In a rush

American swimmer Katie Hoff set for a gold streak in Beijing Olympics Katie Hoff’s ambitious programme at the Beijing Olympics has earned her the tag of the female Michael Phelps, but the swimmer Phelps calls his “little sister” can’t quite see it that way. “I saw an article asking, ‘Can Katie beat Michael to the record?’ and my mouth dropped,” Hoff said. “Because Michael has world records and is ranked first in a lot of events. I’m just going to keep taking one race at a time and whatever shakes out will happen.” That’s a bit of characteristic modesty from the 19-year-old, who grew up swimming with Phelps’s onetime club, North Baltimore Aquatic. After all, Hoff is a two-time World Champion in both the 200m and 400m individual medleys, as well as in the 4x200m freestyle relay. At the US trials in Omaha, she sent a clear... [read full story]