CBS Sports National Columnist, Gregg Doyel, tears into both FINA and Speedo!

First the bloggers, now the press is pointing fingers at Speedo! I guess I am not crazy.

Speedo should really do that interview for us and clarify how they do business. From CBS Sports:

"...Socialism is at work because FINA, the swimming governing body, has bowed to the sponsors who control swimming. Not contribute to swimming. Control it. Some of the equipment companies that make the biggest contributions to swimmers in particular and the sport at large, like Speedo, have had their trunks pulled down by lesser-known companies like Arena and Jaked. The irony is beautiful in that Speedo started this revolution, introducing the LZR that dominated at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but now Speedo has been passed like its swimmers are wearing concrete flippers. And Speedo doesn't like it. Breaks my heart.

[...]

"... You can almost see Schubert's lower lip quiver. The United States might not have swum as well as usual in Rome, but we pouted our asses off. Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach, threatened to withdraw his swimmer from future international events if the swimsuit controversy wasn't addressed, which is hilarious given -- again -- that Phelps' revolutionary (at the time) LZR swimsuit in Beijing helped him win eight medals and set seven world records. ..."

[Link]

Gregg Doyel does make an error thinking Nike is still in the swimsuit business but overall his arguments are well stated.

If someone tells the truth, are they mouthing off? - Milorad Cavic gives his honest assesment of Michael Phelps and Speedo!

These are Cavic's quotes leading up to the 100-fly showdown between he and Phelps tomorow and his opinions are quite compelling!

Also, the article is filled with who and what Mark Schubert is to Speedo and what he tried to do before these Championships.

So, is Cavic mouthing off or is every word he is saying true? From AP:

“If Mike wants an Arena, he just has to say it,” Cavic said. “If he wants a Jaked and they don’t want to give it to him free, I’ll buy it for him. He has options. I think in the media it’s been portrayed that he has no option, he has to swim for (Speedo). It’s a complete lie.”

“I know he’s making a lot of money from Speedo,” Cavic said. “It’s loyalty. But throughout all my experiences, I’ve learned this—free will is a gift with a price tag, and whatever you choose to do you’re going to pay, but how much you’re going to pay is really dependent on you.”

“I think there’s three options for Michael,” Cavic said. “The first option is to use the suit that he’s wearing, the second option is to get one of these (polyurethane) suits, which I guarantee Arena will provide him within the hour, as soon as he wants. The third option would actually be a dream of mine, to have the whole final everybody swimming in briefs. I swear to God, this is it, this is what I want, but this is the most unrealistic of all scenarios.”

“Last year at the height of the suit controversy, Mark Schubert said, ‘Do you want the money or do you want the win?”’ Cavic said. “Michael Phelps has plenty of money. Who knows what it is? I think it’s just loyalty and he’s very gracious for everything Speedo has done for him.”

[Link]

I am rooting for Cavic and his suit comapny!

Bob Bowman makes a grand threat to FINA and greatly embarasses USA Swimming!

Amanda said...

OMG, this is getting even more dramatic.

Michael Phelps' coach has threatened to withhold the swimmer from international meets until FINA bans high-tech bodysuits.

Told of the possible delay, Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, said FINA better "do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these seats."

Phelps: "My coach sets my schedule."

NO, Mr. Phelps, you are the CEO of your career - This nonsense confirmed by AP:

ROME — Michael Phelps' coach has threatened to withhold the swimmer from international meets until FINA bans high-tech bodysuits.

Swimming's governing body, FINA, upheld a decision Tuesday to outlaw the suits next year, although the ban might not take effect until April or May — three or four months later than expected.

Told of the possible delay, Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, said FINA better "do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these seats."

Boy, is my face red and I am so embarrassed by Bowman's arrogance.

He actually threatened FINA and the health of USA Swimming's international win-column!

Michael Phelps being so ill advised and now American swimming has a new "Ugly American" and his name is Bob Bowman.

Paging, Katie Hoff, white courtesy telephone please?

Michael Phelps scratches in the 100-free!

Michael Phelps scratches in the 100-free and will not swim! Phelps sites a stiff neck he woke up with as the cause.

When asked for comment, Bob Bowman, said: "my bad, I ran out of WD-40!

Katie Hoff: The SCAQ Blog is worried about your swimming!

To be blunt, you use to dominate the field but now this is no longer happening. You have to take immediate action because talent like yours does not evaporate at such a young age.

[... deleted ...]

Memo to Katie Hoff:

1. Takes two weeks off and rest!
   
2. Go to the doctor and get a blood panel and get any necessary tests done on any specific painful areas!
   
3. If you morale is abnormally low or you feel a bit of irrational angst or upset - go see someone!
4. Evaluate your coaching by the way of the pace clock. Are you getting better, worse, or staying the same? All those intervals and set times are logged. go look at them.
   
5. If any of the above reads, "FAIL", consider Australia since they have a track record when it comes to coaching women.
6. Finally, send an anonymous note to the SCAQ Blog informing us of your plans
   

It is so painful to this blogger to see someone as talented as Katie Hoff, bog, bonk and DNA in the standings. (Did not advance)

Speedo athletes continue to hammer FINA over swimsuit technology!

Let me translate for those who can't speak PR:

When Michael Phelps says: "...They are the normal typical suits for me to wear. Speedo is the fastest suit I've ever worn and I'm going to stick with that brand."

What he is really saying: "...I am making mad, phat, bank and there is no way I am going to bite the hand of the guy who signs that check. [I take no responsibility for the mixed metaphor simply because that is the way it translates.]

When Bob Bowman says: "...I would like to see FINA take a step toward getting this thing standardized, I know the people who are setting these records are working very hard. Clearly some things have happened that are out of the range of normal improvement and we need to work on that."

What he is really saying: "Their damn suits are faster than ours and these lesser mortals wearing these suits are going to spank us in Rome and London unless we can game FINA politically to ban them!"

When Eamon Sullivan says: "...FINA is hopefully going to finally give a ruling on the thickness of suits, the materials to be used and the buoyancy and from what I have heard so far, the suits have not been approved by FINA..."

What he is really saying: "The fix is in, baby!

When Mary DeScenza says: "...When goggles first came out they were experimental," she said. "It's the sport progressing. It's good for the sport. I think it's good to break records. I think it's good to have the technology.

"It's the athlete that is making the difference. The suit is not breaking the records."

What she is really saying: "I can't believe you guys actually said all that with a straight face! You all are just are a bunch of cry babies!

Man-up!

It must really piss you off that your "fancy-shmancy," LZR, which was designed and welded together by NASA robots, can't compete with what human beings designed and hand sewn. :-P

I hope my translation services helps!

Here is a link to these quotes from AFP: [Link]

Amy Shipley writes how 'jammers' among other advances saved male age group swimming

Amy Shipley is a writer for the Washington Post and she has written an article about the Gender gap in swimming: i.e. Zillions of girls and few boys, however, a simple piece of equipment is changing that. Amy Shipley knows swimming and she addresses nuances most journalist don't notice. For instance:

"... aficionados who rail about the damage high-tech suits have done to the record books can't help but admit that male athletes look much cooler in technically advanced, long-length suits than skimpy Speedo briefs.

Phelps's longtime coach Bob Bowman deplores the idea of young, developing swimmers wearing the speed suits, but he happily encourages boys to wear a modified version -- tight-fitting, thigh-length shorts known as jammers -- simply because they discourage self-consciousness.

Bowman, Dolan and others blame the traditional tiny briefs for nothing short of driving young boys out of the sport.

"I honestly think they were a barrier for getting boys into the sport on the entry level," Bowman said. "..."

"..."Ten years ago with the younger kids, we'd have 16 or 20 girls and only three boys," Bowman said. "It's a difficult environment when you have those ratios. ..."

The image above is from the Speedo site. Michael Phelps has obviously been cut out and dropped in front to the L.A. Coliseum Pool, the pool where the 1932 Olympics took place.

UPDATE - I have to include this note from Scott of the Canuckswimmer:

I don't agree with this. For one: the boy/girl ratio isn't anywhere near that - research I've done for a long pending post shows shows in 1992 the ratio was 4:5 in favor of girls while today it's closer to 2:3 (source: USA Swimming).

This means the discrepancy in participation has grown in the years jammers were gaining in popularity. Furthermore the actual numbers of males in club swimming have increased by nearly 28,000 over that period. Ergo jammers aren't the reason.

I'd like to add that I personally can't believe there would be many boys under the age of twelve who would be self-conscious about their suits; and for those over twelve I'd have to believe the attraction of being in a sport dominated by girls wearing wet skin tight suits would be more of a draw than worrying about showing off your 'package' (other than those embarrassing situations which attractive girls wearing wet skin tight swimsuits can bring on).

The real reason for the increasing number of girls vis-a-vis boys in swimming is due to the relative lack of high profile sports available to girls compared to those available to boys and a society which now encourages women to participate in sports. Consequently it is entirely logical to see swimming take in more girls than boys in recent years.

Michael Phelps "talks story," as the Hawaiians say, in this 'L.A. Times' article.

I wish I could say I saw this when I picked up the L.A. Times this morning but Swim News brought it to my attention first and they deserve credit. I subsequently did a Google news search and found it online.

Phelps discusses Libby Lenton's world record swim which was later denied by FINA. He suggested that Libby is a competitor and she tried to hold onto him by drafting. Phelps gives a nod of respect to that by stating it was a smart thing to do. He discusses seeing his near naked body on a cover of a magazine that proclaims he is the "world's greatest athlete," Also what it is like to live on his own etc. etc.

Bob Bowman has some comments as well about Michael's swimming performance at Worlds that nearly crosses the line into paranormal phenomena. Los Angeles Times article: [Link] Swim News on the Times article: [Link]

"Last Blast before Lock-down!" - Is that a headline or what?

This "Last Blast..." headline comes from Swim News regarding Michael Phelps' Beijing rendezvous. Craig Lord goes hyperbolic over Phelps' schedule of 10 events in five days at Nationals this week and what could possibly be in store in Beijing 2008. Of course Michael Phelps throws some sugar on the hyperbole with a little Mark-Spitz-like rhetorical flare: "...If I can do that, who knows what else I can do?" [Link]

Then Bowman jumps in with the Gladiator stuff: "...This is just kind of to establish our starting point for next year," Bowman told AP. "For Michael, it's not just the pressure of the training and the racing - it's the scrutiny of 24-7 living in a fishbowl for a whole year. I wanted to give him a little bit of time where he had a little bit of flexibility before he gets into ... the lock-down. After this, it's pretty much into the lock-down." (Subsequent reaction of the AP reporter after he heard the word lock-down [Link])

This photo comes from CoachCashMoney's photo stream at Flickr.com

"USA Swimming" is linking to online coaching presentations!

Look at the coaches in this selection "talking story" about super-hero hydrodynamics. Personally I have my eye on the open water stuff and anything by Dave Salo. These are $15 per session and if you live in Europe they are probably closer to eleven Euros so just do it and you too can learn those dark arts of American coaching by clicking here: [Link]:

• The first two years of Competitive Swimming. Coach John Leonard.

• Foundation for Success: Kicking. Coach Frank Busch

• Training for Open Water. Coach Catherine Vogt

• Age Group Coaching Philosophy. Coach Mike Lewellyn

• KING Aquatic Club-Developing World Class Stroke Characteristics. Coach Sean Hutchison

• The Age Group Development of Michael Phelps. Coach Bob Bowman

• Fun & Productive Training Sets That Keep Kids Interested. Coach David Salo, Ph.D.

Here is a great recap of yesterday's, or our today's, action from SI

I promise tonight I will talk up the heroic efforts of the Australian women, especially Jones; Lenton; and even France's, Laure Manaudou. For now this article by Sports Illustrated which has comments from Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman; Natalie's reaction; Perisol's; and Hansen which can all be viewed on page 2. [Link]

That be-bop, hipster, Olympian with the cool, daddio, gotee has two freestyle victories so far.

Michael Phelps won the 100 free in 42.43 beating butterfly rival Ian Crocker who swam a 42.88.

In the 500 free he led all the way finishing in 4:14.57 according to ABC News. [link]

Forbes had a couple of interesting quotes:

"I tried to go out as fast as I could, which still wasn't that fast," he said. "But I was pretty happy with the time. It's my best time."

Phelps tried to wiggle out of swimming the shorter race, but his coach Bob Bowman "reminded me I have 17 swims in Melbourne." [link]

From Sports Illustrated: "I get to see where we are and see what we need to tune up for worlds," he said after a light workout at the indoor pool. "I can't believe we're less than 60 days away to Melbourne. That's going to be a pretty big meet for all of us." [Link]