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International Capsules: Phelps breaks 100 fly world record at U.S. nationals
Comments 0 | Recommend 0INDIANAPOLIS — Four months after deciding to keep swimming, Michael Phelps took ownership of a world record that had eluded him for years.
He won the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. national championships Thursday night in 50.22 seconds, lowering Ian Crocker's mark of 50.40 set at the 2005 world championships in Montreal.
Phelps' feat came just two months after returning from a suspension that was part of the longest layoff of his career, which he considered ending when a photograph of him using a marijuana pipe surfaced.
"It really shows anything can happen if you put your mind to it," Phelps said. "It feels good to get a best time."
Wearing his usual Speedo LZR suit, Phelps led at 50 meters with a split of 23.83, just three-tenths off world-record pace. Known for his strong finishes, the 14-time Olympic gold medalist pulled clear down the stretch to beat Tyler McGill, who touched in 51.06. Aaron Peirsol was third in 51.30.
"Crock had a ton more first 50 speed than I did. That's something I've really been working on," Phelps said. "I've always been able to come home pretty strong. I finally got the front half a little bit faster. If I can get that even faster, I'll be in better shape."
Phelps currently holds individual world records in the 100 and 200 flys, 200 and 400 individual medleys, and the 200 free.
"They've all been absolutely incredible," he said.
Phelps had owned the 100 fly mark for a day at the 2003 world meet in Barcelona. But Crocker took it from him a day later, then lowered it twice more, something that has bugged Phelps ever since.
"To finally be able to get it tonight means a lot," he said.
Phelps was in the 100 fly final when Crocker broke the record in Montreal.
"That is the worst Michael has ever gotten beat," his coach Bob Bowman said.
Last month, Phelps came close to claiming the mark when he won the event at a meet in Montreal with a then-personal-best of 50.48.
"Crock actually texted me after and wished me all the luck and telling me that was my record," he said. "That meant a lot, from a competitor and a friend and a classy guy. We had amazing battles back and forth. Those are something I definitely miss."
Crocker hasn't swum competitively since losing the 100 fly to Phelps at the Bejing Olympics, where Phelps won a record eight gold medals.
Phelps' victory gave him a spot in the event at the world championships later this month in Rome. He already qualified in the 200 fly and 200 freestyle as he continues his transformation from swimming middle distances to sprints.
"We've been trying to get his stroke a little flatter and with maybe a slightly higher tempo," Bowman said. "He sensed he was in condition to break the record."
His success comes after a rocky post-Olympic period in which the 24-year-old superstar took a six-month break, gained 20 pounds, and the marijuana pipe photo surfaced, resulting in a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. That ended in early May and then Phelps lost some races while preparing for nationals.
"I wasn't sure he would break any records this year," Bowman said.
Dara Torres is also going to Rome, having won the 50 free at age 42 despite an ailing left knee that has a torn tendon and arthritis. She plans to have surgery later this summer.
Wearing a Jaked suit, Torres clocked 24.43, well off her American record of 24.07 set at the Beijing Olympics, where she won three silver medals as a hero to weekend warriors everywhere. It will be her first appearance at world championships since 1986.
"It's a great feeling to be able to come out here and still race, but that time won't medal at the world championships," she said. "I guess I really don't think about the age thing until I get out of the pool and I'm limping with my knee."
She beat a field of women who weren't yet born when Torres competed in the first of five Olympics in 1984. Olympian Amanda Weir took the second spot in 24.70.
"The adrenaline kind of comes, so you don't really think about it once you get off the blocks," she said about her knee. "Obviously, it had an impact on my start because I was so slow."
Olympian Nathan Adrian won the men's 50 in 21.52, but he wasn't the fastest man in the pool.
Cesar Cielo of Brazil clocked 21.14 to win the 'B' final, where he and Fred Bousquet of France were relegated because only Americans are allowed in the 'A' final. Bousquet, the world recordholder, finished second in 21.36. Their times — the fastest ever on American soil — would have put them 1-2 in the event.
Olympic teammates Cullen Jones, who qualified fastest, and Garrett Weber-Gale tied for second in 21.55 in the 'A' final, setting up a swim-off on Saturday.
Elizabeth Beisel qualified for her first world championships at 16 with a victory in the 400 individual medley. She finished in 4:36.31 and Julia Smit, already on the U.S. team, was second.
Dagny Knutson, a promising 17-year-old from North Dakota, came up short with a third-place finish. She has one more chance at making the world championships in the 100 free.
Rebecca Soni, the Olympic silver medalist, won the 100 breaststroke in an American-record time of 1:05.34. She erased the mark of 1:06.20 set by Jessica Hardy at the 2005 world championships.
FINA OKs Bousquet's world record time in 50 free
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The 50-meter world record Frederick Bousquet set in a high-tech swimsuit three months ago was ratified Thursday by the sport's governing body.
FINA said Bousquet passed a post-race doping test and his mark of 20.94 seconds stands following approval last month of a modified version of his Jaked polyurethane swimsuit.
"It is a world record," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu said.
Bousquet set the record at the French Championships in Montpellier in April, wearing the suit. Australian Eamon Sullivan set the previous best last year of 21.28 seconds.
Bousquet's time was among over 100 records set in recent months as new swimsuits changed the sport.
FINA has forced a number of manufacturers to modify suits ahead of the world championships in Rome later this month to ensure that they do not create "air trapping" effects that artificially enhance speed.
The United States and Australia have expressed disappointment with FINA's decision to approve modified versions of suits initially rejected for competition.
Olympics
IOC criticizes USOC for launching network
LONDON - The International Olympic Committee chastised U.S. Olympic officials on Thursday for "unilaterally" launching their own television network, warning the project could jeopardize relations with Olympic broadcaster NBC.
The IOC accused the U.S. Olympic Committee of acting hastily by announcing plans Wednesday for the "U.S. Olympic Network," which is scheduled to go on air next year after the Vancouver Winter Games with Comcast as broadcast partner.
"We were aware that the USOC had been considering a new ‘Olympic broadcast network', but we have never been presented with a plan, and we had assumed that we would have an opportunity to discuss unresolved questions together before the project moved forward," the IOC said in a statement from Lausanne, Switzerland.
"It is for this reason that the IOC is disappointed that USOC acted unilaterally and, in our view, in haste by announcing their plans before we had had a chance to consider together the ramifications."
The IOC said the venture "raises complex legal and contractual issues and could have a negative impact on our relationships with other Olympic broadcasters and sponsors, including our U.S. TV partner, NBC."
NBC holds the U.S. broadcast rights through the 2012 London Olympics. The network acquired the rights to the Vancouver and London Games in 2003 in a deal worth $2.2 billion. NBC is also expected to be among the U.S. networks bidding for rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and 2016 Summer Games.
"The IOC is seeking additional information on USOC's plans and remain hopeful that we can work through the issues and reach a solution that works for all the many partners involved and for the American public in particular," the IOC said.
The USOC released its own statement later Thursday, saying it has had conversations with the IOC leadership about the network and plans more, in hopes of reaching a quick resolution.
"The mission of the U.S. Olympic Network is to promote, develop and grow Olympic sport in the United States and to inspire a new generation of athletes by educating young people about the ideals and values of the Olympic movement," the statement said. "In doing so, our desire is to be good partners with the IOC" and other interested parties.
The IOC and USOC have had tense relations in recent years, particularly over the contentious issue of the USOC's share of Olympic revenues.
The statement was issued following a conference call between IOC president Jacques Rogge and Richard Carrion, head of the IOC finance commission and negotiator of U.S. television rights deals.
If unresolved, the dispute could hang over Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. Chicago is competing against Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, with the IOC to select the host city Oct. 2 in Copenhagen.
The U.S. Olympic Network project had been in negotiation in the U.S. for more than two years. The USOC says the network is a way to keep Olympic sports in front of viewers outside the period of the games. The project is intended to be of particular benefit to smaller sports that struggle to find air time outside of the Olympics.
The USOC said the network at first will air archival footage, news shows and small-sports coverage.
Timo Lumme, the IOC's director of television and marketing, sent a letter to USOC chief operating officer Norman Bellingham on Tuesday urging the USOC to reconsider plans to announce the venture.
"For the record, the IOC has neither authorized nor approved, and has serious concerns about, the launch of such a network," Lumme said in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press.
"The IOC retains certain approvals and controls over the use and sublicense of Olympic marks and/or historical Olympic Games footage in the United States," he said. "The USOC should not proceed on the assumption that any such approvals will be granted, or any such controls waived, by the IOC."
IOC officials said Rogge and USOC chairman Larry Probst discussed the proposal by phone last Friday. The IOC said it never signed off on the idea.
"Given the short notice you have chosen to give to the IOC to consider the USOC's plans, and the lack of any real information about those plans, this letter should not be read as a complete list of the IOC's concerns or of the IOC's rights and remedies," Lumme said.
Bellingham said Wednesday the IOC has long been aware of the USOC's intentions to start a new network, something he and others at the USOC have been talking about publicly for nearly three years.
Of the IOC complaints, he said, "to say they caught us by surprise is an understatement."
"We firmly believe that what we're doing with this network is in the best interest of the Olympic movement," Bellingham said. "This is something that's going to deliver great value to them. It speaks to the ideals of the movement. There's nothing out there that does that on a year-round basis."
-- Stephen Wilson
Olympics minister: 2012 stadium will be downsized
LONDON - Britain's Olympic minister says the capacity of the main stadium for London 2012 will be reduced from its 80,000 capacity after the Summer Games.
Calls to reconsider plans to downsize the venue to 25,000 seats after 2012 had been led by London's mayor and the legacy group, but minister Tessa Jowell says the debate is closed.
On the sidelines of Thursday's Beyond Sport summit, Jowell said that the bid commitment that the stadium would become a smaller athletics venue after the Olympics will be honored.
London 2012 deputy chairman Keith Mills added: "The country does not need another 80,000 seat stadium, which costs a lot of money to fund. Go to Sydney and look at the 90,000-seat stadium that sits there empty, it's gone bust three times."
-- Rob Harris
Track & Field
Powell and Gay can't get Bolt of their minds
ROME - Usain Bolt is the main topic of discussion ahead of the Golden Gala, even though the Jamaican sprinter isn't competing in Friday's Golden League meet.
Bolt's two key rivals - former world record-holder Asafa Powell and world champion Tyson Gay - will go head-to-head in the 100 meters at the Stadio Olimpico before all three line up at the World Championships in Berlin next month.
"We've been talking about beating Usain since the Olympics," Powell said of Bolt's triple-gold and world record performances in the 100, 200 and sprint relay. "He ran 9.69 (in the 100), so it's going to take faster than 9.69 to beat him."
Bolt recorded an impressive 200-meter performance under the rain in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday, clocking 19.59 seconds - only one-hundredth of a second slower than what Gay ran in May with fair weather and a breeze at his back.
"I watched the race. It was pretty good considering the conditions - rain, wind in the face, the cold," Gay said Thursday. "He looked pretty good."
Bothered by a hamstring injury, Gay failed to advance out of the 100 semifinals at last year's Olympics. Gay attributed the Olympic failure to "a lack of race sharpness" and wants to get in some quality sprints before Berlin.
"I'm really looking forward to getting my season going and setting up the world championships," Gay said. "I'm 100 percent healthy."
Powell is still regaining his form from an early season ankle injury and put his condition at "85 percent."
Powell is attempting to become only the second man in history to post more than 50 sub-10 second results in the 100. Maurice Greene of the United States tops the all-time list with 53.
"I'm not really focused on that right now," Powell said. "I just want to get back in shape, and if I'm under 10 seconds great."
Besides Bolt, another notable absence in Rome is Damu Cherry, the American who was still in the hunt for the Golden League jackpot after sweeping the 100 hurdles in Berlin and Oslo.
Also, seven Kenyan runners pulled out of middle- and long-distance events.
Cherry's victories were unexpected and she made no advance plans to enter Rome.
"After she won in Oslo again, the question came up but we had contracts signed for every lane," meet director Luigi D'Onofrio said. "We checked with each athlete to make sure they were coming and they all replied ‘yes,' so it was impossible to enter Cherry."
That leaves five athletes still in contention for the $1 million jackpot, awarded to competitors who win their events at all six stops of the Golden League.
Ethiopian standout Kenenisa Bekele won the 5,000 meters in Berlin and Oslo, and Tero Pitkamaki took the javelin throw at the first two meets.
Three athletes are still in the running on the women's side: Kerron Stewart of Jamaica in the 100 meters, Sanya Richards of the United States in the 400, and Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva in the pole vault.
Isinbayeva set a world record here last year and is hoping for a repeat performance.
"I've trained in Italy since 2005. I feel like I'm at home here," the two-time Olympic champion said.
While Isinbayeva shouldn't have much trouble keeping her jackpot hopes alive, Richards could face competition from fellow American Allyson Felix in the 400 and Stewart has fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser to deal with in the 100.
Felix is a specialist at the 200 but is running the longer distance for "endurance work."
Richards could pass East German great Marita Koch and become the first woman to run under 50 seconds 36 times.
Richards' time of 49.23 in Oslo last week was the fourth fastest of her career and the quickest since her U.S.-record run of 48.70 at the 2006 World Cup.
"This year I'm feeling great. I'm feeling healthy," Richards said. "My coach has done a great job to prepare me and I think great things are still to come."
Besides Fraser and Stewart, who took gold and silver in Beijing, the women's 100 field also includes Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago and Carmelita Jeter of the United States - the fastest four women this year.
"When I was in my room yesterday looking at the list of girls competing, I said here's the World Championships finals," Fraser said. "I think we'll definitely go under 11 seconds. I've never run here before and I think it's going to be magnificent tomorrow."
-- Andrew Dampf
Volleyball
Walsh fit, set to return to beach volleyball tour
Her 7-week-old son cooed in the background, and Kerri Walsh could barely stifle a yawn as she explained why she is abandoning plans for a yearlong maternity leave to get back on the pro beach volleyball tour.
"Why?" she said Thursday. "Because I can hopefully have it all."
The two-time Olympic gold medalist said this week that she will return for the AVP tour stop in Hermosa Beach, Calif., on Aug. 6 - about 2 1/2 months after the birth of her son, Joseph.
"I love my sport, and I want to play," she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I think it will make me a better mom to have some balance. It (volleyball) makes me feel empowered and strong."
Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won the Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens and again in ‘08 in Beijing. In China, they both said that they would take the 2009 season off to start a family; May-Treanor was subsequently injured while practicing for "Dancing with the Stars."
Walsh, who is married to fellow beach volleyball pro Casey Jennings, gave birth to Joseph Michael Jennings on May 22. The baby has started to smile, reach for things and roll over.
"He's definitely getting more engaged every day," Walsh said. "I thought I was going to be able to take a full year off. I thought I would enjoy the downtime, and I have. But I found some really good help that I trust. We're going to be able to hang out with Joey and hopefully have it all."
Though she continued to train through her pregnancy, Walsh took four weeks off after the baby was born. She got back on the beach about three weeks ago to hit the ball around and said it "felt like I was playing in quicksand."
"It was really humbling," she said. "The skills are there, but there's no strength. I had touch and could pass the ball, but I couldn't really put it all together. It was pretty bottom-rung."
Holly McPeak, a three-time Olympian who practiced with her, said Walsh didn't struggle all that much.
"She had a huge smile on her face the whole practice!" McPeak wrote in an e-mail. "It was obvious she was happy to be out on the court again. She was only a half-a-step slow, but her ball control was great, and her jump was coming back quick. Her speed improved dramatically the first week of playing. She will be ready to win a tournament really soon!"
Because May-Treanor isn't ready to come back, Walsh will team with Rachel Wacholder, who had also been taking time off after having a baby. The pair won two international Grand Slam events in 2004 when May-Treanor was recovering from an injury in 2004.
"I think she's a really, really good player - defensive and really scrappy. The fact that we have a history together helps," Walsh said. "We went through this pregnancy and new mommy thing together. But it's also that this season's midway through, and who wants to break up another team?"
Walsh, 30, missed the first nine events of the season. The next two are in California, where she lives, but the tour then travels to Michigan, Chicago, Ohio, Las Vegas and Arizona.
To balance the needs of the tour and those of her baby, Walsh has two sisters and a mother willing to come along. Jennings' family also has offered to help out.
"I'm not going to leave Joey anywhere," Walsh said. "When we travel, I want to keep it in the family. My whole dream is just to share the world and share my job with our kids. It's all starting now."
-- Jimmy Golen
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