Michael Phelps Up For The Challenge After Easing Through

Michael Phelps qualified second in the 200 meters butterfly heats at the world championships on Tuesday, conserving his energy for one of the biggest challenges of his career.

The American, who won a record eight gold medals at last year's Beijing Olympics, eased into the semi-finals later in a time of 1 minute 54.35.

Poland's Pawel Korzeniowski was quickest in the heats but Phelps was unperturbed as he gears up for a battle with Germany's Paul Biedermann in the 200 freestyle final, also in Tuesday's late session.

Biedermann broke Ian Thorpe's long-standing world record to take gold in the 400 freestyle Sunday.

"He is swimming really well. He is probably having the best meet so far so being able to race him head-to-head, it's going to be fun tonight," Phelps told reporters.

"I never back down from challenges, I love challenges."

Biedermann has made staggering progress in the last year following the introduction of modern non-textile suits, which are due to be banned from 2010 after prompting a raft of world records and hitting swimming's credibility.

Phelps, back from a six month layoff that included a three-month ban for being photographed inhaling from a pipe used for smoking marijuana, won his heat in the 200 butterfly.

"I just wanted to win my heat, that's all I wanted to do this morning. The biggest thing about that event is just getting into the finals," said the 24-year-old, who has already picked up one gold in Rome in the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay team. After 11 world records in the first two days at the venue for the 1960 Rome Olympics, Tuesday's heats were more subdued with crowd favorite Federica Pellegrini only qualifying sixth for the 200 freestyle semi later.

The Olympic 200 champion smashed the 400 world record to win gold Sunday.

South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh did break the championship record in the 50 breaststroke heats, clocking 26.92 seconds before a sparse crowd at the open-air pool.

Tunisia's 1,500 Olympic champion Oussama Mellouli was fastest in the men's 800 freestyle heats. (Additional reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Nigel Hunt)

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With World Records Falling, No Leeway for Phelps

ROME — Michael Phelps was answering a question Monday night when the roar of the crowd at the Foro Italico drowned out his voice. Phelps turned to the television screen that was showing the second semifinal of the men’s 200-meter freestyle at the world championships and a cloud scudded across his face. His expression darkened.

Paul Biedermann, the German who broke the world record held by Ian Thorpe in the 400 freestyle on Sunday, had eclipsed Phelps’s two-year-old meet record in the 200, with a time of 1 minute 43.65 seconds. Biedermann and the second-place finisher, Danila Izotov of Russia, each swam faster than Phelps had in the first heat, which he won in 1:45.23.

“What’d he go?” Phelps asked.

A German reporter relayed Biedermann’s time.

“A 1:43?” Phelps asked.

His jaw tightened. In the 200 freestyle final at the Beijing Olympics last year, Phelps lowered his world record to 1:42.96; Biedermann finished fifth in 1:46.00. “He’s dropped a lot of time,” Phelps said edgily. “He’s having a good meet, a good year. Tomorrow’s going to be a good race.”

With that, Phelps left, but this question lingered: Could Phelps lose in Tuesday’s final?

“Yeah,” his coach, Bob Bowman, said. “He could always lose. I’ve seen Michael lose.”

Not on this stage, and certainly not since 2007. But the first two days of this competition have proved that no world record is safe, nor is any world record-holder.

“If Michael’s at his best, he’ll probably win,” Bowman said. “But he has to be at his best. There’s no leeway.”

Phelps, 24, is a 14-time Olympic champion and the successor to Mark Spitz. But he is wearing Speedo’s LZR Racer, which some people say is the swimming equivalent of a jockey racing with extra weight.

Since it was introduced last year, the suit has been superseded by the rubberized models of other manufacturers like Arena, which sponsors Biedermann. These polyurethane suits have the power of Superman’s cape, giving those who wear them the confidence to soar.

“If we walk out there tomorrow with Biedermann in a brief and Michael in a brief, what do you think is going to happen?” Bowman said. He shrugged. “We don’t know. Maybe Biedermann will beat him. But a year ago, he wouldn’t have, right?”

A year ago, it would have been hard to imagine the American Aaron Peirsol failing to advance to the final in the 100 backstroke, an event in which he has held the world record for all but one week since 2004.

Peirsol, who became the first to swim the event in under 52 seconds this month at the United States championships, finished fourth in his semifinal in 53.22.

“It’s my own fault,” Peirsol said, adding, “I completely misjudged my race. I just completely thought I was in a place that I wasn’t in.”

Stephanie Rice of Australia could be forgiven for wondering if she missed the pool on her dive and instead found Alice’s rabbit hole. Rice put together a marvelous swim in the final of the 200 individual medley, bettering her winning time from Beijing by more than a second. But she was soundly beaten by Ariana Kukors of the United States, who was not on the 2008 Olympic team.

Kukors’s win in 2:06.15 improved on her day-old world record of 2:07.03, which had bettered Rice’s year-old mark of 2:08.45. That is 11 world records in 16 events.

Four others were broken Monday: Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden in the final of the 100 butterfly (56.06), the American Rebecca Soni in the semifinals of the 100 breaststroke (1:04.84), Anastasia Zueva of Russia in the semifinals of the 100 backstroke (58.48) and Brenton Rickard of Australia in the final of the men’s 100 breaststroke (58.58).

How topsy-turvy are the times? Hugues Duboscq of France swam the 100 breast faster than the record that Rickard surpassed in finishing second. Dana Vollmer lowered the United States record in the 100 butterfly with a 56.94, becoming the first American woman under 57 seconds, and tied for fifth. Sjostrom, who did not break 59 seconds in Beijing, nearly broke 56 seconds here, coming from seventh at the turn to win.

Kukors did not even qualify to swim the 200 I.M. here, placing third at the United States nationals three weeks ago in Indianapolis.

She was entered only because Elizabeth Pelton, the runner-up at nationals, bowed out of the event because the final was the same day as the heats and semifinals of the 100 backstroke (Pelton placed 13th in the semifinals).

“Liz gave me the opportunity, and I made the most of it,” Kukors said.

She had been laid low by the flu in the weeks leading to the nationals, at one point becoming severely dehydrated, so she expected to swim faster here. But four seconds faster than her best time? Actually, yes.

“The goal all year was 2:06,” said Kukors’s coach, Sean Hutchison. “We split it out and said, O.K., you can do it.”

Before the meet is through, Kukors hopes to repay the debt she owes Pelton. “She told me she was going to take me out to dinner,” Pelton said.

Where will they go? “I don’t really care,” she said, “as long as I get gelato at the end.”

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Phelps Is Feeling Heat From All Around

ROME, July 27 -- With another unfathomable number of world records -- five Monday night -- falling at the swimming world championships, and surprises lurking in every heat, it was easy to be distracted from one of the most engrossing story lines here, one not to be missed: Michael Phelps is under assault.

The man at the sport's epicenter is feeling the heat from fast-charging men in superfast speedsuits, even in individual events he is accustomed to dominating. A day after Phelps claimed his first gold medal here despite swimming an unsensational leg in the 400-meter freestyle relay, and moments after winning his 200 freestyle semifinal heat Monday night, Phelps was giving an interview when he heard the meet announcer bellow, "championships record!"
He spun toward a nearby television screen.
Phelps, who is seeking six gold medals here, turned just in time to see German Paul Biedermann celebrating the 200 freestyle championship record he had just broken -- a record Phelps had previously held -- in the other semifinal heat.
"What did he go?" Phelps, officially distracted, asked eagerly. "He go 1:43?"
The answer was 1 minute 43.65 seconds, or .21 of a second faster than Phelps's 2007 record and 1.58 better than Phelps had swum in his heat.
"He just dropped a lot of time," Phelps volunteered, almost talking to himself. "You usually don't see a six-second drop in the 400 free in a year. In the 200 free, he dropped about three seconds in a year. . . . It will get me more excited, more ready for tomorrow. I'm going to have to, I guess, really prepare myself."
He probably is guessing right. No one thought Biedermann would break Ian Thorpe's seven-year-old record in the 400 free Sunday night, and he did that. Who knows what Biedermann has in store for the 200 free in his Arena X-Glide speedsuit?
And it's not just the 200 free in which Phelps will have his hands full. Serbian Milorad Cavic made it clear he has been gunning for Phelps since the Olympics last year in Beijing when Phelps out-touched him at the wall to win the 100 butterfly .

After winning the 50 fly final Monday in a championship-record 22.67, Cavic told reporters he would be thrilled to win the 100 fly this week, even if he were wearing a technologically more advanced suit than Phelps, who because of his Speedo contract is still wearing the LZR, a 2008-model suit that many consider outmoded.
Cavic charged that technology had cost him last year's Olympic gold; he alleged he lost the medal on a timing error, saying he didn't press hard enough on the touch pad with his initial touch.
"That," he said, "is the story."
Added Cavic, "Because of what happened, I did return to swimming with a desire I probably would not have had if I had won the Olympic gold."

The 100 fly final takes place Saturday.
Phelps's coach, Bob Bowman, said Phelps should win the 200 free Tuesday. Maybe.
"He has to be at his best," Bowman said. "There is no leeway."
And problematic for Phelps: He isn't feeling so great about his freestyle stroke these days. On Monday morning, he announced that he was ditching the "straight-armed" stroke that he experimented with in sprint races this summer, saying "we tried something and it didn't work." The straight-armed approach was supposed to provide more power over short distances, but Phelps never got comfortable with it.
In the relay Sunday, Bowman said, Phelps seemed to be doing a cross between his old freestyle and the new one. His leg was slower than he swam last year in Beijing.
Phelps added that his freestyle stroke "was kind of off," perhaps because of his attempts to manage both.
At least Phelps has time to get himself ready for his final five events, the 100 and 200 fly and the 200 free, along with two more relays.
Bowman, Phelps's longtime coach, seemed privately satisfied that Biedermann had pushed his emotional star's buttons with his out-of-the-blue performances. Last year his time in the 200 free, 3:47.69, ranked 21st in the world. His time in the 200, 1:46.00, was ninth best. Phelps and Bowman discussed their joint shock Sunday at Biedermann's world-record swim, and the sad fact that the legendary Thorpe had been, finally, wiped from the record books.
"I think some people are going to bring the heat tomorrow night," Bowman said. One of them, he said, "is M.P."


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Vick cleared to return to NFL...Speed at the pool...Nash to finish...

NEW YORK (AP) Michael Vick has been conditionally reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Vick can participate without delay in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games if he can find a team that will sign him.

ROME (AP) Ariana Kukors of the USA closed out another speedy night at the pool by breaking her 24-hour-old world record in the 200-meter individual medley. Five more world records were set on Day 2 of the world championships, the last with high-tech bodysuits.

ROME (AP) Michael Phelps has advanced to the final of his first individual event at the world swimming championships, but he may have tough competition in the 200-meter freestyle. Phelps was the third-fastest qualifier in the preliminaries.

PHOENIX (AP) Steve Nash says it will be a pleasure to finish his career as a member of the Phoenix Suns. The 35-year-old veteran has agreed to a two-year, $22 million contract after considering leaving the team.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Minnesota Timberwolves have picked up guards Damien Wilkins and Chucky Atkins in a trade with Oklahoma City. The Thunder will get veteran Etan (ee-TAHN') Thomas and two of the Timberwolves four second-round draft picks in return.

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Michael Phelps continues to pile up medals, but his high-tech swimsuit's days are numbered

With science and technology advancing athletic performance across all sports, swimming's Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) governing body has decided to limit the amount and type of materials that can be used to make the fancy swimsuits worn by elite swimmers such as Michael Phelps.

The new rules won't affect the FINA World Championships taking place this week at the Foro Italico in Rome, where six new world records have already been set by swimmers in suits made from materials such as polyurethane, and Phelps has already won a gold metal. (Phelps won eight gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Beijing last year.)

Such attire—more like a wetsuit than a swimsuit—is believed to have contributed to the 108 world records set last year and nearly 30 so far this year, the Associated Press reports.

FINA has for several months been reviewing procedures for swimwear approval, namely in the areas of the swimsuits' material, thickness, use, shape and availability. The organization voted overwhelmingly last week to limit swimsuit coverage to between the waist and knees for men, and not beyond the shoulders or below the knees for women, according to the AP. The new rule also says suits must be made from textiles (as opposed to titanium alloys and other composites) although FINA has yet to provide a more complete definition of this.

Speedo, one of the most prominent swimsuit companies, makes body-hugging apparel that mimics shark skin, alternating between something like the rough dermal denticles found around the fish's nose and smoother derma located farther back on its body, according to a 2004 Scientific American article examining the technology behind these swimsuits. Some Speedo suits also feature titanium-silicon scales on the inner forearm that grip the water better on down strokes, as well as rubber bumps across the chest to help reduce resistance. TYR Sport, Inc. and Nike are two other companies that make high-tech swimwear.

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Michael Phelps: Turning back the page

ROME --The Great Stroke Experiment is over.

By mutual decision, Michael Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, are putting that relatively new windmill, straight-arm stroke -- designed for sprinting -- right back on the shelf.

"It actually was [mutual]. It's funny, as often happens, he came out and said the same thing," Bowman said this morning at the World Championships. "He said, 'I don't think this is working.' I said, 'You're right.' Experiment failed. Next."

Phelps told Bowman that on Sunday night, almost immediately after his opening leg in the winning 400-meter freestyle relay.

"It's as much my fault as his that he didn't go better," Bowman said.

Said Phelps after the morning prelims of the 200 freestyle, in which he had the second-fastest time: "We tried something, and it didn't work. We weren't 100% confident, or comfortable, with it. So now I guess it's back to the old stroke. My old stroke was kind off a little bit, but I felt better this morning and felt smooth this morning."

Bowman broke down the problem with the stroke on Sunday night after the relay.

"When I look at it, I see this kind-of stroke," he said. "He's not really doing this new stroke. He's not really doing the old stroke. I'd say we're going back to the old stroke. It's the last time he's doing that."

-- Lisa Dillman

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Fall of 400m freestyle record shocks Phelps

Rome, Italy - Amid the six World record spree at the World Championships on Sunday, the fall of Ian Thorpe's 400m freestyle World mark stood out for US superstar Michael Phelps.

"I still can't believe the men's 400m free record got broken," Phelps said on Monday, after cruising into the semi-finals of the 200m free style.

"I thought that was the best record on the book. That was crazy to see that go - but people are swimming fast. You usually don't see that in a post-Olympic year but somehow they're doing it."

Germany's Paul Biedermann, wearing a polyurethane suit that is due to be banned from 2010, shaved one-hundredth of a second off Thorpe's seven-year-old record and admitted he was shocked himself."I expected someone to break the world record. I didn't expect it to be me," Biedermann said. "This suit makes me really fast. Honestly, I think it takes off two seconds in the 400."

Despite the controversy surrounding the suits, Phelps said the record extravaganza wasn't all bad.

"It's good for the sport, makes it more exciting," he said. - AFP

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Michael Phelps back on podium

ROME - Michael Phelps had an off night. His new windmill stroke just slowed him down. He left his teammates with some catching-up to do. Heck, he didn’t even get a world record when about all you had to do was squeeze into one of those newfangled suits and dive in at the Foro Italico.

Yet, when it was done, Phelps found himself in that same ol’ place - top of the medal stand.

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Avoiding the Deep End When It Comes to Jitters

ROME — Her body was quivering and she was sputtering for breath. The swimmer in obvious distress was not a toddler who took a tumble into the water; it was a future world-record holder in the warm-down pool at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

The teenager Katie Hoff was having a panic attack and the fully-clothed man who waded in to rescue her was not a lifeguard; it was the United States Olympic coach, Mark Schubert, who soothed her by saying the anxiety that made her palms clammy, her heart race and her mind a tangled web was a well-known opponent on the world scene.

Whatever their skill level, swimmers often harbor deep-seated fears; the novices of drowning and the national champions of suffocating in a deep pool of expectations.

When the FINA world championships get under way Sunday at Foro Italico’s outdoor facility, there will be medal contenders who obsess over who is wearing what high-tech suit, brood about the pizza-oven-like heat that is burning this city’s fairer tourists to a crisp, or become overwhelmed by the television cameras in their faces and the thousands of fans in the stands.

They will worry themselves right off the awards podium.

To inoculate its team members against any strain of performance flu, United States Swimming officials periodically invite them to seminars on using visualization techniques to achieve optimal performances run by people affiliated with the Pacific Institute based in Seattle. One of their speakers last fall was Brian Goodell, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who weathered a panic attack to win the 1,500-meter freestyle at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal.

The aim is to turn the athletes’ minds into bunkers that fortify them against self-doubts. Rare is the swimmer like the 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps who in the crucible of competition can reach a deep state of relaxation on the count of two.

More common is the experience of Dara Torres, the ageless American who is a co-captain of the women’s team here. Her first major international competition was the 1984 Olympics, held in her hometown, Los Angeles. Torres, then 17, qualified to swim a leg on the women’s 4x100 freestyle relay.

In the morning preliminaries, she recalled Friday, “I freaked out when I walked out on the pool deck and saw 17,000 people.”

She swam poorly, but redeemed herself at night after one of the team’s veterans, Jill Sterkel, accompanied Torres back to the athletes’ village and painted her fingernails and plopped her in front of a television to watch soap operas to take her mind off her race.

There are 16 national-team rookies on the 45-member United States squad that will compete in the world championships over the next eight days, and the 42-year-old Torres has been casually taking their emotional temperatures. If she senses a rise in the rookies’ stress levels, Torres said, she reminds them the pool here is the same size as the ones they train in at home and the distance of their races has not changed.

Experience has taught Torres that the key to managing prerace anxiety is being able to redirect one’s mind if it starts down a dark path.

For the Italian Federica Pellegrini, the 400 freestyle, one of two events in which she holds the world record, used to be like a walk in a dark alley at night. The distance used to make her panic.

She found it difficult to trust her own pace because the event attracts both sprinters who set a fast early pace and distance specialists who swim the second 200 meters of the race faster than the first.

The 20-year-old Pellegrini became more comfortable with the 400 freestyle, to be contested Sunday, only after employing a sports psychologist to help her work through her anxieties. She said last week that the schedule makers did her a favor by putting her toughest event first.

“Let’s pull the tooth right away,” she said. “Get rid of the pain.”

Swimmers try to offset such anxieties with mental preparation. Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, says “structured relaxation” has been a part of Phelps’s prerace routine since he was 12 and is instrumental to his success.

Bowman introduced Phelps, who is scheduled to race in three individual events and three relays here, to a progressive relaxation program based on the recitation of cues. Every night before Phelps went to sleep, his mother, Debbie, would sit with him in his dimly lighted bedroom and command him to relax different parts of his body.

After a while, Phelps could relax without his mother’s cues. He became adept at placing himself in that same meditative state in the ready room before a race. Once he has cleared his mind and loosened his limbs, Phelps will swim each race over and over in his mind.

It is not just the perfect race that Phelps pictures. He sees himself overcoming every conceivable obstacle to achieve his goal time so that when he stands on the blocks he feels as if nothing can stand in the way of him succeeding.

“I do go through everything from a best-case scenario to the worst-case scenario just so I’m ready for anything that comes my way,” Phelps said.

So when Phelps’s goggles filled with water during the final of the 200 butterfly at the Beijing Olympics, he did not panic; he counted his strokes so he knew where the walls were and lowered his world record.

“When I step onto the blocks to race, I switch into a different gear,” Phelps said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of training I have or what’s going on in my life, I’m always going to rise to the occasion.”

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A Champion Gains Attention Out of the Pool

CBS)  Stepping up for a swim-off with a berth at the World Championships at stake, Cullen Jones was a picture of cool confidence.

Given his success, you might never guess where Jones was 20 years ago - unconscious and nearly drowning at the bottom of an amusement park waterslide, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor.

"I vividly remember what the slide looked like and I vividly remember how drowning feels," Jones said.

Resuscitated by a lifeguard but still terrified, 5-year-old Cullen might have never jumped in a pool again.
His dad wouldn't let that happen.

"He felt, also along with my mom, that it was important for me to learn, as opposed to retreating from it," Jones said.

His parents insisted on swim lessons - they clearly paid off. He became the fastest American ever in the 50 meters. Record holder, gold medalist - and lately, role model.

Jones is using his fame to bring a disturbing issue to the surface.

Nearly 60 percent of African American and Hispanic children can't swim. And studies show that black children are nearly three times more likely to drown than whites. Even among the 300,000 registered members of USA Swimming, less than 2 percent are minorities.

Jones is diving in to the "Make a Splash" swimming education campaign, giving personal lessons in a half dozen cities this summer.

But he says getting minority swimmers into the water isn't easy - not when you're fighting decades of history, indifference and silly stereotypes.

"Like the one where black people can't swim because their bodies are genetically different?" Jones asked. "I float probably better than anyone out here."

Make a Splash supports programs like the Oakland California Undercurrents, which gives free or low cost lessons to young kids and fields a competition team for older ones.

"I can be there. I can do that," said Nia Assata, a swimmer. "It seems cool to go and swim at these big meets, see Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones."

"It teaches you life skills on how to be great in whatever aspect of your life you choose," said Dominic Cathey, the Oakland Undercurrents coach.

And these boys now have a new hero.

"I didn't like swimming, until now," said Taylor Sanders, one boy in the program.

"You never thought of it before?"

"Never thought of it before," Sanders said.

Jones knows the numbers won't change overnight - he intends to keep working with kids long after his competitive career is over.

"What's more important for you, winning gold medals or helping kids?" Glor asked.

"Definitely helping kids," Jones said. "I mean, I've seen so many kids that have come to me and say 'You know I love being in the pool, I love being in the water.'"

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ALL EYES ON PHELPS

Michael Phelps returns to the pool on Sunday for his first international competition since becoming the most successful Olympian in history last year in Beijing.
The 24-year-old launches his campaign in Rome in the 4x100metres freestyle relay in what will be his fifth World Championships.
It has been a monumental 12 months for the Baltimore swimmer, characterised by the peak of winning eight gold medals in China but followed by the trough of being pictured in a British tabloid apparently smoking drugs.
An apology followed but USA Swimming imposed a three-month ban and Kellogg's failed to renew their endorsement.
The swimmer hit rock bottom and pondered his future, wondering whether to carry on in the sport.
Ultimately he made his choice and dedicated himself to the pool through to London 2012.
In Rome he will swim in six events - the 100metres and 200m butterfly, the 200m freestyle and three relays - as he looks to add to his tally of 20 World Championship medals, 17 of them gold.
Phelps said: "It has been a long year, good times, bad times, a lot of really high points and a lot of low points."
He added: "I always want to win.
"If I have the race I want to have and someone swims faster than me then so be it.
"When I come into a meet I have things I want to achieve and that is all I think about."
For now the swimmer merely wants to get back to the action, saying: "Yesterday I felt smooth in the water. I felt fast.
"When you are waiting to swim like now it feels like forever.
"I'm excited about my first race."
Phelps recently lowered Ian Crocker's 100m butterfly world record, but ominously added: "There's a lot of room for me to be where I want to be."
He also revealed he was still suffering from a neck problem which caused him to withdraw from the 100m free at the US trials, dismissing defending 100m champion Filippo Magnini's assertion he had "ducked" out.
Phelps added: "It was never an excuse as it was stated in the paper by one of the athletes.
"I actually wanted to swim that race."
Coach Bob Bowman, who is the US men's coach at the Foro Italico, said: "My job is to have Michael Phelps as fast as he can be."
The pair both welcomed yesterday's decision by FINA to return to textile suits although the ruling will not apply to next week's competition, when many predict every world record to be under threat.
Speedo opened the door when they introduced the LZR Racer in February 2008 since when 135 world records have fallen and the Foro Italico will be awash with polyurethane suits.
The French men dominate the freestyle.
Fred Bousquet became the first man under 21 seconds for the 50m free when he clocked 20.94secs while four of the top six in the 100m are occupied by the French.
Oussama Mellouli has been tipped to break Grant Hackett's world record in the 1,500m free.
The Tunisian was stripped of his medals at the 2007 Worlds in Melbourne after failing a drugs test.
Federica Pellegrini is one of the faces of the competition and will have home support as she looks to avenge the disappointment of the 400m freestyle in Beijing.
The Italian was hot favourite for the gold but got her tactics wrong in the final and not only was she beaten to the title by Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain, she finished outside the medals.
Another Briton, Jo Jackson, then claimed her world record although the 20-year-old reclaimed it last month to add to her record in the 200m free.
Triple Olympic champion Stephanie Rice will renew her rivalry with Kirsty Coventry in the individual medley races with Briton Hannah Miley a threat after a superb year and Libby Trickett goes head to head with double Olympic champion Britta Steffen in the shorter freestyle events.

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Phelps, Torres among stories to watch at FINA Championships

Swimming events begin Sunday at the FINA World Championships in Rome. This will be more than just the Michael Phelps show, though Phelps will swim in six races (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly 200 butterfly and three relays) and will likely come away with six more medals. Here are some of the things for fans of the U.S. team to look for at the championships:
Will the 50 barrier fall?
Phelps seems primed to bust the 50-second barrier in the 100-meter butterfly, and the competition that gave him his last major defeat in the event would be the ideal field to do it against. When Phelps' teammate Ian Crocker dusted him at the 2005 Worlds, lowering the world record to 50.40 seconds, Phelps referred to it as a "real wake-up call." Phelps finished more than a full second back that day (51.65) and the spanking stuck in his gut for a while. He beat Crocker at the Beijing Olympics, out touching Serbian Milorad Cavic by a scant hundredth of a second. Still, Phelps touched the wall there in 50.58, leaving the record as unfinished business.
On July 9, he lowered the mark to 50.22 at the U.S. trials in Indianapolis. That was the 33rd world record of his career, tying him with Mark Spitz for the most all-time. Of all the races in Rome, Phelps would love to win this one, break the 50-second barrier and go one better than Spitz. Of course, Phelps will also have several accomplished flyers who could push, or even beat him, including Cavic, Spain's rapidly improving Rafael Munoz and Australia's Andrew Lauterstein, the bronze medalist in Beijing.
Gain one, lose one
Ah, yes, but don't be surprised if Phelps loses one of his world records in an event he has chosen not to swim. When Phelps set a personal best of 1:54.23 in winning the 200-meter individual medley at the Beijing Games, it marked the eighth time he lowered the world record in that event since 2003. Now Ryan Lochte, Phelps' relay teammate, is just three-tenths away from the record.
After six months of enjoying post-Olympic life as a self proclaimed late-sleeper and overeater, Lochte actually shocked himself when he won nationals in 1:54.56 earlier this month, beating the field by a second and a half. And watch the showdown between Lochte and Aaron Peirsol in the 200 back. That should be a one-two finish with both men challenging Peirsol's world record of 1:53.08.
French uprising
Remember that thrilling finish by Jason Lezak to rally the U.S. 4x100-meter freestyle relay team past Alain Bernard and the very verbal French team at the Beijing Games? Without Lezak's push, Phelps would not have won eight gold medals. This year, Lezak is out of the Worlds picture. He has been paying tribute to his Jewish heritage by competing instead at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, where he lit the torch at the opening ceremony. Without Lezak, the U.S. team is without a sub-48 second swimmer on its roster. Newcomer Nathan Adrian has hit 48-flat. The French team can send out an entire quartet of sub-48ers, Bernard among them, in the final.
Will Dara Torres ever show her age?
Not yet. Torres is back on the worlds team at age 42, swimming the 50 free and perhaps one or more relays. Granted, Torres has felt her age at times. She has arthritic knee problems and has had to adjust her training regimen repeatedly, if only for preventive maintenance. Olympic champ Britta Steffan from Germany will still be the favorite in the 50 free, with Australia's Libby Trickett and Dutchwoman Marleen Veldhuis right on her tail. Don't count Torres out though -- anything can happen in a short race.
Torres said at Nationals that she has been struggling with her start since the Beijing Games and has been waiting to pop one, getting off the blocks. Given the premium on those first few strokes in such a short race, a pop could land her on the podium in Rome. The next-oldest on the U.S. team, by the way, is Keri Hehn, at a modest 28, so Torres has lapped the field by almost a decade and a half.
Any feel-good stories on this team?
Well, how about Eric Shanteau and Hayley McGregory, to name two. Last summer, Shanteau was diagnosed with testicular cancer just a week before he qualified for the Olympic team in the 200-meter breaststroke. He went to Beijing and barely missed out on the final eight. He came back to have the cancerous testicle removed later that month.
This year he is cancer-free and swimming better than ever. Shanteau qualified for the U.S. team in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and the 200 IM, behind Lochte. He'll be among the medal contenders in the 200 breast and could also be tapped for a relay leg.
The meet's other feel-good story, British-born, Houston-raised McGregory has been swimming's queen of narrow misses. Swimmers only get two places per country in each individual race. McGregory has placed third four times over the last two Olympic trials, including the 100-meter backstroke last year in Omaha, where she set a world record in the prelims. Last month in Indianapolis, she won the 100 back and she'll have a chance at a medal in Rome, where Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic champ in the 200 back, will be favored.

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Laidback Phelps unperturbed by faster suits

ROME (Reuters) - Michael Phelps was so relaxed about the threat from rivals with faster swimsuits that he could afford a mid-afternoon doze at the world championships on Friday.

The Rome showpiece starts on Sunday and although governing body FINA is poised to ban new hi-tech suits from 2010, the controversy will rage on next week with some swimmers using costumes which could prompt quicker times than others.

Phelps, who glided to a record eight gold medals at last year's Beijing Olympics, will use the Speedo LZR suit which was the first of the new generation of costumes but has now been usurped by the likes of Jaked's all-polyurethane suit.

"If I have the race I want to have and someone swims faster than me, so be it," the 24-year-old told a news conference having explained his slightly slow responses.

"I'm kinda out of it right now, I kinda woke up from a nap on the bus."

The American, who will only race in three individual events in Rome -- the 200 metres freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly -- said he could not name a rival he especially feared.

Phelps's confidence springs from his spectacular return to action at the recent U.S. trials in Indianapolis where he smashed the 100 butterfly world record.

It also confirmed he was back to full fitness after a six month layoff following Beijing that included a three-month suspension from USA Swimming for being photographed inhaling from a pipe used for smoking marijuana.

"I haven't prepared the best way by taking six months break but we did the best we could," he said. "It's been a long year. Lots of high points. Lots of low points."

Phelps, who had a slight neck problem at the trials, has his eyes fixed on another big race away from the worlds.

He is due to swim against giant basketball player Shaquille O'Neal for reality television.

"We haven't decided anything really...like how big a head start I'm going to give him," he smirked.

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Michael Phelps shows Stephanie Rice his moves

MICHAEL Phelps showed he's still a fast mover in the pool, especially when it comes to the ladies as this picture of him embracing Australia's Stephanie Rice shows.

"He did his normal thing we would do after a trip. He did a little bit of fast swimming and it looked pretty good," said Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman.
Triple Olympic gold medallist Rice obviously thought so too, warmly returning his warm watery greeting.
Photographers followed Phelp's' every stroke, particularly when he moved in to hug Rice.
The pair famously shared a romantic evening together at a party during the Beijing Olympics where photographers caught the pair getting cosy together in a corner.
Phelps will swim only three individual events in Rome  the 200 freestyle, and 100 and 200 butterfly  plus all three relays. At this month's U.S. championships, he set a world record in the 100 butterfly, although he pulled out of the 100 free with a sore neck.
"I think things are looking pretty good, so we'll see how it goes," Bowman said.
Phelps, the winner of a record eight gold medals at last summer's Olympics, wore a blue cap, designer sunglasses and headphones. Once on the pool deck, he wrapped a towel around himself and changed into a brief black and green swimsuit, then dove in without a cap.
Rice said she had taken a few tips from the American swimming superstar.
"I've talked with him about how he handles the media," she said.
"I'm grateful to be able to talk about that with him, knowing my mental ups and down from things like that and sort of him seeming so calm about it all. It's good to learn how he handles that pressure and really just focusing on what's important and just letting that other stuff go behind you."
Phelps and the rest of the U.S. squad trained in Riccione on Italy's Adriatic coast for the last week before taking a short flight to Rome.
"Training in Riccione was great," Bowman said. "Where we stayed was great. Everything couldn't have been better."

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Phelps: Beware anyone wearing 'those' suits

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps says anyone that beats him by wearing a faster swimsuit in Rome is only going to make him "10 times hungrier" for revenge.

Phelps will honour his long-standing and lucrative endorsement deal with Speedo at the FINA world championships starting on Sunday by wearing the LZR suit and not changing to the 2009 new-generation options made with full polyurethane.

The greatest Olympian in history has already proven he is up to the challenge he faces in Rome by setting a new 100m butterfly world record at the US trials earlier this month.

However his new mark of 50.22 seconds is under attack with rivals, including Australia's Andrew Lauterstein, predicting a sub-50 second swim will be required to take the gold medal at the Foro Italico.

Phelps said he only worries about his own performance when racing, but added losses always inspire him to greater heights in the future.

"I like to win no matter what," said Phelps.

"If I have a race that I want to have and someone else swims faster, then so be it.

"That will just make me ten times hungrier to not let it happen again.

"That's what I've done in the past and I'm sure when it happens I will do the same thing again."

Phelps enters the world championships with a reduced workload - only six events as opposed to eight that he won gold in in Beijing last year - and carrying a neck injury.

The neck complaint forced him out of the 100m freestyle final at US trials and Phelps says the issue remains, refuting a suggestion by Italy's world champion Filippi Magnini that the American star backed away knowing he wouldn't win in Rome.

"I still have a neck problem," he said,.

"My neck was never an excuse as it was in the paper by another athlete. I'm never afraid to swim any event.

"The doctor didn't want me to put pressure on my neck and possibly jeopardise my immediate future."

Phelps will race only the 200m freestyle, 100m and 200m butterfly in Rome, plus three relays.

He has dropped the individual medley events from his program.

He says he is in superb shape for the meet after overcoming the most difficult year of growing up post-Beijing when photographs emerged of him smoking marijuana in a university dorm room.

Coach Bob Bowman joked Phelps "still acts like a 15-year-old" during their Friday press conference which drew 20 television cameras and more than 100 journalists.

"It's been a long year," said Phelps.

"A lot of high points and a lot of low points.It's been a real learning year both in and out of the pool."

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Stephanie Rice re-unites with Michael Phelps

THE king and queen of the pool, Michael Phelps and Stephanie Rice, made no secret of their delight at a chance meeting when they bumped into each other in the water at Rome's Foro Italico.

Phelps and Rice are preparing to defend their positions as the world's top male and female swimmers at the world championships, starting tomorrow, but took a moment yesterday to hug each other and have a chat, when the US and Australian teams trained together for the first time since arriving on Wednesday.

The obvious friendliness between the two swimmers at a Speedo function in Beijing after the Olympics finished last August excited much speculation about a possible romance between the pair.

Gossip columnists reported that the two had been spotted kissing at a party as they celebrated their Olympic triumphs.

Phelps, 24, won a record eight gold medals at the Games to become the most decorated Olympian in history, while Rice, 21, made a perfect Olympic debut, winning three gold medals, all in world-record time.

At the time both denied that there was anything but friendship between them and they chatted happily while photographers snapped their reunion in the main pool yesterday.

Rice has twice visited Phelps's hometown of Baltimore since Beijing, but said it was Phelps's training partner Katie Hoff who she had gone to visit.

Hoff is one of Rice's biggest rivals in the individual medley, although the American has had a tough year since the Olympics and will not compete in Rome. However, they have formed a close friendship outside the pool.

"Katie and I are probably best friends," Rice said recently.

"I talk to her every second day and we keep in great touch.

"She is probably the first person that I have become really good friends with that is also a strong competitor of mine."

Rice begins her campaign with the 200m individual medley tomorrow.

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Stephanie Rice and Michael Phelps' embrace fuels rumours

THEY are the undisputed king and queen of the pool, but Michael Phelps and Stephanie Rice yesterday stoked speculation they are more than just swimming friends with a steamy embrace on the eve of the world championships.

Australian golden girl Rice has gone to great lengths to keep her obvious affection for Phelps a secret, but the pair yesterday simply couldn't hide their delight at a chance meeting in the water at Rome's Foro Italico.

Preparing to defend their positions as the world's top male and female swimmers at the world championships, starting tomorrow, Phelps, 24, and Rice, 21, hugged and gushed at one another as the US and Australian teams trained together for the first time since arriving on Wednesday.

The obvious friendliness between the two swimmers at a Speedo function in Beijing after the Olympics finished last August was the first sign of romance between the pair.

The swim champs were also spotted kissing at a party as they celebrated their Olympic triumphs. Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the Games to become the most decorated Olympian in history, while Rice made a perfect Olympic debut, winning three gold medals, all in world record time.

At the time both denied that there was anything but friendship between them, although Rice has gone on record saying how much she admires both Phelps' talent and his body.
Rice has twice visited Phelps' hometown of Baltimore since Beijing, but claimed it was Phelps' training partner Katie Hoff who she had gone to visit.
Hoff is one of Rice's biggest rivals in the individual medley, although the American girl has had a tough year since the Olympics and will not compete in Rome. However, they have formed a close friendship outside the pool
"Katie and I are probably best friends," Rice said recently.
"I talk to her every second day and we keep in great touch. She is probably the first person that I have become really good friends with that is also strong competitor of mine.
"It's been really great, we've learnt a lot from each other and help each other out.
"We talk about everything pretty much, whatever is on our mind. I talk to her often, once or twice a week.
"I've been over there a couple of times to stay with her and she is one of those girls I will keep in touch with once I finish swimming as well."
Rice has battled illness in the lead-up to the world championships but is hopeful that she will contend for her first world title.
She begins her campaign with the 200m individual medley tomorrow

At the time both denied that there was anything but friendship between them, although Rice has gone on record saying how much she admires both Phelps' talent and his body.
Rice has twice visited Phelps' hometown of Baltimore since Beijing, but claimed it was Phelps' training partner Katie Hoff who she had gone to visit.
Hoff is one of Rice's biggest rivals in the individual medley, although the American girl has had a tough year since the Olympics and will not compete in Rome. However, they have formed a close friendship outside the pool
"Katie and I are probably best friends," Rice said recently.
"I talk to her every second day and we keep in great touch. She is probably the first person that I have become really good friends with that is also strong competitor of mine.
"It's been really great, we've learnt a lot from each other and help each other out.
"We talk about everything pretty much, whatever is on our mind. I talk to her often, once or twice a week.
"I've been over there a couple of times to stay with her and she is one of those girls I will keep in touch with once I finish swimming as well."
Rice has battled illness in the lead-up to the world championships but is hopeful that she will contend for her first world title.
She begins her campaign with the 200m individual medley tomorrow

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Bodysuits likely to be banned for 2010

Sixteen of the world’s leading swimming nations, including Great Britain, will demand a ban today on all bodysuits by 2010.

The move would lead to the end of “fast suits”, including the one worn by Michael Phelps, of the United States, and Rebecca Adlington, the Briton, on the way to Olympic gold medals last year.

Since the launch of the Speedo LZR Racer 17 months ago, with its Nasa-designed polyurethane panels, 135 world records have fallen to swimmers wearing the suits. If the motion is agreed, they would be forced to revert to traditional textile costumes by January 1 next year.

The political revolt took the sport’s leaders by surprise, though the suits will continue to enhance performances over eight days of racing from Sunday at the Fina World Championships in Rome.

Immediately after Mustapha Larfaoui and Cornel Marculescu, respectively the president and executive director of Fina, announced that “we cannot stop progress”, members of the international federation’s technical congress voted to ban bodysuits. Only one nation abstained, with 103 voting in favour of the change.

The new rules will go before Fina’s main congress today and it is expected that they will be rubber-stamped. As a result, the words “or swimsuit” are expected to be added to a rule that forbids the use of “any device” that may “aid to speed, buoyancy or endurance”.

Twenty-seven records have fallen in the suits this year alone. Among the latest is the women’s 100 metres freestyle, which was broken last month.

Having set the new mark of 52.56sec, half a second faster than the previous best, Britta Steffen, the Olympic champion from Germany, said: “You feel no pain. Under normal circumstances, this suit should be forbidden and I expect that by 2010 it will be. I felt like a speedboat in water and never in my life would I have believed that a human could glide like that.”

The crisis runs deeper than records: the all-time world rankings have been swamped by a tidal wave of progress, with the world record of 21.64 over 50 metres freestyle — set by Alex Popov, of Russia, in January 2008 — having been surpassed 36 times by ten men.

Over the same period, the number of men capable of racing inside a minute over 100 metres breaststroke has leapt from three to 22.

The issue divides friend and foe alike. Adlington, in the LZR, and Joanne Jackson, her Great Britain team-mate in the Hydrofoil, are at the centre of a dispute over which suit is the worst offender.

Britain officials were due to announce a blanket media ban on suit talk from this morning.

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FINA OK's proposal to rein in suit technology

ROME — With all the astonishing technological advances of the past year and a half threatening to turn swimming into "a joke of a sport," as one top coach put it, officials Thursday took a cautious step toward reining things in.
FINA, the sport's governing body, approved a proposal backed by USA Swimming that adds two key words to a rule stating: "No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition." The new rule bars "any device or swimsuit" that aids performance.
Some suits are suspected of creating "air trapping" effects that artificially enhance speed.
The new rule comes just as Michael Phelps and Co. prepared to make a splash at the world swimming championships.
"It's still a bit unclear on how it will affect the swimsuit issue, because we still need to define what the rules are going to be," said Mark Schubert, head coach and general manager of the U.S. national team. "We still have some work to do but it was something in the right direction."
Last year, 108 world records were set, off the charts even in an Olympic year with all the top swimmers in peak form. The trend is still going strong in 2009, with nearly 30 records falling already — an astonishingly high number coming on the heels of the Beijing Games.
The U.S. was expected to present another proposal today that would prevent suits from covering anything beyond the shoulders or below the knees.
Crippen keeps bronze.
Francis Crippen kept his bronze medal in the 10-kilometer open water race after USA Swimming won an appeal.
The Italian team protested that Crippen should have been disqualified for swimming outside the ropes guiding contestants to the finish. FINA accepted Italy's protest after the race Wednesday but allowed the Americans to appeal. Thomas Lurz of Germany won the race, with Andrew Gemmell of the United States finishing second. Italian Valero Cleri remained fourth.
Lurz, Gemmell and Crippen will finally get their medals today after the women's 3-meter synchronized diving competition.

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Swimsuit issue: Sport's leaders rein in tech advances

ROME -- The swimmers on the pool deck are ogling each other's high-tech bodysuits like fashionistas on the runways of Milan, thinking of gliding into history with yet another record-smashing time.
The leaders of the sport, however, are saying: not so fast.
With all the astonishing technological advances of the past year and a half threatening to turn swimming into "a joke of a sport," as one top coach put it, officials on Thursday took a cautious step toward reining things in.

FINA, the sport's governing body, approved a proposal backed by USA Swimming that adds two key words to a rule stating: "No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition." The new rule bars "any device or swimsuit" that aids performance.

"This is a great sport. There are great people involved in it. We must return it back to the credibility it once had," said Alan Thompson, longtime leader of the Australian national team.

That credibility has certainly been threatened by a mind-boggling assault on the record book. Last year, 108 world marks were set. The trend is still going strong in 2009, with nearly 30 records falling already.

The new rule comes just as Michael Phelps and Co. prepared to make a splash at the world swimming championships.

Phelps arrived in Rome for the world championships Thursday for his first swim in the Foro Italico pool.

"He did his normal thing we would do after a trip. He did a little bit of fast swimming and it looked pretty good," said Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman.

Phelps will swim only three individual events in Rome -- the 200 freestyle, and 100 and 200 butterfly -- plus all three relays. At this month's U.S. championships, he set a world record in the 100 butterfly, although he pulled out of the 100 free with a sore neck.

"I think things are looking pretty good, so we'll see how it goes," Bowman said.

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Shaq vs Michael Phelps, vs Serena Williams, vs Oscar de la Hoya

Whoa!  The news of Shaquille O'Neal getting in training shape to swim against Michael Phelps, play tennis against Serena Williams and box against Oscar de la Hoya has hit the web. (Spanish summary below - Resumen español abajo)

Just in case you thought the current emphasis on cross-training fitness by star athletes was a mere fad, the upcoming show could well be a fitness feast; with a little good fortune, it's a terrific example of muscle confusion as an important training technique, verses muscle memory as an important competitive edge.

ABC's "Shaq Vs.,"  is scheduled to debut Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT,  and pits the Cleveland Cavalier's center against star athletes - in their own court, (or pool, or field, etc).

The list that's out there for current contenders includes Olympic swimmer  Michael Phelps,  St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, tennis star Serena Williams, beach volleyball pros  Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor  and boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya.

According to USAToday.com, O'Neal  came up with the idea as a fun way to help train for the NBA season and figured sports fans "would really want to see an athlete play another sport." He knew most of the athletes and recruited some of them on Twitter.

Cleveland.com reported that O'Neal will negotiate a handicap with each opponent and train with a coach for one week leading up to the challenge. He received the blessing of Cavaliers management to participate in the show.

"He's addressing a question we think is one you've heard on sports radio for decades: What if this great athlete from that sport had a competition against that great athlete from that sport?" said Modi Wiczyk, CEO of the show's production company, Media Rights Capital. "There's an element of wish fulfillment to this."

"These athletes may be on top of their game, but I am up for the challenge,"   O'Neal said in a news release.   "I plan to train hard and win, so look out."

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TV's Biggest New Star--Absolutely

We have no idea if the show will be any good, but certainly it will tough to find bigger talent.  

"Shaq vs." is a new reality show from ABC. The premise:  Seven foot one inch, 350 pound NBA center Shaquille O’Neal will challenge the best players in multiple sports to a duel.  Shaq, who has had side gigs as a rapper and deputy sheriff, gets a handicap of some sort, but then its game on.  The reality show debuts August 18 at 9pm EST on ABC.  In that episode, O’Neal, who has a habit of nicknaming himself to suit his environment (he was “the big cactus” when he played in Phoenix) will take on Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps in a pool race.  No word on whether Shaq will become “the big cannonball”.

In future episodes, O’Neal will pitt himself against Pittsburgh Steeler Super Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, bat against St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols, play tennis against Wimbledon champ Serena Williams and box former world champion Oscar De La Hoya.  In each show, Shaq will get one week to train with a coach to learn the sport he’ll compete in.

There will be no prize, other than bragging rights.  “Bragging rights are always better than any monetary prize.” O’Neal was quoted as saying.

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Phelps has unfinished business at worlds

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - With 14 Olympic and 17 world championship gold medals already in his possession, it is hard to imagine what Michael Phelps might have left to accomplish in a pool.

U.S.  |  Sports

But the 24-year-old has arrived in Rome for the world championships, which start on Sunday, with unfinished business.
What that business might be, Phelps has refused to say.
Not even Phelps's mother is privy to the information that is written on a piece of paper and sealed in an envelope, the contents known only to her son and long-time coach Bob Bowman.
"When I retire I want to be able to look back at my career and say I did everything I wanted to do," Phelps said at the recent U.S. world trials.
"I still have times I want to hit, I still have other personal goals I want to achieve before I quit the sport. I've been writing my goals on a piece of paper and mailing them to Bob for 13 years now.
"It's something I do at the beginning of the season and Bob helps me get to where I want to go. I'm not going to say any specifics, that is between Bob and I. We're the only ones who know, my mom doesn't even know."
Some details, however, are sure to be revealed in Rome where Phelps will focus on the shorter events as he continues his transition from all-rounder to sprinter.
At the 2007 worlds in Melbourne, Phelps bagged seven golds but he has set himself much more modest objectives in Rome where he will swim in just three individual events -- the 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 200m butterfly.
If there were rumors Phelps lacked motivation following his record eight gold medals at last year's Beijing Games, he erased them in spectacular fashion at the U.S. Nationals by demolishing Ian Crocker's 100 butterfly world record.
SMOKING MARIJUANA
His display in Indianapolis also confirmed he was back to full fitness after a six month layoff following Beijing that included a three-month suspension from USA Swimming when he was photographed inhaling from a pipe used for smoking marijuana.
During his time away Phelps packed on nearly seven kilograms and contemplated retirement but after time to reflect, he has targeted more gold and glory at the 2012 London Olympics.
Certainly the longest layoff of Phelps's career did nothing to dull his competitive edge or popularity. After the initial uproar over the marijuana, all seems forgiven.
In recent months Phelps has even welcomed new sponsors to his bulging portfolio.
"To be back in the water after about six months and swim a best time it shows anything can happen if you put your mind to it." he added.
Phelps is not the only American likely to make waves in Rome.
Aaron Peirsol smashed the 100m and 200m backstroke world records in Indianapolis, easily beating compatriot and Olympic champion Ryan Lochte in the 200 final.
Dara Torres, winner of three silvers in Beijing, will also be hunting 50m freestyle glory at the age of 42.

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ABC lines up celebrity athletes to take on O'Neal in Shaq Vs.

I can't help but think of the old "Bo Knows" commercials, where professional baseball and football player Bo Jackson showed us that he could do literally anything. Now, it's the big man's turn. Shaquille O'Neal stars in Shaq Vs., where the basketball star shows his own diversity by taking on the likes of Michael Phelps and Albert Pujols.

The idea is that Shaq will take on the guest athlete's sport, meaning he'll swim laps with Phelps and go to bat against Pujols. The ABC series premieres Tuesday, August 18 at 9 PM, but there's no word as to how many episodes they're signed up for. If it's a huge hit, though, you have to think they're going to need to find more athletes and more challenges for Shaq.

Can he Trade powerslams with Randy Orton? Pump more steroids than Manny Ramirez? Make a better blacklight sex tape than Paris Hilton? Get more tabloid headlines than the Gosselins? The real challenge would be if Shaq starts taking on actors in their chosen field.

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Coaches Drive Success of Swimmers Park and Phelps

Korea’s top swimmer Park Tae-hwan, 20, and U.S. Olympic champion Michael Phelps, 24, both have their respective coaches to thank for their success.

"Marine Boy" Park began training for competition at age seven under coach Noh Sang-min, who heads the Korean national team. The fruit of their collaboration and efforts came in August last year, when Park won Korea’s first Olympic gold in the sport in the men’s 400-meter freestyle thanks to Noh’s outstanding leadership and support.

When the swimmer began neglecting training after winning a gold in the 2007 world championships, Noh brought him back to the pool. The coach also had Park return to the Taeneung Training Center in Seoul after he had trained extensively abroad. Noh helped to get Park in peak physical condition over a two-month training session.

Phelps, who won a record eight golds in the Beijing Olympic, owes a debt of gratitude to his coach Bob Bowman. Bowman has trained Phelps since the swimming sensation was 11 years old, and Phelps expressed thanks to his mentor in his new book “Beneath the Surface.”

Phelps started swimming to overcome a physical handicap at age seven, and has emerged as global star under the perfectionist Bowman.

Phelps said Bowman made him what he is today through systematic and well-organized training and forcing him to train every day. The coach also stood by Phelps when his protégé endured humiliation after being caught smoking marijuana this year.

Thanks to his coach, Phelps is in Rome for this year’s world championships in prime physical condition, as evidenced by his new world record of 50.22 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly in the U.S. championships July 10.

Park and Phelps will face off again in the men’s 200-meter freestyle. Last year, Phelps won the event with a world-record time of 1 minute 42.96 seconds, while Park ranked second in 1 minute 44.85, setting an Asian record.

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Shaq vs. Michael Phelps, What about vs. Shaun White or Lindsey Vonn?

The new ABC reality TV series "Shaq Vs." premiering Aug. 18 will feature Shaquille O'Neal against other top athletes in their respective sports. Scheduled for the show are Olympic swimming superstar Michael Phelps, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, 2009 Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, volleyball sensations Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, and Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Shaq will be competing against the athletes in their own sports with sections of the show devoted to negotiating a handicap, quality time with needy kids and the main event. The winner gets bragging rights since there is no cash prize.

This smells like a Superstars spinoff. ABC should consider extending this series to winter sports. How would you like to see Shaq vs. snowboard champ Shaun White? Imagine Shaq hucking the halfpipe. Or what about Shaq vs. World Cup overall ski champion Lindsey Vonn? The man at 320+ pounds surely would have gravity on his side on the downhill course.

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Can Phelps continue where he left off? - Feature

Rome - Can American swimming superstar Michael Phelps continue where he left off?No - but that is by his own choice as, unlike the Beijing Olympics, where he became the most successful Olympian of all times by winning eight gold medals and taking his personal tally to 14 Olympic gold and two bronze, Phelps has dropped two swims.

His decision not to swim the 400 metre and 200m individual medley in Rome at the July 17 - August 2 FINA World Swimming Championships will have come as a welcome bonus to his rivals like Ryan Lochte, but he will still go into the water as favourite for his six other swims. The Baltimore-born swimmer, who returned to the North Baltimore Aquatic Club from Club Wolverine at the University of Michigan and teamed up with coach Bob Bowman after last year's Olympics, will be swimming in the 200m freestyle and the 100m and 200m butterfly, as well as the three relays. He could well already find himself under pressure on the first day of the swimming competition, which begins on Sunday, as the French 4x100m freestyle team, who narrowly missed out on a gold medal in Beijing, are expected to push the US team metre for metre. Although Phelps broke his own 100m butterfly world record in Indianapolis, he is expected to face tough opposition from Serbian Milorad Cavic, whom he beat by just one hundredth of a second in Beijing, while Hungarian Laszlo Cseh is expected to do well in the 200m butterfly. Another thing that could stop Phelps from adding six gold medals to the 17 he already has from the world championships is his swimsuit. At the US trials in Indianapolis a few weeks ago Phelps did not want to speak about swimsuits. "I am here to swim and not to have discussions about swimsuits," he brushed journalists off when asked about the new high-tech swimsuits. Last year in Beijing, Phelps swam in a Speedo LZR Racer, which at the time was the best and fastest there was as its polyurethane panels gave it a huge advantage over all other suits. Since then, other manufacturers have managed to produce even faster suits made entirely out of polyurethane and this has allowed a whole array of swimmers to post impressive times, while others like Australian Andrew Lauterstein, who finished third in Beijing behind Phelps and Cavic in the 100m butterfly, ditched the Speedo suit for a rival brand. Phelps lost his American short course 400m IM record to newcomer Tyler Clary and Phelps could be hard pushed by several swimmers wearing swimsuits from other companies. German 200m freestyle swimmer Paul Biedermann, whose time of 1:44.71 came close to Phelps' time at the US Championships in Indianapolis, however cautions against thinking Phelps will be beaten easily. "His world record is still nearly one and a half seconds faster. I think he can better the time he swam in Indianapolis." For many the fact that Phelps will be competing in Rome at all comes as a surprise. Many of his teammates decided to take time-out after Beijing and Phelps has only just returned from a three-month suspension imposed by USA Swimming after pictures of him using a bong, which is used for smoking marijuana, were published in an English newspaper. Rome could well be simply a stepping stone towards Phelps' ultimate goal: London 2012, where he is hoping to add to his glittering Olympic career. For US swimming coach Mark Schubert Phelps' presence in Rome is very important though. "I hope that he remains motivated. His presence alone creates a totally different atmosphere and feeling amongst the fans and that is good for swimming." The 24-year-old said that he was eager to see the competition start. On his Facebook page Phelps wrote on Tuesday: "I'm in Riccione now with the U.S. national team for training camp. Im excited to be part of the team and looking forward to the world champs starting on Sunday in Rome."

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Shaquille O'Neal head to head with Michael Phelps and Serena Williams

Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal is going head-to-head with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Wimbledon champ Serena Williams, trying to beat them at their own sport.

The 7ft 1in player is filming a new reality TV series, in which he faces off with other sports stars, doing a crash-course in their chosen fields before they compete.

Called Shaq Vs, the show will feature boxer Oscar de la Hoya, baseball star Albert Pujols and Olympic volleyball gold medallists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, in addition to Phelps and Williams.

US TV network ABC has already picked up five hour-long episodes, but O'Neal is pushing for a sixth as he tries to woo seven-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong to come on board.

It's an ambitious concept for the 38-year-old basketball player, who will be filmed training for just one week before each challenge.

He'll also negotiate a handicap with each opponent to level the playing field.

O'Neal will executive produce the project, which launches in the US on August 18.

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