Updates & Best Posts
Posts from ‘World Championships’
Runaway performance for Lochte
Sunday, July 31st, 2011Ryan Lochte finishes as the undisputed star of the swimming world championships in Shanghai, hauling in five gold medals.
Franklin continues to impress at world championships
Saturday, July 30th, 2011Not only is 16-year-old Missy Franklin the breakout swimmer for the United States, she’s also the top U.S. female competitor in the last major tune-up for the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Lochte asserts dominance with two more golds
Friday, July 29th, 2011With an overpowering anchor leg in the 800 free relay and a stellar performance in the 200 back on Friday, Ryan Lochte continued his remarkable run at the world championships.
Franklin collecting medals, turning heads
Thursday, July 28th, 2011Sixteen-year-old American Missy Franklin wins bronze in 50-meter backstroke, kickstarts 800-meter relay with blazing opening leg.
Lochte beats Phelps again, sets world record
Thursday, July 28th, 2011Ryan Lochte tops Michael Phelps for the second time at the world championships, posting a world record in the 200 IM.
Phelps takes gold in 200 fly at world championships
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011Michael Phelps shows the will and late-race stamina that have been his trademark to claim the 200 fly gold medal 10 years after winning his first world championship.
Lochte beats Phelps in 200 free at world championships
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011Tuesday’s victory bolsters Ryan Lochte’s burgeoning reputation, hinting that he no longer is merely a capable rival for the world’s best swimmer, but perhaps a true challenger to that title.
Swimming world championships begin with a letdown as U.S. men finish third in 400 free relay
Sunday, July 24th, 2011Ending a streak of six straight gold medals in major events, the U.S. men put forward a disappointing third-place performance in 4 x 100-meter relay at the swimming world championships.
Michael Phelps vs. Ryan Lochte: Rivalry in bloom or changing of the guard?
Sunday, July 24th, 2011Ryan Lochte, not Olympic golden boy Michael Phelps, enters this week’s world swimming championships in Shanghai in peak form.
‘The Plastic Meet’ Wipes Out 43 World Records
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009When it was all over, when the last of the 43 world records had fallen at the Foro Italico during the eight-day swimming world championships, it was remarkable how little anybody actually learned. As swimmers in glossy polyurethane bodysuits obliterated virtually all of the sport’s records, times became meaningless, and achievements hazy and unclassifiable. This “will be remembered,” USA Swimming National Team Director Mark Schubert said, “as the plastic meet.”
Phelps Takes Fifth Gold; Lochte Wins 400 IM
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009Michael Phelps set another world record and won his fifth gold medal in the last event of the swimming world championships Sunday, swimming the butterfly leg for the U.S. 4×100 medley relay team that scored a dominant victory in 3 minutes 27.28 seconds. Earlier, Ryan Lochte hung on for victory in the 400-meter individual medley final on the last day of competition at the swimming world championships, giving him gold medals in both medleys. American Tyler Clary overtook Laszlo Cseh to get the silver.
Phelps Catches Cavic Again in 100 Butterfly
Saturday, August 1st, 2009Michael Phelps ran down Serbian Milorad Cavic from behind again, setting a world record in the 100-meter butterfly with his finish in 49.82 seconds at the swimming world championships. After the race, Phelps ripped off his cap and raised his arms with defiance. Cavic, who led after 50, also went under the world record he set Friday, touching the wall in 49.95.
Pelton Grabs 6th in 200 Back After Relay Disappointment
Saturday, August 1st, 2009Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, finished sixth in her first world-championship final, the 200-meter backstroke, hours after a huge disappointment, leading off a the U.S. 4×100 women’s squad that failed to advance to Saturday night’s final at the swimming world championships. In other news, Dara Torres changed suits and squeezed into Sunday’s 50 freestyle final; and Brazil’s Cesar Cielo added the men’s 50 free title to go with his world championship in the 100 free.
Phelps’s Day of High Drama Ends With Gold
Friday, July 31st, 2009Michael Phelps earned his third world championship gold medal Friday night, but as far as days go, there have been plenty better. Phelps lost a lead-off leg and a world record, and was subjected to an unexpected verbal attack.
Rested and Ready, Peirsol Annihilates Own World Record
Friday, July 31st, 2009More rested, more motivated and more focused. Aaron Peirsol figured he might have been all of those for Friday’s 200-meter backstroke final after a miscalculation kept him out of the 100 backstroke earlier this week.
Peirsol didn’t merely go under the world record he set wearing the same swimsuit three weeks ago, he completely demolished it, finishing in 1 minute 51.92 seconds at the swimming world championships.
Cavic: I Will Buy Phelps A Faster High-Tech Suit
Friday, July 31st, 2009Serbian Milorad Cavic, who earlier this week claimed a timing error cost him a victory against Michael Phelps in last year’s photo-finish Olympic 100-meter butterfly, said he would buy Phelps a faster suit for Saturday’s 100 fly final if Phelps couldn’t get one for free.“I think in the media, it’s been portrayed that he has no options,” Cavic said after posting the fastest qualifying time in the 100 fly heats Friday morning. “He does. It’s a complete lie.”
With Phelps Watching, Lochte Steals His WR
Thursday, July 30th, 2009UPDATE: As Michael Phelps watched from the stands, Ryan Lochte got a chance to shine in an event Phelps has dominated. Lochte didn’t merely win the gold in the 200-meter individual medley at the world championships in Rome, he broke Phelps’s world record, touching the wall in 1.54.10. Phelps’s record set at last year’s Olympics was 1:54.23.
Morning Update: Peirsol Dives Back In
Thursday, July 30th, 2009After failing to qualify for the 100-meter backstroke final, Aaron Peirsol sailed through Thursday’s qualifying round of the 200 backstroke at the swimming world championships. In other news, Amanda Weir broke Natalie Coughlin’s American record in the 100 freestyle, Ariana Kukors swam fast again in the 4×200 relay heats and American Eric Shanteau topped all qualifiers in the 200 breast.
Phelps Forgets Defeat; Sets WR In 200 Fly
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009UPDATE: Michael Phelps rebounded from his shocking defeat in Tuesday’s 200 freestyle by beating his own world record in the 200 butterfly by almost half a second. Phelps touched the wall in 1 minute 51.51 seconds.
Phelps Will Swim In ‘Local Meets’
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Michael Phelps surprised reporters when he said he plans to swim in some local, 25-yard meets this fall and winter, as USA Swimming official said they would consider banning long-length, non-textile suits at national competitions for all ages next year if FINA doesn’t act quickly enough. In other news, the U.S. team won four medals at the world swimming championships Wednesday night, hours after Mary DeScenza stunningly set her first world record.
The Result Suits No One: Phelps Loses 200 Free
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Perhaps more than anything, German Paul Biedermann’s resounding defeat of Michael Phelps Tuesday in the 200-meter freestyle in 1 minute, 42.00 seconds — 0.89 under Phelps’s world record and 1.22 faster than Phelps — offered evidence that the sport’s controversial high-tech speedsuits haven’t really done anyone, least of all Biedermann, any favors.
Arena X-Glide Body Suit 1, Michael Phelps 0
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Sally Jenkins on Michael Phelps vs. Paul Biedermann: Score one for laminates. The human got crushed. The nature of the confrontation was clear: Michael Phelps, the amphibious freak of nature, against the Arena X-Glide body suit, an artificial swim shell with a science fiction title worn by German Paul Biedermann. It was man against thermoplastic, basically a case of Phelps trying to swim faster than a guy wearing the hull of a spacecraft. We all know who won. The Suitmakers, of course.
Suit Ban Might Not Take Effect Until Spring
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009After the world swimming governing body (FINA) said its promised ban on long-length swimsuits beginning in January of next year might not be implemented until April or May, Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps’s coach, said he would advise his star to refuse to swim until the ban is in place. In other news, two American women get medals in the 100 breast at the swimming world championships, and a British backstroker thrives in an old suit.
Tuesday Morning Update From Rome
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Michael Phelps posted the second-best time in the heats of the 200-meter butterfly (1 minute, 54.33 seconds) Tuesday morning, and then immediately turned his attention to that evening’s 200 freestyle final — his first individual final at the swimming world championships.
Miscalculation Dooms Peirsol In 100 Back
Monday, July 27th, 2009A mental error cost U.S. world-record holder Aaron Peirsol a spot in the final of the 100-meter backstroke at the world championships in Rome Monday night; later, Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton faltered after advancing to the semifinals of the women’s 100 back. Little-known U.S. swimmer Ariana Kukors, meantime, continued her incredible run, setting arguably the most remarkable of the five world records posted Monday.
Phelps Starts To Feel The Heat In Rome
Monday, July 27th, 2009With another unfathomable number of world records — five Monday night — falling at the swimming world championships, and surprises lurking in every heat, it was easy to be distracted from one of the most engrossing storylines here, one not to be missed: Michael Phelps is under assault. The man at the sport’s epicenter is feeling the heat from fast-charging men in superfast speedsuits, even in individual events he is accustomed to dominating.
Phelps Gives Up Freestyle Stroke Experiment
Monday, July 27th, 2009On Monday morning at the U.S. swimming world championships, Michael Phelps announced he was giving up his experiment with a new freestyle stroke; Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, set a personal best in the 100 backstroke heats to advance to the semifinals; and another suit malfunction “exposed” backstroker Matt Grevers. But no world records were set. Meantime, Sunday night, Ryan Lochte left Phelps speechless with his choice of words.
One Down, Six To Go; Phelps Gets Surprise Gold
Sunday, July 26th, 2009On a night an astonishing six world records fell at the swimming world championships in Rome — unleashing the now-customary tirades against the high-tech suits believed to be behind them — the only final that did not produce a world record provided the biggest shock. The U.S. 4×100-meter freestyle relay team claimed an unlikely gold medal in 3 minutes, 9.21 seconds, coming from behind to, once again, beat the French.
Records Fall At World Champs; Suits Assailed
Sunday, July 26th, 2009After breaking Ian Thorpe’s hallowed 400-meter freestyle world record by .01 seconds at the world championships in Rome, Germany’s Paul Biederman credited his superfast Arena X-Glide suit for a gain of about two seconds in the race, then said the suits were destroying the sport. On the opening night of the championships at the Foro Italico as six world records were set, many agreed.
Suit Malfunction Almost Derails U.S. Relay Team
Sunday, July 26th, 2009Michael Phelps’s quest for six gold medals at the world championships in Rome almost ended before the U.S. men’s relay squad even got in the pool for Sunday morning’s qualifying round. As Ricky Berens, scheduled to swim third for the U.S. morning squad, bent over on the pool deck for a drink of water moments before the race, his suit — a Jaked01 — split significantly in the back. U.S. anchor leg Cullen Jones urged Berens to forget the gaping hole and swim for the team. And he did.
