Posted on 07/28/2009 8:32:36 PM PDT by OldDeckHand
ROME – Michael Phelps has four more chances to win gold at the world swimming championships.
He's not likely to be satisfied until he gets another shot at Paul Biedermann.
In different suits, that is.
The unheralded German glided across the water, steadily pulling away from the winningest Olympian ever, and handed Phelps a stunning loss in the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday — his first defeat in a major individual race since 2005.
No sooner had they climbed from the water, the debate was on.
Was it the man? Or was it the suit?
Biedermann acknowledged that he had an edge in his Arena X-Glide, a polyurethane suit that has surpassed the Speedo LZR Racer worn by Phelps. All those suits are on the way out, to be banned by the sport's governing body starting in 2010. But for now, it's perfectly legal.
Biedermann is the world champion.
"The suits make a difference," he said. "I hope there will be a time when I can beat Michael Phelps without these suits. I hope next year. I hope it's really soon."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Glad the doper lost!
You mean marijuana “doper” and not performance enhancing doper, right?
BTW, it sort of blows a hole in the argument that smoking pot causes whatever when the worlds best swimmer does it and wins gold medals.
What about the chilruns? What would they think?
I am always amazed at those without “sin” on this board.
Only the “pure” thrive here on FR.
Then the only question will be...rudder or anchor
What kind of dope you talking about here, buddy?
LOLZ
Yup! Sorry I am not up on the technical terms for using specific drugs. Never used em.
These buoyancy suits have been described as “like doping on a hanger”.
They’re amazingly effective (don’t know about the doping part), you’re suspended on the surface of the water
Back in the day (when I don't believe swimming was apart of the Olympics), they did everything in the nude - including wrestling.
I would enjoy seeing Dara Torres swim nude, for competitive purposes only. :)
The suite obviously. Swimmers don't casually go about taking 8 seconds off their 400 meters freestyle time in just 11 months like this guy did when he broke In Thorpe's 7 year old virtually “unbreakable” world record, or 4 seconds off his 200 meters time in the same 11 months too, like he did when he brokr Phelp's 200 meters freestyle record. It took Micheal Phelps 5 years to go from 1:46 to 1:42.9 in the 200 meters freestyle, and he is the best swimmer this world has ever seen.
Biedermann is going to find his times going drastically up when FINA take his suit away from him starting next year. Poor guy.
Meanwhile Phelps felt he owed some loyalty to Speedo after they have stood by him during this “bong” business, even as other sponsors like Khellog abandoned him, so he refused to use the new space age, much faster suits.
Anyways, the is is only the World Championships. The Olympics is what matters , and everyone will be using the same old suits. He can go mano o mano with Biedermann, with no external forces helping either of them.
A meth addict, a heroin addict, a speed addict, a cocaine addict, an alcoholic, even a tobacco addict, could never ever reach the level of a world-class swimmer physically and/or mentally. Swimming, more than any other sport, requires a kind of single-minded solitary discipline PLUS the ability to simultaneously tax the whole body physically to engage in heavy-duty resistance AND cardiovascular effort.
Swimming is unique; it is a supersport -- try it sometime. I can't tell you how many times, working in swimming pro shops affiliated with full gyms or whose clientele were athletic triathalon types, I've spoken with extremely fit terrestrial-cardio type (runners, cyclists) as well as resistance types, as in body builders, who casually decide to take up swimming as a cross-training perk. After 20 or 40 minutes attempting to swim non-stop laps, their asses are BEAT. They'd come in and say, "I guess I'm not in as good a shape as I thought I was." My answer: "Yes, you are, but your body isn't used to doing both cardio and resistance at the same time." I'd say that of the fit but terrestrial fitness buffs who determine to take up swimming, less than one percent actually stick with it because it's just too much for them. Swimming is a very gnarly, demanding sport, and anyone who reaches a world-class level is disciplined and strong indeed.
So yes, the fact that Phelps accomplished what he did ought to tell people about the nature of pot as a "drug."
As for the suits, I regret seeing them banned. They bring out the best in the best swimmers, make swimming more fun and dynamic for the truly top competitors, and employ a lot of people.
FWIW, I typically swim at least a mile at least five mornings a week. I'm not a fast swimmer and I am NOT a competitor. I have FUN!
Torres Schmorres
The one I'd love to see is the hot Australian swimmer, Stephanie Rice, who was earlier rumored to be dating Phelps last year.
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