Tom's take

Forget the medal count, Phelps has far exceeded expectations

Athlete Analysis Tom Dolan Michael Phelps hasn't been overcome by the medal hype. Instead, he's just been swimming the best he's ever had. Stuart Hannagan/Getty Images

Two-time U.S. Olympian Tom Dolan, who took back-to-back gold medals in the 400 IM at Atlanta and Sydney, will analyze races for SI.com throughout the Games. 

On Michael Phelps and living up to pre-Olympic expectations

If I had to rate Michael's swimming at this point in the meet, I would say he has swum out of his suit. They were very smart -- Michael, his coach and his agent -- in that Michael did not make any statements about how many medals he would win. A lot of other people did. The whole time Michael talked about the Olympic experience and more about being part of the American team than he did about wining six, seven or eight gold medals. Because of that, he was able to deflect and shield himself from the expectations. I think he's handled himself unbelievably well.

There has not been a swim where I felt like he left something in the water. It was funny to hear the questions and the reactions after the 200 freestyle final (Phelps got a bronze). People were so sad and were like, "I'm so sorry." They don't realize those two guys that beat him (Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband) are probably the best 200 freestyle swimmers we have ever seen.

You have to respect a young kid who bypasses the 200 backstroke, where he could potentially win the gold and was a lock for the silver, in order to swim an event where the two best in the world are swimming. In that respect, Michael risked not getting a medal but did it because he wanted to race the best. That's something, as a former competitor, I love to see. Even if Michael did not have another event, this has been an extremely successful Olympics.

The hard part of swimming is that it's an individual event but it's also a team sport. When you swim your event, you are in your own lane competing against someone else, but you're really still doing it for the overall good of the team. To compete in individual events and also in relays is a very fine line. A perfect example is the 4x100 free relay. The U.S. got bronze but Michael swam well. He has no control over how the other three guys. In the relays, he can't do anything about 75 percent of what happens in the race. I think he realizes and understands that regardless of what people say, all he can do is control his leg of the race.

At every level in the sport, no matter if you are five years old, or if you have swum for 20 years, you are judged on your best time. So if you do that, look at Michael in his events. The 400 IM? Best time. The 200 Free? Best time. Even his relay splits show he clearly is in form. There's nothing more than you can ask for that. I can tell you from experience coming to the Olympics, whether you are swimming one event or eight different events, it's hard to swim your best time here. The cliche you always hear at the Olympics is, "Time doesn't matter; it's only the color of the medal." I actually never really believed that. In the end, you want to perform. And I think that's how Michael has looked at it.

Men's 200 IM final

(Phelps will go for sixth medal)

The Hungarian (Laszlo Cseh) will be right there. So will Italian swimmer Alessio Boggiatto. But I'll be honest with you, I'm not staying awake at night worrying who will swim against Michael here. Of all the events he swims, this is kind of his baby. This event matches up closest to where his talents lie. Similar to Thorpe and Van Den Hoogenband in the 200 free, the 200 IM for Phelps is exactly where all his talents and skill are shown the best. You never want to make guarantees, but of all the events he was swimming here in Athens, I think that was the one that was closest to a lock.

The best race so far: Men's 4x200 freestyle final

Without a doubt, the race of the meet has been Tuesday night's 4x200 meter relay final. It was really one of the great races I have ever seen. I really did believe we had a great shot to win and the Australians were not as favored as everyone said they were.

It was, quite frankly, amazing to watch. And from a swimming perspective, it will be an unbelievable tool for young swimmers to use. The Americans not only swam well, but they swam smart. They did not go out too fast and allow the excitement and energy level to overtake them in the first 50-100 meters. All four swimmers looked great in the last 50 meters and all made their moves against the guys they were swimming against. That's what won the race.

Any coach would tell you the U.S. swam smarter than Australia, and it was all summed up in the Klete Keller-Ian Thorpe showdown in the fourth leg of the relay. Within the first 30 meters, Thorpe had made up a body length or more to get even with Keller, but he clearly used all the gas in the tank to catch up to Klete. He still had 150 meters left to swim, and as it got to last 15 meters, I could see Thorpe try to go to another gear to get by him, but he just didn't have it. It wasn't there. Even with five strokes left, Klete was able to pick his kick up a little bit and take it to another gear.

I was so happy for him, because I know that swimming the middle distance events, he has been in the shadow of Thorpe over the past five years. I think this race meant the world to him. It was almost like a party atmosphere afterward. I ran down from the stands and there's a fence that separates the warm-down pool from where the spectators can walk by. I climbed the fence and talked to my buddy Lenny Krayzelburg and a couple of U.S. coaches. It was like a weight had been lifted off the team's shoulders. Everybody seems much more loose and relaxed. They needed a big swim like that to change the mood of the team. It lifted everyone up and it was a perfect timing in the middle of the week. Now you can go into the second half of the week on a high note.