No surprise Thai athletes have not broken any Olympic records

Certainly, US swimmer Michael Phelps has mightily impressed us, becoming the most successful Olympic athlete ever. He earned his fourth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with a world record in the 200-metre butterfly. He has also set new world and Olympic records for the 400-metre individual medley and the 200-metre freestyle.

Indeed, he started to impress everyone when he showed up at the swimming pool. Like other American swimmers and some from developed countries, Phelps donned the special swimming suit that debuted at the Sydney Olympics four years ago.

We know that the US swimming team had a lengthy and arduous training schedule. Before the Beijing Olympics, they were in Singapore for intensive training.

But many said, at least those working for swimwear companies, that the innovative suit attributed somewhat to their impressive performances.

It is fun watching live broadcasts of the Olympic Games. NBT has been doing a good job in its coverage, with professional players and coaches invited to comment on competitors' performances. Yeah, they all have some tips to share.

I'm sure it was the first time for all of us to hear that the swimming costumes like the one that Phelps wears cost over Bt30,000. And it's tailor-made for a particular swimmer, not something that we can find at our local department store.

Then, during a volleyball match, a former national player was on hand to give a commentary. It was the first time that I heard of a computer program to analyse the game, first developed in Italy, whose national volleyball team has risen to new heights in the world arena, aside from China, the US, Russia and Cuba.

The Thai player said that the national team had also made use of the program, which gave the ideas on where the serve should go to minimise the opposing team's effectiveness. Since then, the US has caught up and launched a similar programme.

Certainly, any country can have access to the program, which costs about Bt500,000, but it is up to individual coaches to maximise the value of using it.

Yeah, ultimately, sports excellence is a mixture of good basics and guidance, aside from support from all parties involved. It was said recently that Russia had not yet won any gold medals from the Beijing Games because most coaches from the Soviet Union era have fled to other countries.

Thailand has done a lot in bringing in foreign coaches. Yet, we have done very little in identifying young talents, let alone getting support from the public or the government. No wonder Thai athletes have not broken any world records.