Michael Phelps abandons the new freestyle technique he tested out this summer. (Alessandro Tarantino, Associated Press)

News From Worlds

ROME, July 27 — The experiment is over for Michael Phelps.

He officially ditched the straight-armed freestyle stroke that was part of his summer foray into sprint-distance races, making the decision immediately after the 4×100-meter freestyle relay final Sunday night at the swimming world championships.

Phelps, who easily advanced in the Monday morning heats of the 200 freestyle, had failed this summer to improve on his personal best in the event and never got comfortable with the new stroke. In Sunday’s race, the U.S. team pulled out a surprise gold medal but Phelps was “disappointed” in his swim, which left the U.S. team in third place after the first leg.

“It’s done,” he said Monday. “We tried something and it didn’t work. We weren’t 100 percent comfortable with it. It’s back to the old stroke.”

The straight-armed freestyle, which requires swimmers to keep their arms virtually straight to give them more power over short distances, has been increasingly popular among sprinters lately. Many of the top French swimmers, including Fred Bousquet use it, and Cullen Jones, the American record holder in the 50 freestyle, has recently adopted the stroke.

Phelps used the stroke, but only sporadically. He seemed unable to find a rhythm with it. And furthermore, perhaps owing to the juggling of old and new, he said, his old stroke “was kind of off,” but he felt better during Monday morning’s 200 qualfying heat.

“He’s not really [been] doing the new stroke, he’s not really doing the old stroke,” his coach Bob Bowman said.

On Monday morning, Phelps posted the second-fastest qualifying time behind German Paul Biedermann, who finished in 1 minute, 45.30 seconds. On Sunday night, Biedermann broke Ian Thorpe’s world record in the 400 freestyle. Phelps touched the wall in 1:45.60, then reflected on Sunday’s achievement by Biedermann, who is now Phelps’s top rival in the 200 free.

“I still don’t believe the 400 record was broken,” Phelps said. “I thought that was the best record in the books. People are swimming pretty fast.”

Biedermann openly acknowledged after the race that he thought his Arena X-Glide speedsuit gave him an extra two seconds in the race, helping him break the world record. Unlike Biedermann, Phelps is wearing the fast suit of 2008 — the Speedo LZR — which some believe puts him at a disadvantage against the fastest suits of 2009.

American David Walters also qualified for the night’s semifinals with his finish in 1:47.15, 15th overall.

Pelton Posts Personal Best

After watching the six world records set on the opening day of the world championships Sunday, Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, got nervous.

She realized merely making it to the semifinals in her three backstroke events would be a major challenge.

Instead of going to bed early the night before her world championship debut in the 100 backstroke heats Monday morning, Pelton turned on her computer, linked to Skype and called her old coach at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Paul Yetter, for some advice and reassurance.

“We talked,” Pelton said. “Everything was good … I decided I had to be a little faster” in Monday’s heats.

All went according to plan. Pelton kept her cool. She made it to the semifinals with the 12th-best qualifying time. And her finish in 1 minute, 0.47 seconds represented a personal best by 0.19.

“That was excellent,” said Bowman, whose training group at NBAC Pelton will join in the fall. “It was really, really good to come in and do a best time racing in a meet like this … she knows what she wants to do and how to do it.”

Pelton, however, likely won’t be earning her first world championship medal in the event’s final. Her time was far slower than the morning’s leaders. Britain’s Gemma Spofforth posted the fastest time and approached the world record, finishing in 58.78. American Hayley McGregory stood seventh with her time of 59.91. In the women’s 1500 free heats, Mission Viejo’s Chloe Sutton, 17, who used to train with the McLean-based Fish, finished seventh to reach the event’s final.

Another Suit Malfunction

A day after Ricky Berens swam in the qualifying heats of the 4×100 freestyle relay with exposed buttocks thanks to a large tear in his suit, Matt Grevers’s suit tore in the back as well. In his case, however, only about a two-inch circle on his lower back was exposed.

Grevers, who was wearing Tyr’s Sayonara suit for the first time in the 100 backstroke heats, barely advanced to the semifinals. He seized the 16th and final qualifying spot with his finish in 54.04 seconds.

“I tried the new suit, the full body, now I’m going to go back to the legs,” he said after the heat.

When the suit ripped, “I went uh-oh,” he said. “I didn’t completely freak out, but I was definitely conscious of it.”

Added Grevers, at least “my whole butt’s not sticking out.”

Fellow American Aaron Peirsol, the world-record holder in the event, tied with two others for the third-best time of the morning heats. He touched the wall in 53.08. Spain’s Aschwin Wildeboer finished first in 52.93; Japan’s Ryosuke Irie finished second in 53.00. Austria’s Markus Rogan, a West Potomac High graduate, posted the eighth-fastest time, 53.62.

In the women’s 100 breast, Rebecca Soni topped Australian Leisel Jones’s championship record of 1:05.72, touching the wall in 1:05.66.

Lochte Talks As Fast As He Races

Phelps’s jaw dropped during a press conference Sunday night at the choice of words used by U.S. teammate Ryan Lochte.

Asked about next year’s ban of long-length swimsuits, Lochte pulled out a bit of, uh, street jargon to describe swimming briefs.

“I wish it went back to the old school, like banana hammocks,” Lochte said after the 4×100 free relay in front of dozens of international journalists. “I’m cool with that.”

As Phelps’s face contorted in amusement and surprise, the comment drew only puzzled looks from journalists for whom the expression got completely lost in translation.

Said Phelps, handed the microphone next: “I don’t know how to follow that answer.”

Aaron Piersol set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke. (Michael Conroy, AP)

Locals’ Results

U.S. Swimming Championships Archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 11 — The message from Aaron Peirsol: Stop taking my world records. For the second time this week at the U.S. swimming championships, Peirsol reclaimed a world record he had recently lost.

Saturday night, it happened in the 200-meter backstroke as Peirsol exploded over the last 100 meters to outswim Ryan Lochte and break his world record by a staggering 0.86 of a second.

Peirsol finished in 1 minute 53.08 seconds, as Lochte touched the wall in 1:54.21 and Tyler Clary in 1:54.53. North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Nick Thoman got fourth in 1:54.83.

“I’m extremely elated,” Peirsol said.

Earlier this week, he took back the world record in the 100 backstroke, a mark he lost just over a week ago when a Spanish swimmer lowered it. Peirsol said his excitement about the victories was dampened knowing Japanese star Ryosuke Irie of Japan had swum faster in the 200 back in a similar high-tech suit (Irie’s record was disallowed because the suit was not approved).

“I feel like, if I do the race I can, he can’t catch me,” said Peirsol, who wore Arena’s X-Glide pants.

Jones Claims Berth
Earlier, 2008 Olympic relay team members Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones faced off in a two-man swim-off to decide the second-place finisher in Thursday’s 50 free. The pair had tied in that race.

Jones not only claimed a world championship berth with the victory, but he also broke Weber-Gale’s American record (21.47), touching the wall in 21.41 seconds; Weber-Gale came home in 21.70.
Jones said he switched high-tech suits, dumping the more acclaimed Jaked01, which he wore in Thursday’s 50 free final, for the older Speedo LZR.

Morris Places Second
In the men’s 1,500 freestyle, North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Brennan Morris, 17, qualified for his first world championship team with his second-place finish in 15:13.47. Morris, the boyfriend of Katie Hoff, finished behind Jackson Wilcox, who touched the wall in 15:11.98.
In a time trial at the end of the night, Dara Torres, 42, lowered her American record in the 50 fly but missed the world record. She finished in 25.50.

Local Splashes
Arlington Aquatic Club’s Katherine Radloff, 20, finished third in the C final of the women’s 100 free in 3:56.08; in the C final of the 200 back, Andrew Relihan, 19, of the Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club finished seventh in 2:05.18; Daniel Johnson, 21, of the University of Virginia was disqualified. North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Austin Surhoff, 18, finished fourth in the B final in 2:01.19. In the C final of the 200 breast, Virginia’s John Azar finished eighth in 2:21.59.

Nathan Adrian celebrates his win in men's 100 meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming championships. Adrian, 20, also won the 50 free Thursday. (Tom Strickland, Associated Press)

Locals Results

U.S. swimming championships archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 10 — Nathan Adrian claimed his second sprint title of the week at the U.S. swimming championships Friday night, winning the men’s 100-meter freestyle final in 48.00 seconds.

Adrian’s time did not approach the American record in the event (47.51) held by Michael Phelps, who withdrew from the field Friday morning because of neck soreness.

Despite his early departure, Phelps ended the meet with victories in the 100 and 200 butterfly and 200 freestyle, with the possibility of competing in those events and all three relays at the world championships later this month in Rome.

Phelps’s premature exit opened the door for Adrian, who outraced David Walters of Yorktown, Va. Walters claimed second place in 48.17, and Garrett Weber-Gale claimed third in 48.19.

Adrian, 20, who also won the 50 free Thursday, emerged this week after finishing fourth in the 100 free at the U.S. Olympic trials last year. A pre-med student at the University of California, Adrian trained prior to last year’s Trials in Islamorada, Fla., with Olympic great Gary Hall Jr.

“I wouldn’t say I saw [this] coming, but it was what I wanted to do,” Adrian said. “It’s very exciting. This is the year after the Olympics. This is when a lot of people start stepping up and start establishing themselves as swimmers on an international level, and that was kind of my focus.”

Another Win for Lochte: Olympic star Ryan Lochte, 24, won the men’s 200 individual medley in 1 minute 54.56 seconds, adding to the U.S. title he had won in the 400 medley earlier in the week. Cancer-survivor Eric Shanteau, 25, earned his second world-team spot with his second-place finish in 1:56.00. Tyler Clary, 20, claimed third in 1:57.25.

Lochte was under world-record pace through 150 meters, but he fell short of Phelps’s record of 1:54.23.

“I just wanted to take it out smooth, but fast, and just hold on for dear life,” Lochte said.

In the women’s 200 fly, Kathleen Hersey, 19, got first in 2:06.44, topping Mary Descenza, 24, who finished second in 2:07.13.

Local Swimmers Shine: North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Felicia Lee finished second in the B final of the women’s 200 fly in 2:10.56. Her teammate Kailey Morris claimed fifth in 2:12.68 and the University of Virginia’s Elizabeth Shaw tied for seventh in 2:13.24. NBAC’s Camryne Morris finished seventh in the C final of the event. In the B final of the men’s 200 individual medley, NBAC’s T.P. Patrick finished first in 2:01.80 and Austin Surhoff finished seventh in 2:02.87. In the C final, Bethesda’s Adam Meyer, who swims for SwimMAC Carolina, finished first in 2:01.03. In the C final of the 200 back, Curl-Burke swimmer Meredith Monroe finished third in 2:15.03.

Michael Phelps earned world championship berths by winning his first two events, the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter freestyle. (Michael Conroy, Associated Press)

Locals Results

INDIANAPOLIS, July 8 — Michael Phelps muttered angrily as he got out of the water Wednesday night at the U.S. swimming championships. He spewed extremely unprintable things.

This was surprising.

He had just won his second of two finals, securing berths in the 200-meter freestyle and 200 butterfly at the world championships in Rome later this month.

He had officially overcome a tumultuous offseason that included six months of no training, a three-month ban for bad behavior and serious consideration of retirement. He had gone 2 for 2 on his first night back of serious, this-really-matters swimming, winning the 200 free in 1 minute 44.23 seconds and the 200 fly in 1:52.76.

Yet Phelps fumed and talked to himself.

“I’m not happy,” Phelps said later to reporters when asked about his obvious dismay. “That’s one of the things that’s really going to motivate me, these races today. ….. Some things happened today that are going to be helpful for me to swim faster.”

Phelps, 24, declined to elaborate on those “things.” He, perhaps coincidentally, also declined to elaborate on his feelings about the latest high-tech speedsuits that have caused so much controversy in the sport recently — and which happened to be worn by the two men who finished second to him Wednesday, and many others in both races.

In the 200 fly, Phelps beat Tyler Clary, 20, who sported one of the most popular and controversial new suits, a Jaked01. With his finish in 1:53.64, which makes him the fourth-fastest man ever in the event, he dropped nearly four seconds from the personal best he set in June and more than eight seconds from the personal best he set in May.

In the 200 free, David Walters, 21, also sported a Jaked01 and finished second in 1:44.95, 1.62 seconds faster than his previous best. Walters not only hung with Phelps, he topped Phelps’s pal Ryan Lochte, who finished third in 1:45.66, thereby keeping Lochte off of the world championship team in that event.

Walters, who won an Olympic gold swimming a preliminary leg of the 400 free relay last year, said he chose the “Ferrari red” Jaked01 suit because “objects that are red look faster than they actually are.”

“Everybody in that heat I look up to,” he said. “I’ll take the win, but I know any other day those guys would win.”

Clary, this year’s national champion in the 400-yard individual medley from the University of Michigan, prevented Michigan’s Dan Madwed, who came home in 1:56.13, from making the world team in the 200 fly. Madwed used to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Phelps’s home club.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic with how that turned out,” Clary said.

Phelps, clearly, was not.

“After six months off, really being back in the water five months, I can’t be disappointed” with his times, Phelps said. “There are other things frustrating me. I’m just going to keep them inside.”

FINA, swimming’s world governing body, considered banning the Jaked01 and 136 other suits last month, but decided against it because of legal concerns, allowing 400 suits by more than two dozen manufacturers to be used this summer. Phelps has declined to discuss the issue this week, but his coach, Bob Bowman, has railed against the ruling and the newest suits.

Phelps’s two victories overshadowed five-time Olympic gold medal winner Aaron Peirsol’s world-record swim in the 100 backstroke. Peirsol regained the world record he lost just a week ago when Spain’s Aschwin Wildeboer Faber took Peirsol’s former record while wearing a Jaked01.

Wednesday, Peirsol also sported one of the hot — and controversial — new suits, the Arena X-Glide. But he only wore the pants, not the full-body version, drawing cheers from the crowd here. He touched the wall in 51.94 seconds, topping Faber’s 52.38.

“When the world record was broken, it was a total surprise,” Peirsol, 25, said. “But my goal going into this meet was to break that anyway. That was a little extra motivation. The guy got to hold the record for a week, so he can be happy with that.”

Before Faber broke it, Peirsol had held the 100 world record since 2004.

“He was making a statement,” said Matt Grevers, 24, who finished second in 53.11. “The other guy’s trying to take his record and the first opportunity he got, he took it back. That says a lot about his dominance.”

Grevers beat out Nick Thoman, 23, who also trains at NBAC under Bowman. Thoman missed a world championship team berth by .01 of a second.

Phelps, who will also compete in the 100 fly and 100 free later this week, added that he also would have liked to have reached personal bests; his time in the 200 free was well short of his world record of 1:42.96, and the time in the 200 fly missed his world record in that event by .73 of a second.

“When I’m satisfied is when I’m doing a best time,” Phelps said. “That’s what makes me happy. I’m happy with where I am, all things considered, but deep down inside I’m happy doing a best time.”

Kate Ziegler, shown here after winning the women's 400-meter freestyle U.S. Nationals in 2007 will skip the event this year due to the flu. She ruled out competing in Wednesday’s 200 freestyle and said she had only faint hopes of being ready for Friday’s heats of the 800. (Darron Cummings, Associated Press)

Locals Results Chart

INDIANAPOLIS, July 7 — A debilitating bout with the flu caused Great Falls native Kate Ziegler to pull out of the 400-meter freestyle competition on the first day of the  swimming national championships Tuesday morning, and might have prematurely ended her hopes of defending her 800 free title at this year’s world championships in Rome.

Ziegler, who developed flu-like symptoms last Friday with a fever that peaked at 103 degrees, was so hobbled she did not attempt to travel here to compete, she said by phone from her parents’ home.

Ziegler, 21, ruled out competing in Wednesday’s 200 freestyle and said she had only faint hopes of being ready for Friday’s heats in the 800, in which she is the reigning world champion and third-fastest woman ever.

“I will leave the option open to go — at least I might try — but I also feel I have to be at least somewhat realistic,” Ziegler said. “Maybe it wasn’t my time this time around.”

This event serves as the qualifying event for the July 26-Aug..2 world championships in Rome. Though Ziegler is the reigning world champion in the 800 and 1,500 free — which won’t be contested in Rome — she cannot compete for the United States if she doesn’t make the team here this week.

She also is the third-fastest American woman ever in the 400.

Ziegler said a number of swimmers  for the Fish, the McLean-based club she trains with, had been ill, and that several teammates recently had swine flu diagnosed. She visited her doctor as soon as symptoms emerged Friday, she said, and was told she had “some version of the flu.”

“Four boys on my team had swine flu,” Ziegler said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up getting it.”

Ziegler said she spent the weekend mostly in bed with a fever, chills, sore throat and severe headaches. She coughed repeatedly and spoke in a hoarse voice as she answered questions Tuesday afternoon. She took three days off from practice before attempting to swim a bit Monday. Then, she said, she managed only about 1,000 meters of easy stroking.

“It’s never easy,” Ziegler said. “I didn’t know what to expect at this meet, but I still wanted to go and compete.”

It has been an up-and-down year for Ziegler, who took six months off after her performance in last year’s Olympic Games fell short of expectations. Though she entered the Games having won four world titles, she said, she felt burned out even before she arrived. She finished 10th in the 800 and 14th in the 400.

She considered retiring after Beijing, but decided instead to ease back to training to ensure she did not wear herself down again. She competed in just one event this summer, a meet in Mission Viejo, Calif., in which she swam well below her personal bests in several events.

The illness hit unexpectedly Friday morning.

“I would much rather it happen now than in the next couple of years when I am training 100 percent, raring to go and expecting big things,” she said.

Shanteau rolls on: Olympian Eric Shanteau continued his tear in the breaststroke, breaking the one-minute barrier in his morning heat of the 100 breast while setting his third personal best of the year.

Shanteau touched the wall in 59.89 seconds, making him the second-fastest U.S. man in the event ever behind Brendan Hansen (59.13). Shanteau, who has been testing out various suits this summer, wore another new one: the Arena X-Glide, a suit worn during many recent record-setting performances around the globe.

Shanteau, who underwent surgery for testicular cancer after last summer’s Olympics, has been one of the strongest U.S. performers this season in the breaststroke events — which, internationally, have seen major drops in times as competitors don various versions of the latest high-tech suits.

Shanteau said he picked up his suit Monday.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Shanteau said. “Obviously, the suit is going to help out. But I think regardless of whether I was in this suit or another suit, I would still be under a minute this week.”

Lochte misses rival: Ryan Lochte, a six-time Olympic medal winner, doesn’t like the fact he is the overriding favorite in the 400 individual medley without Michael Phelps — who has taken a break from the event.

“I love racing him,” said Lochte, who finished second (4:15.63) behind Tyler Clary (4:11.29) in Tuesday’s heats. “I kind of gave [Phelps] some crap about it, not swimming it anymore.

“I called him wussy.”

Phelps was unavailable to comment.

Pelton advances in 200IM: North Baltimore Aquatic Club up-and-comer Elizabeth Pelton, 15, posted the fourth-best time in closely contested heats of what should be a fiercely competitive 200 individual medley final.

Pelton’s finish in 2:11.75 put her behind Julia Smit (2:10.54), Elizabeth Beisel (2:11.65) and Ariana Kukors (2:11.68). She topped North Dakota swimming sensation Dagny Knutson (2:11.87), who confessed to major butterflies after having been the subject of recent profiles in The Post, Sports Illustrated and the New York Times.

“This is a new experience for me,” Knutson, 17, said. “Other than [Olympic] trials, this is the next biggest thing.”

No other locals advanced to the final round. NBAC’s Andrea Staub (2:20.19) finished 53rd of 71 competitors. University of Virginia’s Katherine McDonnell (2:22.30) was 62nd and Elizabeth Shaw (2:24.71), 68th. Ashley Danner of the George Mason swim team finished 66th (2:18.18).

Lee skips 200IM for 100 Fly: NBAC’s Felicia Lee, 17, skipped the 200 individual medley to focus on the 100 butterfly first round and advanced to the final, finishing sixth in 58.79 seconds. No other locals advanced; NOVA of Virginia’s Katherine Sieben was 19th (1:00.61), NBAC’s Christie Raleigh finished 21st (1:00.94), and Virginia’s Lauren Smart (1:01.39) and Elizabeth Shaw (1:01.54) touched the wall in 36th and 39th places, respectively. Curl-Burke’s Suzanne Schwee finished in 1:02.95, 49th-best in the field of 55.

Sutton posts sixth best in 400 Free: Chloe Sutton, who trained for two years with the McLean-based The Fish, finished sixth in the 400 free, advancing to the final in 4:12.01. NBAC’s Kailey Morris just missed the finals cut, finishing ninth in 4:13.29. NBAC’s Kelly Offutt finished 43rd in 4:22.00; Curl-Burke’s Kristen Beales was 45th in 4:22.91; and Meredith Budner finished 46th in 4:23.02.

Local notes: In the men’s 100 breast, Rockville-Montgomery’s Eric Friedland finished in 1:03.20 for 17th best and George Mason’s Eric Knight finished in 1:04.96, 28th among 37 competitors.

NBAC’s Brennan Morris narrowly missed qualifying in the men’s 400 individual medley, finishing 10th in a time of 4:23.99. Fellow NBAC swimmers Bryan Offutt (4:27.53) and Austin Surhoff (4:28.70) landed in 18th and 20th places, respectively; Virginia’s Timothy Hayes finished 44th in 4:35.68; Rockville-Montgomery’s Andrew Relihan touched the wall in 4:38.01 for 47th overall; and Erik Hunter of Navy finished 50th of 51 entrants in 4:53.88. Curl-Burke’s Andrew Brake did not compete.

In the men’s 400 free, NBAC’s Andrew Cosgarea finished 27th in 3:57.73; George Mason’s Thomas Koucheravy finished 35th in 3:59.63; and The Fish’s Matthew Benecki finished 56th of 57 swimmers in 4:06.70. Navy’s Hunter was last in 4:14.19.