Michael Phelps needs Drug Test!
Out of context: Reply #17
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- Jaline0
It does help if you are built like a beast and if you are tall. It's almost unfair competing with taller people, as they can reach the end first (which can be witnessed many times during situations where it looks like two people are tied right at the end, but one has longer arms). In these cases you just have to be faster.
CBC went through a list of reasons as to why records were being broken all over the place:
"In short, a perfect storm has converged at the venue affectionately known as the Water Cube.
First, the building itself: erected at a cost of over 1 billion yuan (about $155 million), the energy-efficient arena was designed specifically to coax fast times out of swimmers.
Unlike the pool in Athens, the Water Cube's lanes are indoors. That eliminates troublesome wind currents and keeps the sun out of the eyes of backstrokers.
The climate-controlled building also allows officials to keep the water temperature and humidity at optimal levels for racing: around 26 C and 50 to 60 per cent, respectively.
Water depth is just as important. At a generous three metres, the Water Cube pool is able to absorb more turbulence, making for smoother swims.
Space-age suit
Smooth may not adequately describe today's state-of-the-art swimsuits, the No. 1 factor in this unprecedented age of record-smashing.
Speedo's synthetic LZR Racer has surpassed human skin, incorporating the work of NASA engineers to put swimmers inside a low-drag, water-repellent shell that boosts their buoyancy.
The ultrasonically welded suit also creates a corset-like effect, stabilizing the athlete's core while squeezing the body into a more streamlined position.
"The suits helps us feel good in the water. If you feel good in the water, you can do special things," said Australia's Eamon Sullivan, who set a world standard of 47.05 seconds in Wednesday's 100 free semifinals.
"A big part of sprinting is feel. If you don't feel good in the water, you're not going to swim well."
Of course, the LZR Racer is the product of science, not magic, and it requires an elite athlete to take full advantage of the suit's advanced technology.
That sort of talent is found in spades in Beijing. The Olympics have always attracted the world's finest athletes, but the top men and women at this year's Games bear little resemblance to their predecessors, either in the pool or out.
Follow the money
Besides benefiting from advancements in nutrition, training and coaching, today's world-class swimmers have far greater incentive to push the limits of their performance.
Whereas the greats of the past often toiled in obscurity for three years and 50 weeks out of every Olympiad, today's are richly compensated and celebrated.
Phelps's annual earnings from multinational sponsorships have been estimated at $5 million US by ESPN, and he'll receive a bonus of $1 million from Speedo if he matches Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a single Games.
Elite athletes - like the best in any other field - tend to follow the money. That's led to a larger pool of talent for swimming to draw from as purses grow richer and competition becomes more and more globalized."