Paul Biedermann crushed Michael Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle final, making Phelps look like a tired man in the homestretch and he inadvertently set Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, ranting against the sport’s governing body. (Michael Sohn, Associated Press)
ROME, July 28 — A German swimmer known more for his swimsuit than his credentials did far more than win a race Tuesday night at the swimming world championships. Paul Biedermann crushed Michael Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle final, making Phelps look like a tired man in the homestretch; he obliterated Phelps’s world record in the event; and he inadvertently set Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, ranting against the sport’s governing body, FINA.
But perhaps more than anything, with his victory in 1 minute 42 seconds — 0.89 under Phelps’s world record and 1.22 faster than Phelps, who finished in second place — Biedermann offered evidence that the high-tech speedsuits haven’t really done anyone, least of all Biedermann, any favors.
“I am a little bit angry,” Biedermann said after being assaulted with questions about his speedsuit. “I’m also a little bit sad. It’s all about the suits. It’s not about the swimmer.”
Indeed, little that has happened at these championships, in which 15 world records have been broken in three days, has been about the swimmer, and Biedermann has become the unwitting and unfortunate lightning rod for the issue by upsetting the sport’s two biggest icons — and then frankly admitting that his performances have been aided by his new Arena X-Glide suit.
On Sunday, he broke Australian legend Ian Thorpe’s seven-year-old record in the 400 freestyle by 0.01 seconds, then speculated that his suit made him two seconds faster. Tuesday, it was Phelps, the 14-time Olympic gold medal winner, whom he dominated. Phelps claimed the silver in 1:43.22.
“When he pulled away, I kind of got left behind pretty quick,” Phelps said. The high-tech speedsuits have been factors in more than 140 world records in the last 18 months.
“Yes, [the suit] makes me faster, of course,” Biedermann said. “FINA allowed it. It’s not my problem ….. It’s a problem of FINA, and they should handle it fast.”
Phelps, who claimed a gold medal in the 4×100 free relay Sunday, analyzed his day without anger or resentment or visible frustration, saying he was not in the shape he was last summer because he had taken six months off after the Olympics. “I probably didn’t prepare myself the best way I should have,” he said.
Bowman, his coach, could not even feign serenity.
Bowman’s ire had already been raised hours earlier, when FINA announced it was pushing back its deadline by five months, until next April or May, for implementing a ban on non-textile, full-length suits. The resounding defeat of Phelps by a swimmer who got a 1.5-second boost from his suit, according to Bowman, did nothing to calm him.
“They can probably expect Michael not to swim until [the rule changes are] implemented,” Bowman said. “I’m done with this. This has to be implemented immediately. The sport is in shambles right now, and they’re going to lose the guy that fills these seats.
“They’ve lost the history of the sport,” Bowman said. “Does a 10-year-old boy in Baltimore want to break Paul Biedermann’s record?”
The race had seemed a battle of David vs. Goliath at the start, though the man cast as Goliath depended on what barometer you used: recent performances or long-term reputation. Phelps, a legendary figure who owned world records in five events (it’s now four), has been wearing a 2008 speedsuit known as the Speedo LZR that is now considered largely outdated and a potential hindrance among the slew of swimmers here outfitted in more recently developed models.
“The suit makes a difference, of course,” Biedermann said. “Last year it was Speedo; now it’s Arena. We are in a dangerous situation. What comes next? ….. It’s really important to go back to the real swimming.”
On that point, Phelps agreed: “Technology ….. has changed the sport completely. Now it’s not swimming. You hear a headline; it’s always, ‘Who’s wearing what suit?’ It’s not swimming. I’m looking forward to the day we can call our sport swimming again.”
Biedermann, who had never before won an Olympic or world championship medal, cut four seconds off of his time since last year in the 200 free and more than seven seconds in the 400 free. He was ranked ninth and 21st in the world in those events, respectively, in 2008.
Bowman noted that it took five years for Phelps to make those sorts of leaps.
“It’s taken this guy 11 months?” he said. “That’s an amazing training program. I’d love to know how it works.”
Though the suits might explain why Biedermann is going faster, they don’t explain why Phelps hasn’t been as sharp here as he was at last year’s Summer Games. His freestyle stroke, in particular, has not been up to his usual standard. Leading off the 4×100 free relay, Phelps posted a slower time than he did at the Olympics.
“I’m not happy,” Phelps said. “I mean, I know I didn’t train very much this year, and for right now I’ll take it, but I’m not very pleased.”
In the 200 free, Phelps got out faster but was passed in the first 50 meters by Biedermann. Bowman suggested that the latest suits — which aid buoyancy and make swimmers sleeker through the water — help swimmers start effortlessly and finish with more energy. Whatever the reason, Phelps could never recover Tuesday, fading in the last 25 meters rather than closing. He did, however, come back later that night and qualify for the 200 butterfly final with the second-best time (1 minute, 53.48 seconds).
“I hope there will be a time when I can beat Michael Phelps without a suit, of course,” Biedermann said, adding later: “Maybe Michael was not in the best shape, like in Beijing. I think maybe when he is in better shape he could beat me, but for the moment, I am faster.”
Tags: Michael Phelps
stats corner
He lost to a wetsuit, not a swimmer. Biedermann: “I hope I can challenge Michael without the suit next year.”
He took off 6 months – obviously that had more to do than the suit and he admits it. Why does the suit always have to be the excuse?
Paul Biedermann won the event. Please take off the USA-goggles and present the news in a world perspective.
So he came in second, so what? Where’s it written that Phelps has to win all swimming events in every competition? He still accomplished the miraculous, unprecedented, eight gold-medal victories at the Beijing Olympics, so people should be satisfied and stop making unrealistic demands of him. In fact, Phelps should stop making such unrealistic demands of himself and just enjoy doing his best.
Biederman did win but also said after he won the 400 , and I quote “the suit gave me about 2 seconds”…every swimmer has said the suit has a big effect, especially Biederman (who btw, has dropped 4 seconds since bejing) and looks forward to racing without the suit.
Acknowledging the suits effect on performances is good reporting, not pro USA reporting.. The Aussies have taken a big hit from the suits, not just the US
The suit is only an excuse because he himself said it was responsible for him going faster. These suits are as bad for swimming as steroids are for baseball.
hahaha… too much pot smoking slows you down!
It’s a little curious that the German swimmer shaved close to 3 seconds off his previous best time. Come on, most of these elite athletes are doping. It’s just that the tests have not caught up yet. Anyone is a fool to think that a suit improves the time that much.
I think it is perfectly ok for someone besides an AMERICAN to win these events! Phelps also has the freedom to change his swimwear! (Who ever liked Speedo anyway??)
In Beijing last year, the Americans were doping with the Speedo swim suit. Phelps took all the medals on the Speedo. What goes around comes around? Now shut up with the excuses and swim for heaven’s sake!
Clearly, taking 6 months off says it all. Typically the year after the games you’ll see a lot of swimmers take extensive time off to blow off steam from the hard work. This is the main factor we see MP in less than top form.
I hate the suits and FINA made an egregious mistake allowing them in competition, but the fact is these suits really only amount to so much progress. Yes they add some buoyancy, slip effect and then there’s the mental edge one gets from wearing it, but it still is a lot of swimming that goes into swimming a 1:42 flat and 3:40.07. That’s not all the suit.
Biederman just kept adding distance between himself and MP in the last leg. That’s improvement on an individual level. Get over it.
Now, on equal swim suit conditions and with a fully trained MP we’ll see how things work out. For now suck it up, and give kudos to a german who has taken the swimming world by storm.
MP did not lose to a wet suit. He lost to a more motivated and better trained german, who so happened to wear a better suit that probably gave him a little edge, and I mean little which doesn’t amount to the 1.43 second beating he handed out.
Kudos Deutschland!
There are several reasons Phelps did not win: 1) a lesser suit. 2) He’s messed up his freestyle stroke by working on the straight-arm “Windmill” technique for most of the spring, and then officially deciding to Nix it, in favor of the old style “Bend-arm”. So now his bend-arm technique has suffered a bit, but is BUTTERFLY is still great….he broke the world record in the 100 meter Butterfly earlier this month, so it’s NOT a matter of him not being in shape.
It’s okay….Bierderman was honest about the suit, and honest about what a dream-come-true it was to beat Phelps! I think Phelps’ camp knew this was a possibility, and he was probably emotionally prepared to face losing this year. Next year, “swimming will be swimming again”!
As Ryan Lochte put it…..”BRING BACK THE BANANA HAMMOCKS!!!
We all are under the control of destiny, from the secong we come out of our mothers womb, its written in the cards of life
The discussion on this thread is a perfect example of why they should just go back to briefs and shaving.
Congratulations to Biederman for the wins and the records. I also give him props for honestly recognizing that he may have had an advantage. I’m looking forward to the next 200 free match-up between Phelps and Biederman when technology wont have any influence. Based on Phelps reaction, I’m sure he will be training for it.
he lost..can we please move on from it.
Time to PUT DOWN THE BONG, Mike!
(maybe he’s not eating enough …)
The suits have made the championships a joke. People are crushing the records. Unfortunately they are probably not going to be able to undo the records.
Its not that Phelps lost but rather the ridiculous amount of time Bierderman shaved off in a short period of time. That only happens at the age group ranks. He even admits it is mostly the suit.
Phelps is clearly not back at the top of his game yet.
“In fact, Phelps should stop making such unrealistic demands of himself and just enjoy doing his best.”
What demands has he made that are unrealistic? And why does your opinion about MP’s demands on himself count as fact?
Maybe the next technology breakthrough could be wetter water. Grease up those water molecules with polymer molecules among them, kinda like liquid teflon. Change the water’s bouyancy too, by having competitions only in the Great Salt Lake. And the idea of “next time without the suits”, I am all in favor of that.
Howard Guss wrote: “Please take off the USA-goggles and present the news in a world perspective.” What is wrong with an American journalist writing for an American newspaper for an American readership leading with the news that the best swimmer in the world, who happens to be American, lost a title he currently held? I assure you that when Andy Murray lost in the semifinal at Wimbledon this year, the lead in the articles in the British newspapers was about Murray losing, not about Andy Roddick winning. The same applies throughout Europe and throughout the world when a nation’s own athlete performs. Do you really think the French newspapers were focused earlier this week on the 1-2 placement of the American and Russian relay teams in the 4X100? No, they focused on the fact that the favored French team placed third. Why do Americans insist on this double standard, always criticizing perfectly natural behavior by Americans that they would never criticize in other nationalities? The braindead lefties have got to shut the hell up.
Would anyone know Phelps without his Speedo LZR he wore in Bejing? Just to think about.
Oh give me a break….losing a race after winning 8 (count ‘em) Gold medals at the Olympics does NOT take one thing away from Phelp’s legacy. I have been a USA swimmer, then a USA certified coach….for someone to swim all the events he did at the Olympics showed how incredibly well rounded and well trained he was. It would be next to impossible for him to continue to dominate each event from the Olympics on. Each event has it’s own specialists…that may be extraordinary at one or two events, and certainly he will be defeated by individual event specialists from now on…at various times. Specialists train for the exact stroke and distance they excel in. It takes NOTHING away from Phelps that he has lost a race.
“Would anyone know Phelps without his Speedo LZR he wore in Bejing?”
Yes, because people don’t know about Phelps due to the Speedo LZR. They know about him because of 8 gold medals that were hung around his neck last August. And over the past few years, he’s made a habit of winning multiple golds and breaking world records per swim meet, pre-LZR.
And I’ll add my “amen” to most of what Frank Lee said above, as well.
Mike has been hitting too much bong and finding too many women….
Time to get back in the pool and practice…
You know, I swam for quite a while…through high school, into college and a couple of different private clubs one of which was NBAC (though that was the NBAC before Phelps and his fellow superstars had even been born!). I was ok…far from great…but I worked my tail off with some of the same hard and, often, two a day practices as today’s superstars. I won my share of competitions but also came in no better than second in a number of others. Above all, I most often swam much better when I didn’t assume – or wasn’t sure – that I’d win. And yes…there is a reason I relate a bit of my personal story here.
My story is much closer to those of the huge majority of my fellow hard working swimmers (then and now). The fact that Phelps did not WIN a race has now become a front page news story seems a real loss of perspective. That this guy is an astounding swimmer hasn’t changed in the least. And his not WINNING can only make him a better swimmer still. The impropriety of the ‘steriod’ swimsuits have also been again highlighted. I also agree with other posters here and appreciate Beidermann’s honest reference to his suit. But such honesty in combination with an overall lack of vanity has been a couple of characteristics I have long found to hold true in (most) swimmers.
At the same time, swimming the 200 meter free in 1:42 is most impressive and Beidermann’s effort can hardly be dismissed outright by ‘blaming’ the swimsuit. For the record, I also consider these swim suits to be the antithesis of everything that swimming is and was delighted to see FINA issue its ban. Just as steroids inside the body are unlawful physical enhancement, these ‘high tech’ ‘steroid’ swim suits outside the body are (should be) unlawful mechanical enhancement. Hopefully, that will be further quantified with definitive time lines put into place very soon.
But my congrats to Beidermann none-the-less who swam just one helluva race…with or without a reference to the suit in question. While it would have been much cooler to see him and Phelps go head to head without the mechanical intervention, he should still very much enjoy his victory. And for Phelps – your status is hardly diminished…and back to that never ending practice!
My opinion of Michael Phelps just dropped considerably. I don’t mean because he lost to a superior swimmer but because he didn’t have the sportsmanship to congratulate the winner. Accomplishments in the swimming pool aside he is pretty much an arrogant teenager. Pleased with the pampering when he wins and sulking off when he loses. He seems to forget that when the Speedo Lazer suits came along and those without them complained he was silent. Now that the Jaked suit is faster than his sponsor’s he is complaining about the suits. That’s the definition of hypocrite.
I find it rather interesting that when American swimmer Ariana Kukors, who wasn’t fast enough to even qualify for the US national team, came out of nowhere in her shiny Jaked speedsuit to crush Aussie Stephanie Rice and her world record from Beijing in the 200 IM, she is lauded as the next Katie Hoff by the U.S. press and public, and there’s hardly any acknowledgement that her very sudden and suspicious drop of 5 seconds ever since donning a Jaked fastsuit may have something to do with it.
And when American Rebecca Soni suddenly destroys the great Lethal Leisel Jones from Australia’s WR with the help of her hi-tech Arena X-Glide speedsuit, she is crowned the “new Queen of the breaststroke” by American commentators as they smugly pat each other on the back (whilst conveniently neglecting to mention that Soni was nowhere in Jones’ league back in Beijing at this distance when wearing the outdated Speedo LZR slowsuit).
Yet when their icon and national hero Phelps puts in a relatively subpar performance (which can happen to any swimmer even the greats), and is put to shame by a “foreigner” who clearly was the much better swimmer and delivered on the day, then they cry foul and reach for any flimsy excuses like the suits instead of accepting that the blame may have been squarely on the loser. Come on, British swimmer Gemma Spofforth just proved today that the suits aren’t that much of a factor – she wiped out the world record in the 100 back wearing only the “lowly” LZR slowsuit and competing against a field which were all suited up in the latest and greatest Jaked & Arena fastsuits!
Actually what I find most disturbing about all of this is Phelps’ reaction when he doesn’t win (see AP article excerpt below). Did he never learn the art of good sportsmanship? First you must congratulate the winner… no matter how you feel. Not a very good role model and example for young swimmers to follow. And think about this: when Michael Phelps won all those golds in Beijing and broke world record after world record, aided by his LZR which was the fastest suit at the time, and against competitors from other countries many of whom couldn’t get their hands on the LZR, he was glorified in America for his superior athleticism and not for his superior suit…
——–
[From AP]: “While Biedermann celebrated his time of 1 minute, 42.00 seconds, which knocked off Phelps’ world mark of 1:42.96 from the Beijing Olympics, the American stared at the scoreboard for a few seconds, then headed toward the side of the pool WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING the swimmer who had just handed him his first big individual loss since July 30, 2005, at the world championships in Montreal.
Phelps started to WALK AWAY after the top three got their medals, then was motioned back to the top rung to pose for pictures with the winner and bronze medalist Danila Izotov of Russia. Instead of being the center of attention, Phelps had to stand off to the side, looking GLUMLY toward the cameras. As they walked around the deck, Biedermann danced in delight while Phelps managed a few FORCED smiles when he looked up toward the stands. Finally, Phelps climbed toward the stands to drop off a stuffed mascot with his mother, Debbie, who leaned over to give him a consoling hug. Before her son even left the pool deck, he PULLED OFF his silver medal, as if he wanted NO PART of that consolation prize.”
“Would anyone know Phelps without his Speedo LZR he wore in Bejing?”
Just remember that Phelps didn’t wear the full LZR for most of his races – he wore only the leggings for any of his races that involved Fly – including the 100 Fly in which Cavic wore a full bodysuit, and Phelps wore only the leggings. Months before Beijing, FINA dictated that Speedo pass on the LZR technology so that the other swimwear companies could copy it in time and so that there would be as much of a level playing field as possible. If memory serves right, Speedo has had to do similarly in before other Olympics as well.
It will be interesting to see what kinds of times Biedermann and all the other swimmers wearing the polyurethane suits post once things get back to normal.
Also, the entire FINA board should be replaced for even letting this controversy even arise over the past 15-18 months. They’ve done a complete disservice to the sport. If these world championships prove anything, it’s that there’s a reason buoyancy aids are prohibited in the FINA rules. Time to start enforcing it once again.
From the article:
********************************************************
“When he pulled away, I kind of got left behind pretty quick,” Phelps said. The high-tech speedsuits have been factors in more than 140 world records in the last 18 months…
Phelps, who claimed a gold medal in the 4×100 free relay Sunday, analyzed his day without anger or resentment or visible frustration, saying he was not in the shape he was last summer because he had taken six months off after the Olympics. “I probably didn’t prepare myself the best way I should have,” he said.
********************************************************
Um, what part of this says that PHELPS is complaining about the suits? BOWMAN is complaining and loudly.
Phelps took six months off – as far as I’m concerned, a well deserved six months. He has to get his stride (or stroke) back.
Besides – I can guarantee you the press was standing there saying “Michael, why did you swim so badly?” If Phelps did or didn’t congratulate Biedermann, I don’t see evidence of that in this article (glad to see proof elsewhere of that). I dare ANY of these reporters to suit up, get in the water, and swim 200 meters in 1:43.22
These are the same reporters that imply if an athlete doesn’t win the gold/take first in a sport where wins and losses are separated by fingernails, then s/he isn’t world class. He’s still swimming fast, I’m sure he’ll still qualify for 2012 – so what if he’s warming back up to full training?
Phelps has no class!!! It’s wasy to win but the true champion can be classy in defeat!! Phelps, obviously, would rather be back at his hotel smoking than show a little class!! What a piece of ####!!
Sport? Swimming is a means of keeping from drowning. COmpetition maybe, but not sport.
Forget people cheating or not. We should be focusing on poverty issues and things that can really hurt people. The Borgen Project has some good information on the cost of addressing global poverty (www.borgenproject.org).
It only takes $30 billion annually to end world hunger!
Yet… we are spending $550 billion annually on the defense budget.
Phelps is getting old !
Are u kidding me?
Phelps’s coach actually is saying if Phelps isn’t winning people will not go to watch International events??
When Speedos was ahead of the suit technology game, it was Fine, because Phelps wears Speedos?
Somtimes this America bias and crybaby stuff is past embarrasing!!
Why must non-americans dislike Phelps by default? Just because he didn’t have an oppressive government whipping him with twine until he could hit every ping pong ball or dive in a completely vertical and gay fashion, and yet still be the best athlete in the world, doesn’t mean he symbolizes some American desire for sports imperialism. He is the best overall WHILE smoking pot. That is called bas #ss. And he happens to be an American. Eat it.
A race is a race and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The issue is not necessarily the swimmers but the suits – all of them. The controversy surrounding all of the suits is diminishing the records that have been set. When suits begin to be banned, the question that will be asked about the records that have been set will be “what suit were they wearing?”. It puts swimming records in the same category as the baseball records “with asterisks” (steroids or not?). When the sport rights its ship where the suits are concerned, it will be quite a while before some of these records will be broken. So do they ban the suits and create the uneven playing field of trying to compete against performance-enhanced records or do they continue to allow the suits and continue to have the legitimacy of the records be questioned? Suit-mania and the implicatations have reached far beyond world champs. College records and high school records have been set with these suits also. Imagine an average high school swimmer shelling out that kind of money for a suit so they can what, make it to districts or states? It’s crazy when suit manufacturers can’t fill their orders because little Suzy who swims a 1:01 100-yard freestyle has to have a Lazer because everyone else at champs will have it too. The sport has opened a Pandora’s Box – we’ll see how well it manages to reclaim its legitimacy.
I was in attendance at the meet, and I didn’t see any of this bad sportsmanship at all from michael. If anything he handled it beautifully. Phelps shook Biedermann’s hand on the podium. He was smiling with Biedermann as they circled the pool after the medal ceremony. Then, after that, he focused on his 200 fly, and after that, he got back to the team USA section to cheer for his teammates. I really hope people don’t think the other way around because of bad press. Michael Phelps showed tremendous sportsmanship.
When Roger Banister broke the 4 minute barrier for the mile, 16 others broke it the next year. He used “pacers” in the race to keep the pace strong enough for all four laps. He was training to be a Medical Doctor and used some of that knowledge to help him succeed. The technology that was used to help the swimmers move through the water with less drag, and more buoyancy is wonderful and it has been a great pleasure to see how well everyone is doing to close the gap with Michael. Look at Toger Woods. He has exceptional skill, but I’m sure he uses an excellent club to make those 300 plus drives along with his talent and training. Michael raised the bar in Beijing and now there is a lot of interest in the Sport. if anything all this publicity is good for the Sport. It seems to be replacing tennis for popularity. I think the other consideration is the health of all these swimmers compared to a Sport like Boxing where you get traumatic brain injuries from the competition. Its fun to watch the way these swimmers have perfected there technique, and now Michael has incentive to work hard this coming year to get ready for London.
RichardinPasadena wrote: “He seems to forget that when the Speedo Lazer suits came along and those without them complained he was silent. Now that the Jaked suit is faster than his sponsor’s he is complaining about the suits. That’s the definition of hypocrite.”
I agree wholeheartedly with the above view. And, what a poor show of sportsmanship not to have immediately congratuated Paul Biedermann, as is tradition. So sorry, Phelps, about the sour grapes.
Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see some fair behavior from the silver medal winner and from the press, not to mention some of the commentators above?
Paul Biedermann is World Champion and record holder. Hurray! (Hope you can now accept it and get a life!)
The REAL problem is greed. Mr. Phelps signed a $1million+ endorsement deal with Speedo which locked him into wearing their suit. If he would have said no and just bought a few suits out of his Baltimore Aquatic Center’s budget he would have been free to switch to the newer suit.
Frankly, I’m tired of everyone’s constant reminder that he took 6 months off. No one held a gun to his head preventing him from training. Any Sunday morning jogger knows that if you stop training you lose ground. If his results are due to that then he received poor guidance from his coach Mr. Bowman.
And the threat to pull Phelps from competition if something isn’t done immediately by FINA is laughable. Most (99.9%) of Americans will not see any competitve swimming on TV until the next Olympics. Did you see the size of the stands? This is the World Championships. Most US high school football games have more spectators. Phelps Olympic accomplishments were tremendous but it hasn’t catapulted him to the level of Ronaldo or Tom Brady. If he stops competing only the people who follow swimming closely (parents, siblings, coaches and other competitors) will notice.
no doubt phelps is one of the greatest swimmers of all time but normally at the end of a race, you reach over the lane lines and congratulate the winner. i just watched on television and i didn’t see that. why don’t they all swim nude? it would greatly increase television ratings.
Frank Lee says:
July 28, 2009 at 4:26 pm
(Howard Guss wrote: “Please take off the USA-goggles and present the news in a world perspective.” )
“What is wrong with an American journalist writing for an American newspaper for an American readership leading with the news that the best swimmer in the world, who happens to be American, lost a title he currently held?”
Greetings from Germany, everybody…
@Frank Lee: welcome to www, the fact that this article can be found all over the world makes this newspaper international. also i heard that washington “might” be the capital of your nation and so it is your face to the world.
back to topic: what kind of real sportsman leaves the pool without a handshake with the matchwinner?
what i heard mp was really pissed of that speedo wasn´t able to deliver a competitive suit.
imagine, they could, mp wouldn´t decline it…
so to that fact, i only can tell you…the suits are allowed at the moment, so they were used by everyone and this is ok, this how the sport works at the moment.
mp constrain himself with his contract to wear only speedo suits.
sorry for that mp…
biedermann is a smart guy, and very honest, i think he deserve acception for his accomplishment..
enjoy the sport and the develpoment of it…
-Torch-
You know, people complain about the suits, and I do think that the suits create a credibility problem in the sport when each year, a couple new lines of suits come out, each one shaving another second or two off of swim times. It really isn’t about the swimming anymore, and these world records are going to stand decades potentially once these suits are banned.
This said, what sport hasn’t been radically changed by technology? I mean, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell are blazingly fast runners, but look at the springy surface they run on. Look at the clothing they wear. Look at their shoes. Look at the high-tech training techniques at their disposal. Does all of not give them faster times? And were we to step back 50 or 80 years and give this same technology instead of dirt tracks and whatnot to the likes of Charlie Paddock or Jesse Owens, what would the progression of world records look like?
Even in swimming, the training techniques, underwater cameras that measure form and efficiency, and everything else have already radically rewritten how the sport is competed. And rule changes, too, have given more recent swimmers huge advantages in their times. Back when Mark Spitz swam, those underwater dolphin kicks off the walls were completely disallowed. A swimmer doing even one such kick that was not part of the designated stroke was disqualified, which means that the backstrokers today who swim a quarter of the length of the pool or whatever it is underwater with a dolphin kick aren’t even swimming the same event that swimmers 30 or 40 years ago swam. Nobody complained too loudly with the rule changes on dolphin kicks, and now these buoyant suits are the next big revolution in the sport. FINA may ban the suits, and they should worry about the credibility of the sport when records are falling to otherwise no-name swimmers who never before posted a time within several seconds of a world record. But what happens next for swimming? These records are on the books, and without the suits, the records will remain on the books, I expect for a long time. What happens to swimming when people go for a decade without breaking hardly a single record? Not only will this confirm the lack of credibility of just about any record set after the Ian Thorpe era, but it will leave future swimmers looking inferior and struggling to gain popularity in the absence of new records. As FINA juggles the rules, swimming is going to take a decade or two to recover.
The news title should read, “Paul Biedermann wins 200M Free, Sets World Mark.” The achievement is Biedermann’s. Phelps swam a good race, as did the other 6 contenders in the pool. All were within a tiny margin of the world record. Any new record is someone’s victory, not another’s loss.
Unlike golf, where a familiar half-dozen pro players wins tournament after tournament, and have careers that last years, swimming is too grueling to pursue full-time for long. It yields serious endorsement fees for at most one guy and one gal. The stipends or sponsorships the others get don’t amount to much and do not warrant postponing one’s education or career. At age 27, you are “over the hill” and your 18-year investment in conditioning depreciates in weeks. At most, you are qualified to be a coach, but openings are few and pay little. Others might launch a pool supply firm, but make money only if they also rake leaves, shovel snow, and clean out roof gutters too. For 95% of the participants, the years spent in the sport might have been better dedicated to dance, piano, voice, or even the most idiotic video game. Swim training is a discipline, like plowing a field by hand, but has its limits as a stimulus.
Swimmers should compete either naked or using a “regulation” suit, much as ball games mandate standard balls or bats. Just as baseball prohibits spit balls, swimmers should be restricted on what lubricants or fabrics they put on their bodies. In other worlds, a fair “playing pond.”
The integrity of “world records” is also degraded if they keep changing the standards for starts, turns, and attire. The underwater starts and dolphin kick now allowed for backstrokers is less radical than the abolition of the pre-1980s swivel turn in favor of the rollover and flip turn. Times lessen, perhaps without the swimmers being any better.
Go, go, go, Phelps and stay out until you grow up! Who needs someone who throws a tantrum when he can’t get his way? It his God-given right to win. the German swimmer was honest about how the suit helped. We hope to have kind of honest from Phelps and his coach that Phelps too was helped by the suit he had. It is only that this is now better technology than what he had when he racked up the medals. Methinks the focus should be on evrything, the suit, the training of the athlete and maybe just just the fact that Phelps hit his peak and is on his way out. There are always others coming in, training hard and without the fanfare. That is the way sports life is. One cannot be top dog forever.
Americans – ALWAYS SORE LOSERS!!!!
When Phelps won, the world celebrated with him despite that he used “enhanced” swim pants and (as we later found out) marijuana …..and God-only-knows-what-else.
Now that the American lost, the USA-goggled Media is trying to diminish the NON-American Winner.
Biedermann won because he is good. The swim suit is NOT a band equipment. It is legal. It is easily purchaseable. Phelps has tons of money to buy it.
IT WAS A LEVEL PLAYING (SWIMMING) FIELD, UM, POOOOOOOOOL
Stop whinning MY Fellow Americans!!!!!!!!!!
But there is something the press is glazing over, and those of us who have spent our lives swimming and competing need to discuss – the phenomenal drop in times from Biedermann. 4 seconds on a 200? 7 seconds on a 400? Long course?? Woooaaaah. I’m sorry, this is not an issue of American vs. world view, sticking up for Phelps, that’s frankly unheard of and should be brought intot he discussion.
In the 11 months since Beijing, 4 seconds, are you kidding me? Let’s say he never took even some much as a month off after the Olympics – he trained the entire 11 months. Then factor in the suit. Those are still incredible amounts of time for any swimmer. Has it ever been done before?
This swimmer improved so dramatically in a handful of months? I dunno. Regardless, I think that’s the real story, not that he beat Phelps. And if he did legitimately, then it’s an even bigger story.
hey what if phelps had worn exactly the same suit as biederman and still lost? no one is giving biederman any credit but showed he could swim, no matter the suit. phelps is getting older and probably won’t be able to compete on the same level as he had. perhaps he was afraid of wearing the same suit because he might lose. be interesting the next race in the 100 fly against cavic. these new suits should be on sale soon. anyone know where i could get one cheap?
All of the swims in Rome are now tainted because of the FINA’s bad decision to allow these suits. Missing the points’s comments need to the the primary discussion. These suit are allowing unheard of drops in times by swimmer’s across the field. Drops that would have been unheard of without these suits. If these suits didn’t exist and swimmers pulled off these types of drops in times, everyone would be looking into banned substances and so forth to explain this.
In my humble opinion, the story is not the suit or the 6 months off. It is Bowman tinkering with Phelp’s freestyle stroke. He set a world record in the 100 fly at trials, and the record in the 200 fly today. You don’t set the record in the 200 fly if you are out of shape. Although I think the suits help more in the free than the fly (they float too much in the fly, you can’t get your head back down!), if Phelps had not spent his time tinkering with his stroke and had trained free as hard as fly for the limited time he was in the pool this year, he still beats Biederman, and he swims a lot better split on the relay as well.