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How Ricky Berens Learned He Qualified For The Olympics Is Fantastic

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Monday's news that MIchael Phelps would be swimming seven events at the 2012 Summer Olympics -- choosing to drop the 200-meter free in favor of focusing on the Team USA relays -- came a surprise to some. After all, he won the event at the trials just a few days ago in Omaha. But perhaps no one was more shocked by the tweet from Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach, than Ricky Berens:

Yes, much like the ancient Greeks first envisioned, an athlete learned he was headed to the Olympics on Twitter.

Berens finished third in the finals of the men's 200m free, and since only the top two go to London -- in this case, Phelps and Ryan Lochte -- it meant Berens had missed a spot in the Olympics by just 0.81 seconds. But with Phelps opting not to swim the event, it opened the door for the first alternate ... Berens.

Learning about Olympic berths is basically the best kind of authentic human interest story strat.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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