[Erunsenef]

Phelps tries to move on after stunning loss


ROME – Michael Phelps has four more chances to win gold at the world swimming championships.

He's not likely to be satisfied until he gets another shot at Paul Biedermann.

In different suits, that is.

The unheralded German glided across the water, steadily pulling away from the winningest Olympian ever, and handed Phelps a stunning loss in the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday — his first defeat in a major individual race since 2005.

No sooner had they climbed from the water, the debate was on.

Was it the man? Or was it the suit?

Biedermann acknowledged that he had an edge in his Arena X-Glide, a polyurethane suit that has surpassed the Speedo LZR Racer worn by Phelps. All those suits are on the way out, to be banned by the sport's governing body starting in 2010. But for now, it's perfectly legal.

.....

Neither is coach Bob Bowman, but not with anything his swimmer did. He went off on FINA for allowing swimsuit technology to get out of hand — a race for speed that, interestingly enough, actually started in February 2008 when Speedo introduced the LZR, the very suit Phelps is paid a great deal of money to endorse.

The very suit that now looks like a slowpoke alongside fully rubberized suits such as the X-Glide and Jaked.

At the risk of sounding hypocritical, Bowman ranted that he may just pull Phelps from any more international meets until FINA follows through on banning these suits. As it stands, the governing body is pointing toward having new rules in place by May 2010, when male swimmers will only be able to wear waist-to-knee suits (known as jammers) made from textile fabrics.

Full article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090728/.../swm_worlds_33

"We've lost all the history of the sport. Does a 10-year-old boy in Baltimore want to break Paul Biedermann's record?" Bowman said. "The sport is in shambles right now and they better do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these suits."