Tonight one of swimming's greatest sprinters has declared his retirement.
This evening, Gary Hall Jr. was only one lap away from qualifying for his 4th consecutive Olympics. And as fate would have it, that one lap will be his last. Garrett Weber-Gale touched first with an American record of 21.47,
while defending world champion Ben Wildman-Tobriner took the second
Olympic spot in 21.65.
Cullen Jones, who set the previous U.S. mark of 21.59 in Friday's preliminaries, was third in 21.81, while Hall settled for fourth in 21.91. He slapped the water in disgust and dunked his head, but had a big smile on his face when he climbed from the water after perhaps the final race of a brilliant career.
"It was a hell of a race," Hall said. "I placed fourth, and it's not an
effort that I should be disappointed with. In fact, I'm really proud of
it. The future of sprinting in the United States is a bright one, and
it'll carry on a long tradition of sprinting that I'm honored to be a
part of."
He then announced his retirement intentions ... or did he?
"This is my last race," Hall said. Then, after a long, dramatic pause, he added, "until I race again."
Gary Hall Jr. was born September 26, 1974 in Cincinnati, OH. (I guess awesomely hot men can actually come from Ohio ... go figure). Gary competed in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics and has won ten Olympic medals (5 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze).
For those of you who may not know, I grew up engrossed in the world of competitive swimming. Unlike most girls, I did not have crushes on the typical celebrities. Jonathan Taylor Thompson ... eh no big deal. Unknown and off most people's radar, my "celebrity crushes" were usually Olympic athletes. I will never forget when I got to meet and take a picture with Tom Dolan. Never heard of him? Yeah, I figured.
One of my all-time favorite swimmer, hands down, no questions asked ... is Gary Hall Jr. My obsession with him started in my pre-teen years and has lasted all the way through my mid-twenties. The man is timeless. His beauty (and rock hard body) has remained resilient to change and age. (The only person that can rival my obsession with Gary Hall Jr. is Russian sprinter, Alexander Popov. And trust me, I was utterly consumed by Popov).
In his first Olympics at the age of 21, Hall had only 6 years of swimming
experience yet he already had a well-known rivalry with Russia's Alexander Popov. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Hall won two individual silvers and two team relay golds at the games including helping set the world record in both the 400m freestyle and medley relays. I was lucky enough to have been at those games, as both of my parents were official Olympic volunteer employees. Although I did get to see swimming, I did not have the honor of seeing Gary Hall Jr. or Alex Popov swim in person.
In 1999, Gary Hall, Jr. was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, commonly referred to as childhood or juvenile diabetes. Upon his diagnosis, Hall took a short hiatus from swimming, but returned in time to compete in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. His 50m time, at 21.76 seconds set a new American record, beating the ten-year old record set by Tom Jager. He won the gold medal in the individual 50m freestyle, tying with his fellow American teammate Anthony Ervin. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Hall took yet another gold medal in the 50m freestyle.
Hall is well known for his unique "pro-wrestling like" antics before competition. He typically would strut out onto the pool deck in boxing shorts and robe, "shadow" boxing and flexing for the audience. A regular old ham. For this evening's Olympic Trials, Gary wore a silky red, white & blue robe adorned with crystals that spelled "The Godfather of Swimming." And a Godfather he is.
Well, Gary. I will miss watching you compete, however ... I have a wonderful plan for your retirement. Rumor has it that there is a fun, beer-loving chick aimlessly wandering around Columbus waiting for prince charming (read: Gary Hall Jr.) to sweep her off her feet. Hey, I'm just saying. The option is there. (Wife ... what wife?)
In all seriousness ... CHEERS to Gary Hall Jr. -- one hell of a swimmer with a kick-ass personality!!!
Half way through this blog I began thinking she better mention her other love ... Popov. And I can remember us sitting there in your living room watching Gary Hall Jr and Anthony Ervin tie. We were so lame with our swimmer crushes ... Ed Moses definitely was the cutest though.
Posted by: Barbara Masterson | July 07, 2008 at 10:09 PM