WSPN Beijing 2008: Event Transition

Here we are, nearing the halfway point of the Beijing Olympic Games, on day 8 (in China). And that signifies a very large transition, one that leads from the pool to the track. As the festivities progress into the second half, crowds and cameras will shift their focus from the Water Cube (which, in fact, isn't a cube; it would be more appropriately labeled Water Rectangular Prism, but I guess that isn't as attractive) to the Bird's Nest.

This forward-looking attitude isn't to say that we are all anxious to leave the aquatic events. For one, the men's 4 x 100 meter relay was most likely the best swimming event in Olympic history, spearheaded by an unbelievable performance by Jason Lezak. And, of course, Michael Phelps has now been dubbed the "greatest Olympic champion ever", owing to his recent capture of the most amount of gold medals in history.

Expect the magnitude of excitement and the quality of athletic performances to remain high as the track and field athletes lace up the spikes. But the the swimmers haven't closeted those crazy NASA-engineered supersuits yet. Phelps is indeed still in pursuit of a record 8 gold medals in one Olympics; he can achieve his seventh today and his eighth tomorrow. So while you get psyched for competing human lightning sprinters and beastly shotputters, don't forget those men-fish either.