Sometimes, even veterans make rookie mistakes. Aaron Peirsol is one the greatest swimmers of his generation, arguably the greatest backstroker of all time. But at the swimming world championships on Monday, Peirsol made a bad error in judgment that cost him a spot in the final of the 100-meter backstroke that could have earned him a spot in history Tuesday.
Swimming events begin Sunday at the FINA World Championships in Rome. This will be more than just the Michael Phelps show, though Phelps will swim in six races (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly 200 butterfly and three relays) and will likely come away with six more medals. Here are some of the things for fans of the U.S. team to look for at the championships:
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps suffered his first defeat in a championship race in a year when he lost the 100-meter backstroke to world-record holder Aaron Peirsol at the Charlotte UltraSwim in North Carolina.
It was just a chance to get his feet wet, but Olympian Eric Shanteau managed to surprise himself.
Michael Phelps' bid to win an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics is loaded with land mines, or perhaps water mines, in several individual events and at least one relay. This is a look at what Phelps has in store during the nine days of swimming events. Remember that all finals will take place during the mornings in Beijing, which is 12 hours ahead of East Coast time in the U.S. The morning swimming sessions begin at 10:00 AM in Beijing; evening sessions begin at 6:30 PM.
BEIJING -- It's a good thing Debbie Phelps has had a lot of practice catching bouquets thrown by her son, Michael, because the clutch of flowers he tossed to her after accepting the gold medal for the 200 IM -- his sixth of the 2008 Games and his record 12th overall -- almost fell short of her grasp. But then again, he was in bit of a hurry.
At 6:30 p.m. in Beijing on Thursday night, following an afternoon that featured about as much rain as Noah experienced, the Olympic medal count between China and the United States was tied at 32. (China now holds a 35-34 lead). Of course, if you're judging by gold medals won, China is pounding the Stars and Stripes 22-10. Good news, America: Michael Phelps is back in the pool on Friday.
• Here comes the biggest test of the Games: Can NBC survive without Michael Phelps winning a gold medal? Thankfully there's the Redeem Team, the scrappy band of billionaires who face their first real test of the Games on Thursday (8 a.m. ET) against Greece, an impressive winner over Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany.
That's "Greatest Olympian of All Time," and after his Aug. 13 dip in the pool, the title is all his
American swimmer Michael Phelps remains on course for his target of eight Beijing gold medals after winning his third event of the Games, taking the men's 200-meter freestyle in a new world record time -- his third in a row.
Sometimes, even veterans make rookie mistakes. Aaron Peirsol is one the greatest swimmers of his generation, arguably the greatest backstroker of all time. But at the swimming world championships on Monday, Peirsol made a bad error in judgment that cost him a spot in the final of the 100-meter backstroke that could have earned him a spot in history Tuesday.
Swimming events begin Sunday at the FINA World Championships in Rome. This will be more than just the Michael Phelps show, though Phelps will swim in six races (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly 200 butterfly and three relays) and will likely come away with six more medals. Here are some of the things for fans of the U.S. team to look for at the championships:
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps suffered his first defeat in a championship race in a year when he lost the 100-meter backstroke to world-record holder Aaron Peirsol at the Charlotte UltraSwim in North Carolina.
It was just a chance to get his feet wet, but Olympian Eric Shanteau managed to surprise himself.
Michael Phelps' bid to win an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics is loaded with land mines, or perhaps water mines, in several individual events and at least one relay. This is a look at what Phelps has in store during the nine days of swimming events. Remember that all finals will take place during the mornings in Beijing, which is 12 hours ahead of East Coast time in the U.S. The morning swimming sessions begin at 10:00 AM in Beijing; evening sessions begin at 6:30 PM.
BEIJING -- It's a good thing Debbie Phelps has had a lot of practice catching bouquets thrown by her son, Michael, because the clutch of flowers he tossed to her after accepting the gold medal for the 200 IM -- his sixth of the 2008 Games and his record 12th overall -- almost fell short of her grasp. But then again, he was in bit of a hurry.
At 6:30 p.m. in Beijing on Thursday night, following an afternoon that featured about as much rain as Noah experienced, the Olympic medal count between China and the United States was tied at 32. (China now holds a 35-34 lead). Of course, if you're judging by gold medals won, China is pounding the Stars and Stripes 22-10. Good news, America: Michael Phelps is back in the pool on Friday.
• Here comes the biggest test of the Games: Can NBC survive without Michael Phelps winning a gold medal? Thankfully there's the Redeem Team, the scrappy band of billionaires who face their first real test of the Games on Thursday (8 a.m. ET) against Greece, an impressive winner over Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany.
That's "Greatest Olympian of All Time," and after his Aug. 13 dip in the pool, the title is all his
American swimmer Michael Phelps remains on course for his target of eight Beijing gold medals after winning his third event of the Games, taking the men's 200-meter freestyle in a new world record time -- his third in a row.
The U.S. men's 4x100 freestyle relay did a lot more than keep Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals alive. It lit a fire under the slow-starting women's team.
After breaking his third world record on the fourth day of competition, the US swimmer might be setting his sights on an even loftier goal than winning eight golds
How does NBC spell ratings? Two words: Michael Phelps. The Golden Boy takes to Water Cube on Tuesday for the men's 200 freestyle final (10:16 p.m. ET on Monday night). "Coming into the competition, I thought that would be one of his easier races," said Sports Illustrated's Brian Cazeneuve, who predicts -- surprise! -- gold for Phelps in the event.
The final turn of the men's 400 individual medley on Aug. 9 could be the difference between success and failure in Michael Phelps' quest to win a record eight gold medals in swimming.
Cullen Jones can still picture the top of the water slide at Dorney Park in Pennsylvania where his life took a fateful turn when he was five years old. His dad Ronald, had made him promise to not let go of the inner tube on the way down, so, Ronald shot down the slide, screaming all the way, Cullen followed, gripping the tube tightly. "When I hit the bottom of the ride, there was this huge pool of water, and I flipped right over," Jones recalls. But he didn't let go of the tube. "I actually passed out," he says. "They had to give me CPR, and when I woke up, I was like, okay, what's the next ride? It could have changed my life completely if it was traumatic. I might never have touched the water again."
OMAHA, Neb. -- Having just won the 400 freestyle in American record time, Larsen Jensen was happy, buoyant and radiating confidence in the mixed zone at the Olympic swimming trials in Omaha last Sunday. That is, until the subject of his next event, the 200 freestyle, came up.
They wore matching high-tech Speedo LZR suits and swam in a temporary pool designed for speed. But even as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte pushed each other through a dramatic record chase at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on Sunday night, what brought the crowd of 12,000 to its feet was not merely the clock but also the sight of the greatest swimmer in the world struggling -- in one of his best events, the 400-meter individual medley -- to fight off an unexpectedly formidable rival.
As the U.S. Olympic swimming trials get underway on Sunday in Omaha, here are 10 story lines to watch for.
Kathleen Hersey was on the blocks for her first race of the 2007 Class A-AAAA state meet last February, and Marist (Atlanta) coach Terry Blish was nervous.
Of all the cruel twists irony can take, this is about as bad as it gets. Lauren English, a senior swimmer at Montville (N.J.) and a potential 2008 Olympian who owns multiple state records and five Meet of Champions titles, suffers from chlorine-induced asthma.
Michael Phelps was flipping through TV channels in his Melbourne hotel room last Friday when, for the first time all week, he was stopped cold. Phelps had come across Pardon the Interruption, and hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser were yapping -- in between Final Four forecasts and spring training rants -- about Phelps's historic performance at the world swimming championships. Where did he belong on the sporting landscape? Was he elevating his niche sport to watercooler status? "Awesome," said Phelps, a sports-TV junkie. "I watch these guys all the time, and now they're talking about swimming."
You are Ryan Lochte. You are a great swimmer, but you are also 22 and it is 2007 and your timing is lousy. For starters, you are a backstroke ace. Backstrokers look up at the stars all the time anyway, but you look up and see Aaron Peirsol, perhaps the greatest backstroker in history. Coming into the world championships here in Melbourne, Peirsol hadn't lost a race at 200 meters since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Remember the historic performance Michael Phelps had at the 2004 Olympics? Eight medals, including six gold? Comparisons to Mark Spitz? Well, why stop there? Phelps is making his own standards seem mortal at the FINA World Championships, where he is on the verge of the greatest single-meet performance in swimming history. Granted, Phelps has completed only three events so far, but it's the way he has owned the pool in those events that is rendering comparisons with anyone other than himself pointless.
Just before Mary Beck turned four, the Colorado native taught herself how to swim. Now a sophomore at Westlake (Austin, Texas), Beck has broken the national 200-yard individual medley record not once, but three times in a single month.
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