Water, Sports, Phelps, Hungary

With all the commotion and duly deserved attention given to Phelps for being the human dolphin and winning 8 gold for the USA, one bright star in Hungary has been in his shadow, literally.

I didn't get to see Phelps win the last and 8th gold medal but I did see the race where he barely won the 7th medal by a second. If not for the touch pads and his long arm, it's doubtable whether Phelps would have taken the 7th, I think.

But being here in Hungary, I realized that Hungary won its first two medals at all in the swim events, thanks to this man, Laszlo Cseh. He came in second, taking silver for the 400 meter medley, the 200 meter butterfly and the 200 meter medley. Considering he was in the pool with the human dolphin, maybe a few of these silver shine at least as bright as the gold that Phelps holds. He was only 60 seconds faster than Cseh in the butterfly. Amazing.

Hungary has had a long history of doing well in the water. They are most famous for water polo, a sport I now fully admire and respect. Watching teams practice and play at Margaret Island has definitely given me a new love and appreciation for this sport. It's amazing because they have to have full body strength, swimming the entire time, not touching the bottom and swimming to make and throw it to the goal. I love watching water sports. So much fun. I used to love being in Reno and watching the swim team practice and compete at UNR. Those were good days. Now I watch the water polo team here in Hungary. It's nothing like Marco Polo......;D