Phelps Beaten out by Technology?

Michael Phelps is considered by many to be the greatest swimmer of all time and one the best Olympians of all time.  Is this still true?  Or is taking a 6 month leave of absence a bad idea for a professional swimmer? Just recently the 16 time Olympic medal holder was beaten out by Germany’s Paul Biedermann.

On Tuesday Biedermann beat Phelps in the 200 meter freestyle at the world championship, also reaping him of his world record.  This loss was Phelps’ first loss in four years, a major upset considering he lost to an athlete barely known outside of his own country.  Of course Phelps’ coach immediately put blame on the high-tech swimsuits the athletes wore.  Biedermann claims the suits make a difference; he wore the polyurethane version while Phelps stuck to his usual LZR Racer.  Phelps’ coach even threatened to pull him from future international meets unless something is done about the suits that influence the meets.  Interestingly enough Phelps had the chance to wear one of the latest-generation suits but passed because he did not want to abandon Speedo who has sponsored him since he was a teenager.  Shortly before the race began FINA did confirm that a ban on bodysuits will take effect in 2010; obviously not soon enough for Phelps or his coach.

Phelps showed some obvious discontent with the outcome of the meet.  He did not shake Biedermann’s hand, and on the podium, his lack of enthusiasm was obvious.  He forced a few smiles and poses and then took off his medal before he even left the pool deck.

Within 24 hours Phelps’ luck took a turn for the better. Wednesday night he set another world record in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1 minute, 51.51 seconds; more than half a second more than the previous world record holder.  This is Phelps 34th world record of his career, one more than Mark Spitz.  This time around Phelps’ body language was much different.  He could barely wait to get up on that podium and thrust his arms defiantly into the air.

FINA plans on banning the high-tech swimsuits in early 2010 but Phelps might sit out of all the international meets until the rule goes into effect. This might be a good idea for Phelps, seeing as how there are new rising stars in the sport.