Phelps loses. Is it the suits?

Of course it's the suits. Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer of all-time and most famous person to rip it off a bong, came in second in the 200 meter freestyle yesterday at the World Championships in Rome. This was the first individual race that Phelps did not win in four years.


He lost to German Paul Biedermann who set a world record with 1 minute 42.00, shattering Phelps’s year-old world record of 1:42.96. At the Beijing Games, Biedermann finished fifth with a time of 1:46.
Biedermann said, “It was amazing to swim against Michael Phelps. I was there when he won his eighth gold medal. Just to live this moment and now I’m actually faster than him — I feel absolutely great about it.”

Don’t kid yourself Paul – you’re not actually faster than Michael Phelps, based on your more buoyant swimsuit, you were assisted in your victory over Phelps. What would happen if both swimmers competed in cotton boxers? Would Biedermann still be faster than Phelps?

In the first three days of competition, 63% of the races witnessed a world record, or 15 out of 24.

Phelps was unable to “level the playing the field” and use a similar swimsuit since he is sponsored by Speedo. Speedo’s swimsuits are not made entirely of polyurethane like Biedermann’s. FINA has banned these suits startining January 1, 2010, but is now unsure when the ban will take place. The lack of a definitive date has irked Phelps’ coach who has threatened removing him from international competition.

Initially, the goal was to have these swimsuits banned before the World Championships so the record book would not be skewed out of proportion. Unfortunately, with FINA’s lack of progress, they damaged the sport’s biggest stars credibility and now made these current world records that much more difficult to break for future swimmers. Have the decision makers at FINA have been drinking the Kool-Aid from Major League Baseball? If so, time to switch to a new beverage.

FINA Bans Some Swimsuits

In the debate as to whether swimsuits are performance enhancing, a decision has been made and the answer is...yes.

FINA, the international swimming federation, has moved to reject 146 types of the high-tech suits. 136 of the suits have been offered the option of modifications within 30 days. This timeline would accommodate the world swimming championships in Rome that begin July 19th.

Grant Stoelwinder, a leading swim coach from Australia, said many swimmers were fooling themselves thinking their abilities were improving when it was due to the technology of the suits. He said minor benefits were achieved through added buoyancy, reduced surface drag or compressing a swimmer’s body, into a streamlined and efficient position.

One company that came out relatively unscathed from this development was Speedo and their top swimmer, Michael Phelps who wears one of their LZR swimsuits. Fifteen versions of the LZR line were approved by FINA.

Aaron Peirsol beat Phelps in the 100 meter backstroke this past Saturday, but was wearing a suit that has now been banned by FINA. We'll see who performs better when the two meet next on a level playing field.

Olympics: Another Arguement for Roided Athletes

It seems every 4 years at the Summer Olympics, someone will come out and support athletes having the freedom to roid out of their minds. If that ever does happen, bad news for the maker of the Whizzinator.

This year that argument comes from the New York Times' John Tierney. In his article, "Let the Games Be Doped", he describes the evolution of the Olympic athlete from the amateur to natural athletes, "untainted by technology". The amateur myth died and the natural myth "is becoming so far-fetched — and potentially dangerous — that some scientists and ethicists would like to abandon it, too". He also points out that anti doping authorities have created a culture of suspicion and claims that some tests, specifically for synthetic testosterone, are unreliable. He also warns that if athletes have moved from normal doping to gene doping, the authorities will have more problems catching these types of cheaters.

What would happen if athletes were allowed to do anything to excel? If athletes were allowed to shoot beef roids into their eyeballs, professional sport leagues and the Olympics would turn into pure entertainment. The athletes would look like professional wrestlers. Instead of being amazed by Michael Phelps's 12,000 caloric intake days, the media would be following his roid regime.

Would athletes even honestly discuss what they were taking and where they obtained their drugs? Doubtful, why level the playing field - that's one of the reasons athletes roid up, to get an advantage over the competition. Now the real race occurs off the field - who has the best roid connection. Imagine if Bob Costas chose to interview Dara Torres' chemist rather than her. The scientists and chemists would love to see this happen, because then they, not the athletes, would get all the attention. Rather than MLB's slogan back in the day, "Chicks Dig the Long Ball", the new slogan will be: "Chicks Dig the Chemists".