Maybe no man has benefited financially more from the ridiculous race to have the fastest swimsuit than Michael Phelps. Well, now the fastest suit is on another athlete. German Paul Biedermann beat Phelps in the 200m freestyle and broke his year-old world record wearing a suit that is all the rage, is brewing a controversy, and has the Phelps camp whining:
“It’s changed the sport completely,” Phelps said. “Now it’s not swimming. The headlines are always who’s wearing what suit.”
Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman said he and his athlete will take their ball and go home unless they have the fastest suit:
“Well, then, they can probably expect Michael not to swim until they’ve implemented it,” he said. “I’m done with it. It has to be implemented immediately. The sport is in shambles right now, and they better do something or they’re going to lose their guy who fills these seats.”
Oh really? Was it swimming when Phelps had the fastest suit? I didn’t hear any complaining when he was winning gold medals and cashing in after the Beijing Olympics wearing his own skin-tight suit.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 11:50 AM
The suit the Phelps wore at the Olympics was the same suit that was worn by most of the elite swimmers at those games, so I wouldn’t say that he had the “fastest suit” there….its availability wasn’t limited and most swimmers (apart from the Germans) were allowed to choose their suits free from contractual obligations….
The new, basically rubber, suits that are being worn now (like the Arena suit worn by Biedermann) are completely different and allow for a tremendous amount of improvement in a very short time…Phelps isn’t whining, he has a point.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Bottom line is that these suits have evolved over time. Just like the argument about the technology of today’s racquets in tennis, Phelps has benefited from the ever evolving swim suits. So I agree its whining. Had he won there wouldn’t have been an issue. His sourpuss face on the trophy stand was annoying.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 12:14 PM
I don’t agree with the comparison to other sports, such as tennis.
It would be as if someone wins the US Open this year with a type of racquet that is going to be banned by the time next season starts. There’s something just weird about that.
If he doesn’t have the best equipment as the best and most recognizable swimmer in the world, he is entitled to be a “sourpuss”.
I wish the suits would just be banned already if they are going to be, then we would see who the fastest in the world is, without suit debates.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 12:39 PM
I watched his press conference after the race on Swimnetwork.com, and it didn’t sound like whining to me at all. http://swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090728/michael_phelps_speaks_humbly-16905.html
Besides, it isn’t like Phelps & Bowman don’t want the LZR banned; they do. They couldn’t really have said that a year ago because Michael is under contract by Speedo (and has been since he was like 15 or 16).
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 12:46 PM
One more thing, Biedermann himself said that his suit shaves at least two seconds off his best time, allowing him to break Phelps’ record. It took Phelps about five years of work to reach the WR time he set, while it took Biedermann just a few months and a super suit to break it. Who wouldn’t be disappointed in Phelps’ position?
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 2:07 PM
Michael is NOT whining. When asked whether it was the suit or the swimmer that beat him he clearly said, THE SWIMMER. It is everyone else that is making a big deal out of the suits.
Besides the suit that Michael is wearing is the same one that about 80% of the swimmers in Beijing were wearing last summer and is approved by FINA, swimming’s governing body. The suit that the German swimmer is wearing has been BANNED and originally was going to be banned in Rome. However FINA has been stalling to implement the ban, instead waiting until April or May of next year to institute the ban.
The only thing Michael was disappointed in was himself and his own performance. Yet I think he came back quite nicely with not only winning the 200 fly today, but breaking his own World Record…..in the very same Speedo leggings he wore in Beijing.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 2:08 PM
This article is too much of an unfounded editorial on Phelps’ character. He’s a competitor- plain and simple- not a sore loser.
These new suits infringe on the idea that there is an even playing field (er, pool) b/c certain unknown swimmers such as Biedermann are excelling (admittedly so I might add) b/c of polyurethane suits such as the x-glide or the jaked. Phelps and other Speedo and TYR swimmers are swimming an uphill race because their suits- though fast- are still primarily made of textiles. Those thin “panels” on the suit that Phelps is wearing in the picture accompanying this story are the only non-textile elements of the suit (other than the zipper and the tag). The only analogy I can think of is related to track and field: if some runners started wearing a new shoe that had mini springs in it, that would be unfair. These suits are the same…they excel the swimmer because there is less of the swimmer’s physique in the water.
Another problem is FINA, the swimming governing body, who can’t seem to make up their damn minds about which suits to keep and which to ban.
World records have turned into the norm at this meet and in previous meets. But this meet’s record haul is far more absurd than the record haul of last year. Setting a world record is no longer an accomplishment, but rather something that is expected. That is not good for a sport that is just starting to become a little more mainstream. The suit is way too bouyant…it’s almost like the swimmers wearing such suits are “on a boat,” for crying out loud.
Give Phelps a break- the guy is a legend, a beast. He’s not a sore loser. He simply expects the best of himself. If Biedermann wore the same suit as Phelps and won, I can say with certainty that Phelps would not have “whined.”
With all due respect Cyd, you need to read up on the controversy of swimsuits a bit more in depth before crying foul on Phelps.
(stepping off soapbox now)
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 2:27 PM
how about learning ALL the facts about the case before hating on Phelps and spouting off, ay Cyd? Or are you just crushing on Biedermann like you do on Roger Federer and giving Phelps the full-Rafa Nadal treatment?
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 4:08 PM
I’ve been impressed that Phelps and Biedermann have been complimentary towards each other. In fact, I’ve felt like Biedermann has been a total gentleman in his statements and I didn’t know a thing about him before this meet. He too has said he wants the bodysuits to go away.
I don’t think Bob Bowman’s comments can be considered in isolation as annoyance about the 200 freestyle. First, he’d been quoted before the meet that Michael has been beaten at the world level in the past and, especially given Michael’s long layoff after Beijing, could be beaten again — so I don’t think either Bob or Michael is taking this as some kind of devastating result. Second, he’s not the only coach complaining about the suits — he’s just in the spotlight today given the 200 free and the media wanting juicy copy.
The frustrations he’s venting are being echoed in swimming forums all over the Internet — FINA not only created the farcical conditions of this year’s world championships but now, after pledging new rules taking effect this January, has bent yet again to the swimsuit manufacturers’ wishes and changed that to “sometime in April or May.” With few exceptions the swimming community is saying enough is enough, and yesterday Bowman was essentially acting as a front line spokesperson.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 5:20 PM
“With few exceptions the swimming community is saying enough is enough, and yesterday Bowman was essentially acting as a front line spokesperson.”
Very true, Charlie. Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps are the only ones whose voices hold enough sway, so they’re using them to speak up for their fellow swimmers and coaches. In a sport that lacks a union for its athletes, this a good thing.
Btw, also found on Swimnetwork.com, Phelps made the same comments about ‘swimming not being swimming’ at least two days before he lost that race yesterday (and right after he & Lochte, Grevers and Adrian won the relay), so his position has been consistent, whether he wins or loses. The video: http://swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090726/ryan_lochte_wants_banana_hammocks-16889.html
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
FINA needs to clean up its act, as the suits (both these, and the previous generation as worn by Phelps) have caused the records to be shattered repeatedly, and it’s now that suits that are getting all the attention–not the swimmers.
Can’t say I liked Bowman’s comment: “We’ve lost all the history of the sport,” Bowman said. “Does a 10-year-old boy in Baltimore want to break Paul Biedermann’s record? Is that going to make him join swimming?”
Gee, but what about a 10-year-old boy in Germany? The whole world doesn’t revolve around the U.S.A. And the “history of the sport” of swimming does not revolve around records set by American swimmers only.
Bring back the mini Speedo swimsuits and lets get rid of this controversy.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 7:31 PM
If an editorial is to be of value, it should have an educated writer. Personal points of view are great and bias expected in an editorial, but when a complete knowledge of the issue is displayed so evidently it reduces the credibility of the author on other topics.
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 7:50 PM
What part of this answer is whining?
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 11:03 PM
when phelps had the LZR suit and was winning he was not complaining but now dat someone has beaten him with a better suit he whinning like a baby. wat about all the other swimmers who didnt have the LZR at the olympics, u didnt hear them whinning. phelps is just demonstrating tipical american attitude. lets face it, they cant stand to lose with pride!!
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 3:44 AM
I say let them only wear traditional “Speedo” bikinis – I agree with their sentiment. But to voice it after losing – and say you’re not going to compete if other guys get to use better suits when you’ve benefited from having better suits than other (if not all) competitors – is sore-loser whining.
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 7:11 AM
When you are as smarmy as Phelps, everything sounds like whining.
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 8:45 AM
Phelps is not whining. This year’s World Championships are a farce due to the rubber swimsuits worn by some.
Next year, FINA has said men will wear either textile jammers or classic briefs.
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 11:39 AM
But he voiced it BEFORE losing. And the threat to not compete internationally is because FINA is threatening to delay the switch back to old suits. (Bowman/Phelps want Jan 1, FINA has gone back on their word and is now saying May.)
None of the evidence those of us who actually follow swimming backs up your “whine” point. Why you keep pressing it is beyond me.
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 11:40 AM
That should be… None of the evidence those of us who actually follow swimming have *presented* backs up your “whine” point.
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Anything for page views.
on Jul 31st, 2009 at 10:39 PM
For the love of all that is good and holy, will someone please tell Michael Phelps and his Mommy that their 15 mins are up and ship em back to Baltimore. Jeez, this dude just can’t get out of his own way!