Michael Phelps, whose 200-meter free championship record fell Monday, is getting pushed at these world championships. (Michael Sohn, Associated Press)

World Championships Archive

ROME, July 27 — With 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. A day after Phelps claimed his first gold medal here despite swimming an unsensational leg in the 400-meter freestyle relay, and moments after winning his 200 freestyle semifinal heat Monday night, Phelps was giving an interview when he heard the meet announcer bellow, “championships record!”

He spun toward a nearby television screen.

Phelps, who is seeking six gold medals here, turned just in time to see German Paul Biedermann celebrating the 200 freestyle championship record he had just broken — a record Phelps had previously held — in the other semifinal heat.

“What did he go?” Phelps, officially distracted, asked eagerly. “He go 1:43?”

The answer was 1 minute 43.65 seconds, or .21 faster than Phelps’s 2007 record and 1.58 better than Phelps had swum in his heat.

“He just dropped a lot of time,” Phelps volunteered, almost talking to himself. “You usually don’t see a six-second drop in the 400 free in a year. In the 200 free, he dropped about three seconds in a year … It will get me more excited, more ready for tomorrow. I’m going to have to, I guess, really prepare myself.”

He probably is guessing right. No one thought Biedermann would break Ian Thorpe’s seven-year-old record in the 400 free Sunday night, and he did that. Who knows what Biedermann has in store for the 200 free in his Arena X-Glide speedsuit?

And it’s not just the 200 free in which Phelps will have his hands full. Serbian Milorad Cavic made it clear he has been gunning for Phelps since the Olympics last year in Beijing when Phelps out-touched him at the wall to win the 100 butterfly.

After winning the 50 fly final Monday in a championship-record 22.67, Cavic told reporters he would be thrilled to win the 100 fly this week, even if he were wearing a technologically more advanced suit than Phelps, who because of his Speedo contract is still wearing the LZR, a 2008-model suit that many consider outmoded.

Cavic charged that technology had cost him last year’s Olympic gold; he alleged he lost the medal on a timing error, saying he didn’t press hard enough on the touch pad with his initial touch.

“That,” he said, “is the story.”

Added Cavic: “Because of what happened, I did return to swimming with a desire I probably would not have had if I had won the Olympic gold.”

The 100 fly final takes place Saturday.

Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, said Phelps should win the 200 free Tuesday. Maybe.

“He has to be at his best,” Bowman said. “There is no leeway.”

And problematic for Phelps: He isn’t feeling so great about his freestyle stroke these days. On Monday morning, he announced that he was ditching the “straight-armed” stroke that he experimented with in sprint races this summer, saying “we tried something and it didn’t work.” The straight-armed approach was supposed to provide more power over short distances, but Phelps never got comfortable with it.

In the relay Sunday, Bowman said, Phelps seemed to be doing a cross between his old freestyle and the new one. His leg was slower than he swam last year in Beijing.

Phelps added that his freestyle stroke “was kind of off,” perhaps because of his attempts to manage both.

At least Phelps has time to get himself ready for his final five events, the 100 and 200 fly and the 200 free, along with two more relays.

Bowman, Phelps’s longtime coach, seemed secretly satisfied that Biedermann had pushed his emotional star’s buttons with his out-of-the-blue performances. Last year his time in the 200 free, 3:47.69, ranked 21st in the world. His time in the 200, 1:46.00, was ninth-best. Phelps and Bowman discussed their joint shock Sunday at Biedermann’s world-record swim, and the sad fact that the legendary Thorpe had been, finally, wiped from the record books.

“I think some people are going to bring the heat tomorrow night,” Bowman said. One of them, he said, “is M.P.”

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.”

Ricky Berens swims in the 400-meter freestyle relay preliminaries even though his suit split in the back moments before the race. (Michael Sohn, Associated Press)

News From Worlds

ROME, July 26 — Everyone expected the latest, most controversial high-tech swimsuits to have a major impact on these world championships, so the seven championship records set in Sunday morning’s opening preliminary heats was hardly a surprise.

And most assumed Michael Phelps and the U.S. men’s 400-meter freestyle relay team would struggle to topple the powerhouse French squad in Sunday night’s final.

But the suit malfunction that almost derailed Phelps and Co. before the men’s relay squad even got in the pool for the morning’s qualifying round was entirely unexpected.

As Ricky Berens, scheduled to swim third for the U.S. morning swim 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, exposing his rear end.

There was no time to change the suit,  so U.S. anchor leg Cullen Jones urged Berens to forget the gaping hole and swim.

Berens dived in and contested his third leg as scheduled, helping the U.S. team to a fourth-place finish in its heat in 3 minutes, 11.64 seconds — and securing a critical slot in the night’s final for Phelps and his teammates. Phelps did not swim in the qualifying heat, but will lead off the relay in tonight’s final.

“He still swam his heart out,” Jones said. “To see that kind of professionalism in college; I know I didn’t have it.”

Berens, the 2009 Big 12 Swimmer of the Year from Texas, was not available to comment on the suit problem. Jones, though, said tears were becoming increasingly common as swimmers sought the tightest-fitting suits possible for the greatest performance-enhancement.

“They’re all splitting,” Jones said. “We’re all having problems. We want to get it as tight as possible as sprinters.”

Besides trying to make sure Phelps would have a chance at six gold medals at this meet, Berens, Jones, Matt Grevers and Garrett-Weber Gale also were essentially auditioning for a spot on the squad. Bowman has said Phelps will kick off the final, but otherwise it’s unclear who will race at night. Also in the mix: U.S. 100 free champion Nathan Adrian, runner-up David Walters and Ryan Lochte—who posted a 48.16 in the 100 free preliminaries at the U.S. championships.

“Everyone is trying to get on that relay,” Grevers said. But “there’s never any animosity towards anyone; we’re all friends.”

The U.S. team’s splits: Weber-Gale, 48.30; Grevers, 47.55; Berens, 48.19; Jones, 47.60.

UPDATE: USA Swimming announced later that Phelps, Lochte, Grevers and Adrian would team up in Sunday night’s final.

The Americans were beaten by a Brazilian squad led off by Olympic champ Cesar Cielo, and which finished in 3:11.26. That topped the former meet record of 3:12.72 set by the United States at the 2007 world championships in Melbourne. France finished second Sunday morning in 3:11.38.

Ceilo, however, said he didn’t expect anyone to come close to France in the final.

“The French this year are untouchable,” he said. “I think you are going to have a big window between first and second place.”

A U.S. women’s squad made up of Julia Smit, Kate Dwelley, Caitlin Geary and Christine Magnuson landed the seventh-best time in the morning’s heats to squeeze into the night’s final. They finished in 3:37.02, well behind the Britta Steffen-led German squad (3:34.72).

Kukors Gets American Record

Ariana Kukors set an American and championship record in the 200 individual medley heats this morning, finishing in 2:08.53 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than her personal best and just .08 short of Stephanie Rice’s world record.

The fast time was especially surprising considering that Kukors finished third in the event at the U.S. championships in Indianapolis. She got to swim here only because Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton — who qualified for four events here — elected to focus only on the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke events.

Kukors, who wore a Jaked01, bettered the American mark of 2:09.34 that Julia Smit had set at the U.S. championships just over two weeks ago.

“I felt great,” Kukors said. “I’m really happy with it.”

In the women’s 400 heats, Allison Schmitt approached Katie Hoff’s American record but missed by 0.6 seconds with her finish in 4:02.80, the second-fastest of the morning. She trailed only Italian world-record holder Federica Pelligrini, who also set a championship record with her finish in 4:01.96.

“She definitely set the pace,” said Schmitt, who also swam in a Jaked. “I was just trying to keep up with her.”

Chloe Sutton, 17, a former training partner of Kate Ziegler at the McLean-based Fish, failed to advance to the 400 final with her finish 13th-place finish in 4:10.88. The former open-water specialist also will compete in the 800 and 1,500 freestyle events.

“I’ve been to a lot of world championships, but they’ve all been in open water,” Sutton said. “I’m really happy making the debut in the pool, but I wish the time was a little better.”

Shanteau Continues Hot Summer

Eric Shanteau approached teammate Mark Gangloff’s American record in the 100 breast stroke, finishing third overall in the preliminary round in 59.05—a personal best by .40 seconds and just .04 short of Gangloff’s record. Despite the swift time, Shanteau said he left plenty in the tank for the night’s final.

“I’m not dead right now,” Shanteau said. “I can repeat that 100 more times.”

Shanteau, competing in an Arena X-Glide, said he can’t wait for next year’s suit ban, which will disallow all long-length suits, to take effect— as long as there are no more changes to the policy.

“I’m OK racing in briefs,” he said. “Let’s race in potato sacks. I don’t care; just make up your mind.”

Australian Brenton Rickard scored a championship record with his finish in the 100 breast in 58.98; Frenchman Hugues Deboscq finished second in 59.01. Gangloff, meantime, qualified tenth in 59.67.

Vollmer Ditches Speedo

Despite performing well at the U.S. championships in a Speedo LZR — the hot suit of 2008 — Dana Vollmer joined many of her teammates and switched to the acclaimed Jaked, arguably the hottest suit of ’09. And the switch seemed to pay off; Vollmer swam a personal best in the 100 butterfly heats, finishing in 57.15 seconds, bettering her previous best by .17.

Choosing the suit “was definitely hard,” Vollmer said. “I tried a ton on last week … I think it will be easier [next year] to just put on the same suit as everyone else.”

Vollmer’s time was the second-best of the morning; Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom finished first in 56.76 — the day’s first championships record. Australian Jessicah Schipper posted the third-best time of the morning, 57.17; American Christine Magnuson, swimming in an Arena X-Glide, was fifth in 57.48.

“With these suits, you don’t know who is going to come out of the woodwork,” Magnuson said.

Slow Time From South Korea’s Park

South Korean Park Tae-Hwan, the Olympic champion in the 400 freestyle, failed to qualify for Sunday’s final in that event. Park finished 12th in 3:46.04—more than four seconds slower than he swam at the Olympics last year.

Park blamed his performance on pressure and exhaustion.

“I am very disappointed,” he said. “I expected to swim much faster…. I wanted to go faster in the beginning, but I didn’t manage to. I was too tired.

“I didn’t have enough rest after the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. I have been working very hard since 2005 and never had time to rest. Besides, I am feeling under big pressure. This defeat could be good for my future.”

Dan Madwed, a sophomore at the University of Michigan who trained for two years at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, knocked nearly two seconds off of his best time in the 400 free this morning, but just missed a spot in the night’s final with his finish in 3:45.95 — ninth best of the morning. Peter Vanderkaay finished fifth overall in 3:45.40. Germany’s Paul Biedermann posted the fastest qualifying time of 3:43.01.

Americans Fail to Fly in 50 Fly

With Phelps taking a pass on the 50 fly, Americans Tyler McGill and Grevers gave it their best shot. But they didn’t come close to advancing; McGill finished 35th in 23.93; Grevers was 39th overall in 23.98.