Michael Phelps Swimming World Record - FINA World Cup

Michael Phelps was beaten formerly more as four world records fell at the FINA World Cup meet in Stockholm on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old American swam a short-course personal best in the 100 meters butterfly of 51.06 seconds in the morning but failed to make the final -- his third failure to progress this week -- while in the evening he was beaten into second place in the men's 200m individual medley by South Africa's Darian Townsend, who set a World Cup best of one minute 51.79 seconds.

World records fell in the men's 50m backstroke as American Peter Marshall clocked 22.73 and the women's 200m butterfly as China's Liu Zige recorded a time of 2:02.50, while her compatriot Zhao Jing touched the wall in 58.40 in the women's 100m IM and Sweden's Therese Alshammar clocked 24.46 in the women's 50m butterfly.

On Tuesday, Phelps was third in the men's 100m IM but 16th in the 100m freestyle and disqualified from the 100m backstroke.

His indifferent results continued as he ranked 11th in the 100m butterfly, despite his best time, before Townsend touched first in the 200m IM.

However, the 14-time Olympic champion has abandoned the high-tech bodysuit his opponents donned and instead is wearing the textile-only shorts that will be mandatory from January 1.

As well as anticipating the FINA ban with his 2010 attire, Phelps was sporting a beard and admitted he was not in the best shape coming into the meet.

More than 200 world records have been set since the advent of the supersuits in February 2008 with four more falling on Tuesday -- including two in the 50m backstroke for Zhao Jing -- while on Wednesday morning Jessica Hardy lowered the 50m breaststroke mark she set herself days ago in Moscow.

Italian Swimmer set World Longest Swimming Record

IT IS a trial of endurance that pits the lone swimmer against the forces of nature. Now, the discipline of marathon swimming has a new hero, after an Italian man swam for more than 100km (62 miles) in 24 hours.

Mauro Giaconia, 37, won a place in Guinness World Records for the longest swim in a lagoon after he covered 101km in a marathon endurance test in the vast sea-water swimming pool of a South American hotel.

The swimmer described yesterday how his tongue grew numb after hours of pushing through salt water. He expects to lose his sense of taste for up to two months – "but that usually happens with sea water," he said.

Mr Giaconia struggled to keep swimming on course in the pool, which is itself a record holder – it is the world's largest at 1,013m (3,324ft) long. It covers an area of 20 acres and reaches as deep as 35m.

Lifeguards switched on the lights at night, but he eventually opted to swim in the dark. "I kept going with a lot of enthusiasm to do the task," he said.

He describes himself on his website as a sportsman who "likes extreme and challenging sports, even if they mean hours of solitude". He was recently voted sportsman of the year in Palermo, Sicily.

He was only 14 years old when he began long-distance swimming in Palermo. After briefly "flirting" with kite surfing, boxing and cycling, he returned to his real passion of swimming and has spent the past eight years setting endurance records.

He has swum marathons over 12 and 24 hours in both swimming pools and the open sea, from the gulf of Palermo to the Strait of Gibraltar.

He warmed up for the record in San Alfonso del Mar, on the west coast of Chile, 80km from the capital, Santiago, by swimming three 24-hour races in Austria, Italy and the United States.

In 2005, a group of 20 Finnish swimmers broke a world record for 24-hour swimming that had stood for 23 years. In a relay, they logged 184,994 metres during a 24-hour period, breaking the former record of 182,807m by a group from New Zealand.

The team swimmers were not quite up to Mr Giaconia's feat of endurance. They swum on average 9,250m per swimmer, but there was no exact information on how much water each individual swimmer covered.


BACKGROUND

MARATHON swimming is an endurance sport defined by the International Swimming Federation to be a swim of least 10km in length, and swimmers cannot use wet suits.

While a 10km open water race was added to the Olympic medal stakes in the 2008 Beijing games, record-breaking swimmers pursue longer records in tougher conditions.

On 25 August, 1875, Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. He swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours, smeared in porpoise oil, covering a zig-zag course across the Channel measured at over 39 miles (64 km) long. Modern swimmers have cut the crossing distance to about 21 miles (32km).

In 1987 the American swimmer Lynne Cox famously swam across the Bering Strait between the US and the USSR, approximately 50 miles.

More Swimming Guinness World Records

Arizona Swimmers sets Guinness World Records

Arizona swimmers swam into the Guinness Book of Records on Sunday in north Phoenix, besting a record held by English swimmers for most relays in one hour.

The event, called Kids Saving Kids Relay, attracted friends and family members of more than 236 swimmers to the Paradise Valley Pool with a goal: Get 205 swimmers to finish relays in an hour. That would surpass an existing 204-participant relay on record in the same time by English swimmers in 2007.

Eight minutes before the 8:30 a.m. deadline, Joe Zemaitis, who coordinated the relay, became the 205th swimmer to finish the relay, breaking the English swimmers' record. When the event ended, the world record reached 234 swimmers in an hour.

"I was pretty confident that we would break the record, but we went above and beyond my expectation," Zemaitis said. "It's great to see the community around an event that broke the world record."

Zemaitis, who is founder and president of the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training, said the group planned to submit its paperwork to Guinness in London to become certified.

A majority of the swimmers who participated belong to Zemaitis' competitive team called Swim Neptune.

The event drew coaches, Olympians, swimming teams and residents from around the Valley and state. It also included Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox, an advocate for water safety and a former competitive swimmer, who kicked off the relay race by hitting the pool first.

Cole Whitener, 9, belongs to Zemaitis' Swim Neptune. The fourth-grader at Desert Shadows Elementary was swimmer No. 105 in the relay. He has been a swimmer since age 4 and said swimming helps control his asthma.

When the time came for him to swim Sunday, thoughts of "just try to finish fast" floated through his mind, he said. His biggest fan at the event was his mother, Sherry Whitener.

Other participants include Argentine Olympian Florencia Szigeti, a Scottsdale resident. The 27-year-old represented her country twice, in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

Szigeti, who brought two friends to the event, said it was an honor to be one of the Arizona swimmers who broke a Guinness record. The Arizona State University alumnus, who continues to swim, reflected on her time as an Olympian.

"To be part of an Olympic team is to go beyond the competition," she said. "You are very proud of representing your country, being part of a city, learning about other cultures."

For information about the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training and its programs, visit http://www.thefastfoundation.org

Speedo Launches LZR RACER Swimsuit Olympic edition

SPEEDO, the world's leading swimwear brand, today unveiled the special Olympic edition Team USA LZR RACER suit. Speedo worked with legendary design house Comme des Garcons to develop a one-of-kind look for Team USA featuring the red, white and blue of the American flag.

The launch of the Team USA Speedo LZR RACER allows the original Comme des Garçons design to be finally revealed as the traditional gray and black silhouette has been updated with the patriotic stars and stripes of the United States of America flag. The design by visionary founder of Comme des Garcons, Rei Kawakubo, joins the distinctive metallic silver calligraphy that already appears on the suit. The calligraphy, painted by celebrated artist Inoue Yu-ichi, means ‘kokoro' representing the heart, spirit and mind.

Rei Kawakubo said, "I was interested in expressing the energy and the power that comes from the spirit, embodied in the meaning of the calligraphy, together with the will to win for one's country, symbolized by the iconic flag of the USA. I am very honored and proud that Team USA will be performing in the pool in Beijing with this strong creative design."

Though the Team USA LZR RACER suit will not officially debut until Beijing, it is being unveiled now in conjunction with the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials beginning June 29th in Omaha, Nebraska. Speedo's Team USA LZR RACER will be individually created for, and exclusively available, to all members of Team USA in Beijing.

"I've been wearing the Speedo LZR RACER suit for the past several months and I've had a lot of success in it," said U.S. Olympic Gold medalist and Speedo sponsored swimmer, Natalie Coughlin. "Not only is this the fastest suit out there but it now has a beautiful, patriotic feel to it which is very cool. I hope I have the opportunity to proudly swim in it in Beijing."

An unprecedented 38 world records have been broken by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer since its launch in February. Speedo harnessed the expertise of NASA and a number of international research institutes to create the suit which has 10 percent less passive drag than Speedo's FASTSKIN FSII launched in 2004 and 5 percent less passive drag than Speedo's FASTSKIN FS-PRO, which was launched in March 2007 and swimmers wearing it broke 21 World Records.

Made from an ultra lightweight, low drag, water repellent, and fast-drying fabric unique to Speedo called LZR PULSE, the LZR RACER suit is the world's first fully bonded competition swimsuit. The suit is ultrasonically welded which gives the effect of no seams at all. Ultra low drag LZR panels are laminated onto the base fabric to create a Hydro Form Compression System helping to compress the entire swimmer's body into a more streamlined shape and enabling them to cut through the water with more power and agility.

"Since 1928, Speedo has been leading the world in swimwear design and technology and our partnership with Comme des Garcons continues that pioneering spirit," said Paula Schneider, President of Speedo USA. "The Speedo LZR RACER suit is the ultimate swimsuit through a combination of cutting edge performance, innovation and design. We're proud to offer Team USA the best in technology and design."

To get in the spirit of swimming, the limited edition Team Speedo USA collection is now available for purchase at www.speedousa.com.

Seven Ausi Record Breaker Swimmers in Oympic

Australia will send one of its strongest ever Olympic swimming teams to this year's Beijing Games with seven individual long-course world record holders named in a 42-strong squad here Saturday.

The traditional swimming power finalised its team after the national trials which netted eight world records, headed by the sport's current fastest male and female swimmers, Eamon Sullivan and Libby Trickett.

Sullivan and Trickett broke 50-metre freestyle world records during the trials to underline Australia's sprinting strength.

Australia's other current long-course world record holders are Grant Hackett, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper, Stephanie Rice and Sophie Edington.

Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates believes the swim team is on track to improve on their record medal haul from Athens at Beijing.

Pre-trials rankings had the Australian swim team bringing home 18 medals from Beijing, and Coates said those expectations were still just as high considering their phenomenal form four months out from the Games.

"We've shown the performances of our sports last year and it calculated around 45 (medals) and they were predicated with the case of swimming on 18," Coates said.
"Nothing here has concerned me about not getting those numbers."

Australia with 15 medals, seven of them gold, finished second to the United States (28/12) in Athens and were runners-up behind the USA at last year's world championships in Melbourne, 36 medals to 21.

Australian head coach Alan Thompson said he is expecting the upcoming trials for other nations, notably USA in late June, to seriously challenge some of the recent performances by his team but says the ultimate judgement will be made in China.

"How good we are will be decided on the 18th of August (last day of swimming)," he said.

"As of now we have put a good performance on the board."

Hackett, bidding for a record three Olympic 1500m gold medals in Beijing, will be joined by fellow triple Olympians Jones, Adam Pine and Ashley Callus.

Twelve other swimmers are off to their second Olympics and there are 26 Olympic rookies, with backstroker Emily Seebohm the youngest member of the team aged 15.
The team announcement came after the conclusion of what has been rated one of the fastest national Olympic trials staged in the country.

There were eight world records, a further 13 Commonwealth records and another four Australian records established during the eight days' competition.

The Olympic team announcement at the Sydney Olympic pool was made in front of a gathering of Olympic gold medallists including Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, John Devitt, Murray Rose, John Konrads, Michelle Ford and Jon Seiben.

Source : AFP

50 meter freestyle swimming world record set by Alain Bernard

Alain Bernard set a world record in the 50-meter freestyle Sunday, after twice lowering the 100 freestyle mark in the previous two days at the European swimming championships.

The muscular Frenchman finished in 21.50 seconds to beat the time of 21.56 set last month by Eamon Sullivan of Australia. Sullivan lowered Alexander Popov's previous record of 21.64, set in Moscow on June 16, 2000.

"I had to stay calm for this semifinal," Bernard said. "I had an excellent start, which is not that usual for me. Then I thought I had to exploit my fantastic shape here in Eindhoven. I put all my power on at 35 meters."

Bernard set a world record of 47.50 seconds to win the 100 freestyle final on Saturday. That took one-tenth of a second off the record of 47.60 he swam Friday in the semifinals, to shatter Pieter van den Hoogenband's old mark set at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

On Sunday, 24-year-old Bernard easily beat Stefan Nystrand of Sweden, who finished in 22.12 in their second semifinal to be third fastest into the final.

Russian teenager Anastasia Zueva won her second gold of the championships in the 50 backstroke in a European record, adding to her victory in the 100 backstroke — also in a European record time — on Friday.

The 17-year-old Zueva's time of 28.05 was well outside the world record set earlier in the day and on the other side of the world by Sophie Edington, who clocked 27.67 at the Australian Olympic trials in Sydney.

Nina Zhivanevskaya of Spain, the 2003 world champion and holder of the old European record, was second and Sanja Jovanovic of Croatia was third.

World record holder Oleg Lisogor of Ukraine took the European 50 breaststroke in 27.43 after sharing the title for the last two years with Alessandro Terrin of Italy following the pair's tie at the last European championships. This time, Terrin had to settle for bronze as Alexander Dale Oen took silver.

With world champion Laure Manaudou not racing, Sara Isakovic of Slovenia won the women's 200 freestyle in 1:57.45, touching just ahead of Olympic champion Camelia Potec of Romania and third-place Agnes Mutina of Hungary.

Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia won the men's 100 butterfly in 51.89 and sealed a place at the Olympics after starting in lane eight because he had the slowest qualifying time. Peter Mankoc of Slovenia was second in 52.07 and Rafael Munoz Perez of Spain was third in 52.09.

In her last season of competitive swimming, continental record holder Flavia Rigamonti of Switzerland won the first ever European championship women's 1500 final in 15:58.54. Erika Villaecija of Spain collected her second silver of the championships after placing second in the 800 freestyle, and Lotte Friis of Denmark was third.

Markus Rogan added the 200 backstroke title to the 100 backstroke gold he won earlier in the championships. The Austrian touched in 1:55.85, ahead of European record holder Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia and Razvan Florea of Romania.

In the evening's final race, Filippo Magnini anchored Italy to its fifth straight 800freestyle title in 7:09.94. Russia was second and Austria third.

In the diving competition, Julia Pakhalina of Russia won the women's 3-meter springboard with 347.40 points. The German pair of Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding won the men's 10-meter platform synchro.

Source : AP

Freestyle Swimming World Records set by Eamon Sullivan

Reigning Olympic champion Gary Hall Jnr says he is suspicious of Australian Eamon Sullivan's recent world record in the 50-metre freestyle.

The American raised doubts about Sullivan's rapid improvement to shave 0.08 seconds off Russian Olympic champion Alexander Popov's 2000 mark in a new record of 21.56 seconds in Sydney last month.

Hall, who is aiming to win a third straight Olympic 50m freestyle title in Beijing later this year, compared Sullivan's performance to that of drug cheats and says the public has every right to be suspicious of his swim.

"I am not accusing Eamon of cheating," Hall told Australian Associated Press by email Friday.

"I have been in this sport for a very long time and I have never seen such a drop in time from an elite level swimmer.

"Similar drops have been made by athletes that later were proven cheaters.

"It's no fault of Eamon that a lot of people are going to look at his swim suspiciously, unless, of course, he did cheat.

"Too many athletes have cheated. The public has a right to be suspicious of doping when they see a drop like that."

Hall said he was surprised Sullivan had lowered his best time from 22.00 seconds to 21.56s in a single swim without being fully tapered.

Hall's claims were dismissed by Sullivan's coach Grant Stoelwinder, who said the 22-year-old Australian had improved his times through maturity, uninterrupted training and extensive worldwide racing.

"I don't to feel like we have to justify (Eamon's) time," Stoelwinder said.

"He was blood and urine tested after the world record swim and also this week."

"This is a pity about elite sports these days. When somebody does something special that is the first thing that somebody wants to say."

Source : Agency.