Kitajima and back up your talking with one Olympic victory after the other, then it is O.K., but Bernard flopped. He had better do something to make up for it before the Olympics are over, or France will look worse than it does already.0
ExPrinceska
Alain Bernard is a swimming star whom I respect. Go France. Stop the USA!
0
cleo
Kitajima is a superb swimmer and cute with it. Congratulations on a fine win.
0
ExPrinceska
0
teaabe
banzai!
0
Chessnutroastin
Sorry princess, but Bernard talked some smack and then got smacked down by the American relay team. Blown away in the last leg by a 32yo. Hoorah for Kitajima. 8 for Phelps? almost beyond belief.
0
Noripinhead
Did he say "Kimochi ii! Cho Kimochi ii!" again? That's all that really matters for Japan and the public at large. Well done. Finally some positive male role models in the news.
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matada
Boy are the French pissed! Go USA!!!
"Experience is better than talent" was one french swimmers quote upon losing. Haha. Seems to me, US talent was better than French talent, experience or not.
On another note, great job Kitajima san, you were well composed and a perfect competitor.
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cleo
At the start of his interview he filled up, covered his face with his towel and was literally speechless. Very endearing. Then he composed himself and the interviewer prompted him to say 'Cho kimochi ii', which he did. I thought he looked a bit ...sheepish? ...embarrassed? Like that was the catchphrase from Athens, no need to drag it up in Beijing.
0
Sarge
Congrats to Kitajima. Hey, what was he wearing?
0
yurichan
nice first gold for japan
0
pathat
From Yahoo! sportswriter Chris Chase, "Did the French Choke?"
`Nuff said.
0
Richard_the_First
Brace yourself for 'Gold Rush' TV madness tonight
0
browny1
The Aussie swimmer who broke the world 100m record in the 1st leg of the race doesn't even get a mention.
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ExPrinceska
sorry but the French are really talented. I do not trust any of the acievements of Aussies and Americans in swimming. They all look genetically changed.
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ExPrinceska
yes, and ww will watch it for the next 4 years too. But I am so happy and love it when he says kimochii ii. Very sexy man.
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NICOLE77
Cleo - Perfectly said!!
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cleo
How does a 'limited grasp of the english (sic) language' make someone 'quite anti-american)?
I think Exprinceska's grasp of the English is pretty good. Her taste in men is pretty good, too.
:-)
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ExPrinceska
oohohohoho bad English means anti-american? anyway, I just support the French team. I do not trust any of the achievements in atheltics and swimming these days. Sorry but Ben johnoson and Marion Jones...you know.
0
matada
Allow me to clarify my post with some of your "greatest hits"
"popcorn is an American mass culture feature that needs to be eradicated."
"Alain Bernard is a swimming star whom I respect. Go France. Stop the USA!"
"The american volleyball team looked very disorganized at some moments. The Japanese women were better in the combinations but lacked power. The Japanese team led in the result several times and the american team did not look good at some moments. I do not think the american team will go…"
"i do not get how a mediocrate American singer should be on first page of Japan today..."
"You might be a good guy, you might be even handsome, but you have to understand that wars without justification are bad. That is why most of the european countries do not want American bases. USA pays…"
"hahahhaha, this is said after one of the American submarines called 'Houston' for several months was spreading radioactive contamination in the pacific...."
"USA Patriot, I do not hate American people just their government's foreign policy and the injustified wars...sorry if I offended you, as a US pattriot. Az a person from US maybe you do not have the same view as me, but please put yourself in the shoes of the people…"
So, you see, any shot you think you can espouse your superior intellect on us, you use it to bust on Americans, the USA, and all related.
Therefore, in conclusion: Yup, you hate americans.
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cleo
A tongue-in-cheek remark about a sugar-coated confectionary with a distinctive smell, support for French athletes, sports commentary, valid criticism of bellicose foreign policy and incompetent handling of radioactive material, recognition of the fact that people with different viewpoints may have different opinions..... means that a person hates americans?
Skin. Thin. Geddoverrit.
Still don't see where the language ability fits in, either.
0
roomtemperature
"Therefore, in conclusion: Yup, you hate americans."
Surpised?
0
Sarge
Does anyone know if Kitajima and the rest of the swimmers were wearing a Speedo? Smith? Matada?
0
Sarge
He WAS going pretty darn tootin' fast, wasn't he!
0
smithinjapan
Sarge: Didn't check it out... though I'm sure if I switch to NHK they're still airing the continuous replays instead of broadcasting other events.
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kornholio
Was Kitajima wearing the LZR swim suit? I think he was wearing it a few weeks ago when he broke the world record in the 200. On that note, I read that Hansen wants to re-claim the world record marks in the 100 and 200 before he retires.
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Chessnutroastin
Wow, the Olympics can sure make some people's blood boil on this site. BTW, I am American and am not at all offended by the Princess' comments and think her English is adorable. And what has Cleo ever done to anyone? I would truly appreciate it if some of my countrymen would not pretend to be the spokesperson for 300 million people, thank you very much. That was a really thrilling come from behind 4x100 relay. It was particularly enjoyable after those disparaging comments from the French team. I guess some people just need to talk themselves up before a big race.
0
NICOLE77
after Hansens not so wonderful swim, i think that will be a hard task - BUT for MR. Oen it seems very possible ;)
Exprincess - I too liked his swimsuit xxx
0
kornholio
According to Hansen he's had an off year but is up to the challenge to re-claim the world record. IMO the two drive each other but Kitajima owns him in the Olympics. Hansen had beaten him in the last few years in the worlds and pan am games (I think) while during the past few years breaking the world records that Kitajima had owned. So now it's Hansen's turn to see if he can overcome his funk and make a run at the world records.
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ExPrinceska
I did not like the swimsuits at all. They are not good in terms of fair play.
you do not like my messages and my limited grasp of English :( I just express opinion like everybody else to the best of my abilities. Most of my messages are deleted by the mods, if this makes you happy. This discussion should be not about me, but about the swimmers. I respect all the swimmers but sometimes I doubt about all these records.
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ExPrinceska
that is encouraging, but I have limited grasp, I admit it. But still enough to tell my opinion.
The French swimmers, they have this je ne sais quoi that makes them so good.
0
usaexpat
Kitajima was brilliant as was Lezak in the 400. It's a good games for swimming, records are being broken all over by the men and the women.
0
Chessnutroastin
Princess:"The French swimmers, they have this je ne sais quoi that makes them so good."
A certain "I don't know what" they makes them so good? More like they didn't know what hit them when Lezak caught and passed Bernard on the last leg. Bernard after the race looking stunned? Priceless.
0
cleo
There was only 0.08 of a second between gold and silver in the men's relay. Both the US and France swam a good race, there's no need at all for bickering and one-upmanship.
Meanwhile in the women's 400m freestyle Great Britain took gold and bronze. Yay.
0
helloklitty
Good race - broke the WR by 4 seconds. What would be a great race in your opinion?
I agree that France should stop bickering and layoff the one-upsmanship. Show some Olympic spirit - like the USA.
0
rjd_jr
Before some get too carried away with what is sportsmanlike conduct and what isn't, let's not forget that the U.S. swim team in 2004 also made some rather bold and not so gentlemanly predictions, before eating some humble pie. One has to admit that the trash talking by the French team only added to the impact of the U.S. win.
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USNinJapan2
ExPrinceska
I have never said anything about your command of the English language; I think you've confused me with someone else. I think your English is just fine and quite good for a non-native English speaker.
On the other hand, I can't imagine the nature of your posts that the moderators are deleting but like I said earlier, I think it's unfortunate that the opinions you you do choose to express here are principally 1) your negative opinions regarding the US and 2) your frivolous views regarding how someone looks.
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USNinJapan2
ExPrinceska
And another thing. It's damn right rude and unsportsmanlike yourself to dismiss these Olympic and world records as results of cheating.
0
smithinjapan
USN: As for her messages being deleted, it's because some yahoo came on here challenging me and everyone else to meet up and fight, calling ExPrincess an America-hater, etc. Her latest posts were actually an apology for any misunderstanding and an appeal to ensure the opposite -- that she doesn't hate Americans in the least. Anyway, the moderator deleted all of said 'challenger's' comments, plus anyone else's that related. Hence, the erased comments.
As for questioning the judging and results of olympic contests, there's nothing 'damn right rude' or unsportsPERSON-like (she's not a man, after all, but a person) about questioning records. I've read all her comments, and nowhere do I see her saying anyone cheated... in fact, you have no clue at all what she means by the comment... maybe she's saying, "I question the current method of testing," or, "I question the use of certain bathing suits,", or hell, "I wonder how our bodies are evolving"....
It's 'damn right rude' of YOU to make assumptions based on zero fact, and to call people rude while you do so.
All of the swimmers, and Phelps in particular, are doing a PHENOMENAL job! And what Japanese on the planet is going to come onto a thread praising their gold medal athlete and wonder if the results were from cheating??? Jeez, man... chill out! As to other sports in particular where judging is 100% a person's opinion (or people's), it's more than valid to question any records or judging, but again, we have no idea what Princess is thinking.
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USNinJapan2
smithinjapan
Why you're coming to this Russian woman's defense is beyond me. She first praised Kitajima and the French swimmers' performances because she finds them attractive then dismisses the other swimmers' victories as suspicious and tainted. Did she really have to use the word 'cheated' for you to get her drift? For me the following was enough:
As for 'unsportspersonlike', come talk to me when you can find it in the dictionary and MS Word no longer thinks it's gibberish.
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cleo
If smitty is 'coming to this Russian woman's defence' (and I'm not sure that he is, and even less sure of the significance of her nationality) perhaps it's because of the altercation that took place here last night, starting with 'not supporting the US and not being a native speaker of English means you're anti-American' and ending with silly and rather pathetic 'meet me outside' threats before the mods did their job and deleted it all.
Gotta say personally I find the 'US whupped the French, whooppee' posts sadly lacking in Olympic spirit and sportsmanship. There was a difference of a fraction of a fraction of a second between the two. Both teams swam superbly. Why not just accept that instead of souring it with cock-crowing? The guys who did the swimming were able to shake hands afterwards. Keyboard-bashers should be able to do the same.
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USNinJapan2
cleo
I hope that wasn't meant for me because I wasn't a part of any of that. Sorry but you're preaching to the choir. Like you I feel that ALL of the competitors should be congratulated and their accomplishments respected. That is precisely why I took offense to ExPrinceska's ridiculous passive-aggressive insinuations that the Australian and US performances somehow involved doping and genetic alteration. Why couldn't she just leave out any negative comments about the Aussies and Americans, or better yet congratulate their superb performances, in addition to gushing over Kitajima and the French swimmers? Instead she had to throw in numerous absolutely unneccessary slants that I doubt anyone would like to hear about their country's athletes. I don't care what smithinjapan says I feel that that is rude and ungracious to say the least. I'm just calling a spade a spade, that's all.
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ExPrinceska
hello, please stop arguing. I like the French swimmers because they challenged the Americans in a teasing way. I mean they have sense of humour. I do not understand why Americans take it so seriously, it was just a joke.
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helloklitty
Sacre bleu, but it's "Elaine" and it's a little late to stop the USA.
We salute our competitors from another continent although our California wines are much better as is the moonshine I make out back in my trash cans. My oh my, these victory fries are delicious.
Hakuna matata you non-Americans. Don't forget, you can use your swim caps if you run out of surrender caps. Au revoir.
0
Badsey
hate can only take you so far, and having technique is certainly better. Kitajima's technique is the best and that made him a champion -it's quite surprising actually and very few swimmers are gold specialists. If he hits 40yrs old and is still getting gold in the breathstroke I will be even more amazed.
Olympics is all about passion for sport, I think TV spins the nationalism thing a bit much. It would be nice to see every nation have a shot at the gold -as an example, it's nice to see NK compete and win a few (and they have). When the NBA stars loose a game = it's actually good for the sport. -So I guess grandstanding for the other team is ok.
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