August 02, 2009

After winning the 100m butterfly and breaking another world record in Rome at the 2009 World Championships, it's pretty well sealed that Michael Phelps is a straight up super hu-man. This swim was different than any of his dozens of other record-breaking swims. In this race, Phelps was possibly the underdog, at least in the minds of those who hadn't yet realized how incredible Phelps is. Now they know better.

For those who watched the meet, the phrases “world record” and “polyurethane suits” are probably still ringing in your ears. The new 100% polyurethane suits created a huge amount of controversy, as there were 43 world records broken in the 8-day championship. That is compared the 2007 World Championships in Australia, where there were only 15 world records broken. Since the introduction of the all-polyurethane suits, records have fallen at a rate not seen since the East German women of the 1970’s discovered anabolic steroids.

Not all of the 43 world records were broken by swimmers in all polyurethane suits. Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe were the most notable exceptions, as they all chose to stick to the Speedo LZR suits which, just 11 months ago at the Beijing Olympics, were considered the ultimate in swimsuit technology. Not that the LZR was completely innocent, but it was only made with a few patches of polyurethane. While Speedo gave all of its contract swimmers the right to choose a different suit, these 3 swimmers, who are likely the company’s 3 biggest stars, chose to stay loyal, most likely for the sake of their pocketbooks.

Beginning in 2010, however, these polyurethane suits will be banned, yet the trail of records they left behind will likely stand for a long, long time. The new policy will mandate that all suits be made of a textile or woven material, and that male suits may only go between the knees and waist, and female suits between the knees and shoulders (Ian Thorpe, eat your heart out). This means swimsuit companies like Arena (X-Glide), Jaked (01), and Adidas (Hydrofoil) that had finally started to make gains on the almighty Speedo and Tyr will melt back into swimsuit obscurity.

All of this controversy set up a rematch of the closest of Phelps’ 8 gold medals in his incredible 2008 Olympic performance, the 100m butterfly. In Beijing, Phelps and rival Milorad Cavic of Serbia finished as close as it gets, with Phelps out-touching Cavic by .01 seconds on a half-stroke finish (See picture Below). Cavic still considers himself the winner of the race, claiming that the force of Phelps’ touch trumped his, rather than the speed of Phelps’ swim. In the days leading up to the rematch in Rome, Phelps held fast in his commitment to Speedo, and Cavic held fast to his belief that he was the better 100m butterflier. There were undertones in the media that Phelps was sticking with the inferior suit due to his fears that Cavic was actually better than he. If Phelps won in the LZR, he was a hero for taking down the polyurethane, if he lost in the LZR, then he could blame it on the suit. Cavic sensed this, and called Phelps out on it, even going so far as offering to buy Phelps a Jaked-01 for the race. Phelps didn’t bite.

From the start of the race, Cavic took the lead, which was not unexpected. At the turn, he had a .77 second lead, which in a later interview Cavic said was less than he felt he needed. As the swimmers took the home stretch, Phelps could be seen slowly creeping on Cavic. As Cavic tired and swam more up-and-down in his stroke, Phelps stayed flat. At the end of the race, Phelps pulled ahead of Cavic and won a close race, although this time the winner was clear. Phelps’ 49.82 and Cavic’s 49.95 were both under the world record time, but chalk this race up as a decisive win for the American.

The celebration after the race was almost as captivating as the race itself. Phelps vaulted on top of the lane rope and stuck his thumbs in his suit to make sure that everyone saw the logo that was on his chest. Cavic leaned over for a congratulatory handshake, finding himself in the position of the sheepish runner-up that couldn’t back up his boasting. Phelps shook his hand quickly, and then pushed himself to the other side of his lane while giving a steely glare in Cavic’s direction. To those who had not followed the lead up to the race, this might seem like Phelps was being a poor loser. However, in reality, Cavic was getting just what he deserved.

One thing is clear about Phelps. He is an incredible competitor, on the level of another Michael, His Airness, Mr. Jordan. If Cavic had kept his mouth shut, who knows how the race would’ve ended. Instead, he played with fire, and he got burned. Phelps is the frontrunner for the title of the greatest athlete of his young generation, and certainly on the very short list for the greatest athletes ever. We all know about the trials and tribulations that Phelps has gone through outside of the pool, but most great athletes have had some issues, but he has been the savior of the sport. In this sense, he is similar to Jordan, who came along at a time when the NBA was floundering. When was the last time that there was almost 20,000 news articles written about the World Swimming Championships?

As a frame of reference as to how monumental Phelps’ performance was, it would be the equivalent of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France on a Schwinn, Vince Carter dunking between his legs in blue jeans, or Usain Bolt winning the 100m dash in Converse High-Tops.

It’s almost a shame that the polyurethane suits are being banned, because it seems as though the only thing that can hold back Phelps’ assault on swimming history is a lack of competition. With the other guys wearing these suits, who knows how fast Phelps could be.