Michael Phelps, Question on Swimming

[Matt Fly]

Is there some kind of a rule in place that say swimmers must wear certain types of swim wear?

   Phelp's coach is complaining that a competitor is wearing Polyurethene swim suit.  Guy shatters Phelps' record by 4 seconds I believe I heard this correctly.

   I have seen sprinters over the years testing out different styles and materials to reduce drag.    That was never questioned that I know of.

Just wondering if certain types of materials have been outlawed in the pool.

[Dan:]

that is the controversy right now. Some people want to use the body suits, some people say they unnaturally enhance a swimmers' abilities. Right now, AFAIK, they are allowed.

[BadKarma42]

I belive certain suits will not be allowed in either the 2010 season or the next Olympics.

[tyrius.]

Phelps is sponsored by one manufacturer.  The guy who beat him wore another manufacturer's suit, which Phelps couldn't wear because of his sponsorship deal.

Kind of strange that Phelps or his manager is complaining now that his suit isn't the top of the line while during the Olympics he was using his suit as much as he could because it was then the top of the line.

These new suits provide MASSIVE benefits to the swimmer, so much so that if you're not wearing one then you're not going to win.

The comparison to sprinters is only slightly valid.  Just think about how much more drag the swimmers must overcome going through water than sprinters going through air.  The benefits for the sprinter are not going to be as much as to the swimmer.

[llPa1nll]

I think the Olympic committee needs to get on the ball and make a one suit for all swimmers to level the field. I mean 4 seconds in a swimming competition is allot of time/distance to make up just for a suit.

[J Francho]

4 seconds?  It ain't the suit, bro.

[daviscw]

4 seconds? It ain't the suit, bro.

Agreed. Phelps wasn't complaining either, it was his coach. Everybody loses sooner or later. The man isn't invincible.

[senko_77]

The guy who beat Phelps said it had a lot to do with his suit.  Everyone at the 08 Olympics were wearing the same suit Phelps wore, and Phelps blew them away because he is the best.  

The German who beat Phelps yesterday wore the new suit that is not made by Speedo(which is why Phelps can't wear it), and broke the world record AND beat his previous time by 7.5 seconds!!!!!  Tell me that isn't the suit.  

FINA is in the process of eliminating the suit from competition, but couldn't remove it from this one.  There is no doubt that when Everyone is wearing the same thing, Phelps is the best by a landslide

[tnbassfisher]

They said that Phelps also will probably have no way of ever being able to pick up this company as a sponsor since Speedo sponsors the American team.

[flechero]

....AND beat his previous time by 7.5 seconds!!!!!  Tell me that isn't the suit.

I would bet it's way more than the suit...  probably the suit and a few injections and possibly a few pills to boot.  That's an enormous time difference...  I think you could wear the big floppy swim suits we wear at the neighborhood pool and not lose half that.  

At the olympics, they were talking about fractions of seconds being saved by suits, not half the length of the pool.   Hate to be a pessimist, but I'd be looking for the next hard to detect steriod, not a new suit.  Besides, the new suit isn't "that" much smoother or slicker than what they already have.

[Matt Fly]

So, there are no certain rules in place outlawing swim wear?

I have never seen speed like Mr. Bolt either.   But it happens once in awhile.

What he did to the 100 yd dash record and even with his showboating, smashed a record that I wouldn't have dreamed of making it look so easy.

  That wasn't even a perfectly ran race!!!!!!!!!and the record was shattered.   So..................

Can some one peak in swimming to smash a record like that?    Given what I saw in the 100 yard dash, anything is possible.

  Nobody predicted Michael Johnson's 200 mark to go down for along time, and Bolt made that one look easy as well.

For now, anything is possible after what I saw in the Olympics.

[mattm]

Phelps suit was top of the line at the Olympics and many wore it.  Basically anyone sponsored by Speddo.  Many griped and thought it was an unfair advantage.  A few top competitors sponsored by other companies got permission to wear the suit at the olympics to make it more competitive.

There are suits that are outlawed, I believe.  I also heard the eventually, not sure of the time frame, they are making eveyone go back to trunks eventually.  The guy that beat Phelps record has been around a while and is basically a spare.

[senko_77]

Flechero - The new suit is extremely buoyant because it is made entirely of polyeurathane or however you spell it, while the top of the line Speedo is still made of a fabric.  The increased buoyancy increases your speed dramatically.  I don't know if the German took steroids or not, but 7.5 seconds off of your mark from the previous year has to raise an eyebrow.

Matt Fly - FINA is in the process of banning the suit, but couldn't complete the ban before the Rome races.  The german racer may have "peaked" this year, but is it possible for his peak to increase his previous time by 7.5 seconds?  Also, if I understand correctly, Bolt was new to the Olympics and was relatively unknown.  The guy who just beat Phelps was just an average Olympic swimmer in the past, now he shatters the WR and destroys his PB from the year before.

[flechero]

I don't know if the German took steroids or not, but 7.5 seconds off of your mark from the previous year has to raise an eyebrow.

I don't know either, that was a knee jerk reaction... and I hate to come across so cynical sounding but it's pretty unheard of to knock that much time off of your personal best time.

[TrippyJai]

I agree with senko_77 and it is the suit. 4 seconds in any race is a lot of time, not to mention beating the best in the world. Whoever that guy was should redo his runs without the suit and see if that makes a difference.

Yep, Bolt is just a different story. He is just as fast as everyone else, but his strides are almost double due to his height/legs. I jog with my gf everyday and she complains that I have big strides and she can't keep up with me. When I jog, she has to run. Lol.

Btw, I think they should ban all swimsuits to make things fair.