Out-of-shape swimming superstar Michael Phelps again struggled as an unprecedented 16 records were set at the World Cup short-course event in Berlin this weekend.
Michael Phelps was defeated once more as four world records fell at the FINA World Cup meet in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Michael Phelps on Sunday claimed his fifth gold medal as the U.S. 4x100m medley squad fittingly rounded off a remarkable eight days of competition at the Foro Italico with the 43rd world record.
Serbia's Milorad Cavic erased Michael Phelps' 100m fly mark from the world record books as he bids to take revenge on the American for defeat in the Beijing Olympics last year.
Sometimes, even veterans make rookie mistakes. Aaron Peirsol is one the greatest swimmers of his generation, arguably the greatest backstroker of all time. But at the swimming world championships on Monday, Peirsol made a bad error in judgment that cost him a spot in the final of the 100-meter backstroke that could have earned him a spot in history Tuesday.
Aaron Peirsol was the victim of the biggest shock of the world swimming championships so far when he failed to qualify for the final of the 100 meters backstroke in Rome.
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:
Aaron Peirsol has won the 200m backstroke at the U.S. swimming championships in a world record time, to add to the world mark he set in the 100m earlier in the week.
American swimmer Aaron Peirsol reclaimed his world 100-meter backstroke record as he became the first man to go under 52 seconds in winning the event at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis.
Multiple Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was upstaged for the second successive night when he finished runner-up to Freddie Bousquet in the 100m freestyle final at the Charlotte Ultraswim meet in North Carolina on Sunday.
Out-of-shape swimming superstar Michael Phelps again struggled as an unprecedented 16 records were set at the World Cup short-course event in Berlin this weekend.
Michael Phelps was defeated once more as four world records fell at the FINA World Cup meet in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Michael Phelps on Sunday claimed his fifth gold medal as the U.S. 4x100m medley squad fittingly rounded off a remarkable eight days of competition at the Foro Italico with the 43rd world record.
Serbia's Milorad Cavic erased Michael Phelps' 100m fly mark from the world record books as he bids to take revenge on the American for defeat in the Beijing Olympics last year.
Sometimes, even veterans make rookie mistakes. Aaron Peirsol is one the greatest swimmers of his generation, arguably the greatest backstroker of all time. But at the swimming world championships on Monday, Peirsol made a bad error in judgment that cost him a spot in the final of the 100-meter backstroke that could have earned him a spot in history Tuesday.
Aaron Peirsol was the victim of the biggest shock of the world swimming championships so far when he failed to qualify for the final of the 100 meters backstroke in Rome.
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:
Aaron Peirsol has won the 200m backstroke at the U.S. swimming championships in a world record time, to add to the world mark he set in the 100m earlier in the week.
American swimmer Aaron Peirsol reclaimed his world 100-meter backstroke record as he became the first man to go under 52 seconds in winning the event at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis.
Multiple Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was upstaged for the second successive night when he finished runner-up to Freddie Bousquet in the 100m freestyle final at the Charlotte Ultraswim meet in North Carolina on Sunday.
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps suffered his first defeat in a championship race in a year when he lost the 100-meter backstroke to world-record holder Aaron Peirsol at the Charlotte UltraSwim in North Carolina.
Michael Phelps made a winning return to competitive swimming when he landed the 200 meters freestyle and 100m butterfly finals at the Charlotte Ultraswim meet in North Carolina.
Multiple Olympic champion Michael Phelps qualified for the 200m freestyle final at the Charlotte Ultraswim meet as he returned to competition for the first time since last summer's Beijing Games.
Michael Phelps is set to return to competitive swimming after completing a three-month suspension following the publication of a picture apparently showing the multi-Olympic champion using illegal drugs.
It was just a chance to get his feet wet, but Olympian Eric Shanteau managed to surprise himself.
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps broke the Olympics' most hallowed record Sunday by winning an unprecedented eight gold medals in a single Games.
Michael Phelps' bid to win an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics is loaded with land mines, or perhaps water mines, in several individual events and at least one relay. This is a look at what Phelps has in store during the nine days of swimming events. Remember that all finals will take place during the mornings in Beijing, which is 12 hours ahead of East Coast time in the U.S. The morning swimming sessions begin at 10:00 AM in Beijing; evening sessions begin at 6:30 PM.
BEIJING -- It's a good thing Debbie Phelps has had a lot of practice catching bouquets thrown by her son, Michael, because the clutch of flowers he tossed to her after accepting the gold medal for the 200 IM -- his sixth of the 2008 Games and his record 12th overall -- almost fell short of her grasp. But then again, he was in bit of a hurry.
Already touted as the greatest ever Olympian, Michael Phelps dominated the 200-meter individual medley on Friday to pick up his sixth gold medal at the Beijing Games -- and then immediately kept alive his chances of a record-equaling seventh.
At 6:30 p.m. in Beijing on Thursday night, following an afternoon that featured about as much rain as Noah experienced, the Olympic medal count between China and the United States was tied at 32. (China now holds a 35-34 lead). Of course, if you're judging by gold medals won, China is pounding the Stars and Stripes 22-10. Good news, America: Michael Phelps is back in the pool on Friday.
• Here comes the biggest test of the Games: Can NBC survive without Michael Phelps winning a gold medal? Thankfully there's the Redeem Team, the scrappy band of billionaires who face their first real test of the Games on Thursday (8 a.m. ET) against Greece, an impressive winner over Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany.
That's "Greatest Olympian of All Time," and after his Aug. 13 dip in the pool, the title is all his
American swimmer Michael Phelps remains on course for his target of eight Beijing gold medals after winning his third event of the Games, taking the men's 200-meter freestyle in a new world record time -- his third in a row.
The U.S. men's 4x100 freestyle relay did a lot more than keep Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals alive. It lit a fire under the slow-starting women's team.
After breaking his third world record on the fourth day of competition, the US swimmer might be setting his sights on an even loftier goal than winning eight golds
Michael Phelps remains on course in his quest to win 8 gold medals at the Games.
How does NBC spell ratings? Two words: Michael Phelps. The Golden Boy takes to Water Cube on Tuesday for the men's 200 freestyle final (10:16 p.m. ET on Monday night). "Coming into the competition, I thought that would be one of his easier races," said Sports Illustrated's Brian Cazeneuve, who predicts -- surprise! -- gold for Phelps in the event.
The final turn of the men's 400 individual medley on Aug. 9 could be the difference between success and failure in Michael Phelps' quest to win a record eight gold medals in swimming.
Cullen Jones can still picture the top of the water slide at Dorney Park in Pennsylvania where his life took a fateful turn when he was five years old. His dad Ronald, had made him promise to not let go of the inner tube on the way down, so, Ronald shot down the slide, screaming all the way, Cullen followed, gripping the tube tightly. "When I hit the bottom of the ride, there was this huge pool of water, and I flipped right over," Jones recalls. But he didn't let go of the tube. "I actually passed out," he says. "They had to give me CPR, and when I woke up, I was like, okay, what's the next ride? It could have changed my life completely if it was traumatic. I might never have touched the water again."
OMAHA, Neb. -- Having just won the 400 freestyle in American record time, Larsen Jensen was happy, buoyant and radiating confidence in the mixed zone at the Olympic swimming trials in Omaha last Sunday. That is, until the subject of his next event, the 200 freestyle, came up.
They wore matching high-tech Speedo LZR suits and swam in a temporary pool designed for speed. But even as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte pushed each other through a dramatic record chase at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on Sunday night, what brought the crowd of 12,000 to its feet was not merely the clock but also the sight of the greatest swimmer in the world struggling -- in one of his best events, the 400-meter individual medley -- to fight off an unexpectedly formidable rival.
Katie Hoff showed no signs of fatigue as she battled through another grueling race and won the 400 meters freestyle just 24 hours after she set a world record in the 400 individual medley at the US Olympic trials.
As the U.S. Olympic swimming trials get underway on Sunday in Omaha, here are 10 story lines to watch for.
Stephanie Rice smashed the world record in the women's 400m individual medley on the opening night of the Australian Olympic swimming trials, setting a new mark of four minutes 31.46 seconds on Saturday.
Marleen Veldhuis won her second gold medal of the European Swimming Championships on Thursday after dominating the women's 100m freestyle.
Five-time Olympic medal winner Natalie Coughlin smashed her own world mark for the 100-meters backstroke to complete a remarkable record-breaking weekend for swimming.
Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry broke the women's 200m backstroke world record in Columbia on Saturday with a time of 2min 06.39sec at the Missouri Grand Prix long course swimming meeting.
Kathleen Hersey was on the blocks for her first race of the 2007 Class A-AAAA state meet last February, and Marist (Atlanta) coach Terry Blish was nervous.
The career of Australian Olympic swimming champion Brooke Hanson hangs in the balance after being electrocuted in a freak accident.
Of all the cruel twists irony can take, this is about as bad as it gets. Lauren English, a senior swimmer at Montville (N.J.) and a potential 2008 Olympian who owns multiple state records and five Meet of Champions titles, suffers from chlorine-induced asthma.
Michael Phelps was flipping through TV channels in his Melbourne hotel room last Friday when, for the first time all week, he was stopped cold. Phelps had come across Pardon the Interruption, and hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser were yapping -- in between Final Four forecasts and spring training rants -- about Phelps's historic performance at the world swimming championships. Where did he belong on the sporting landscape? Was he elevating his niche sport to watercooler status? "Awesome," said Phelps, a sports-TV junkie. "I watch these guys all the time, and now they're talking about swimming."
Michael Phelps of the United States broke his own world record in the men's 400 meters individual medley final to collect his seventh gold medal at the world championships on Sunday.
You are Ryan Lochte. You are a great swimmer, but you are also 22 and it is 2007 and your timing is lousy. For starters, you are a backstroke ace. Backstrokers look up at the stars all the time anyway, but you look up and see Aaron Peirsol, perhaps the greatest backstroker in history. Coming into the world championships here in Melbourne, Peirsol hadn't lost a race at 200 meters since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Remember the historic performance Michael Phelps had at the 2004 Olympics? Eight medals, including six gold? Comparisons to Mark Spitz? Well, why stop there? Phelps is making his own standards seem mortal at the FINA World Championships, where he is on the verge of the greatest single-meet performance in swimming history. Granted, Phelps has completed only three events so far, but it's the way he has owned the pool in those events that is rendering comparisons with anyone other than himself pointless.
Michael Phelps broke a second world record in 24 hours to collect his third gold medal at the world swimming championships on Wednesday.
American Michael Phelps broke Ian Thorpe's 200 meters freestyle world record to win gold during a dramatic night at the world championships in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Just before Mary Beck turned four, the Colorado native taught herself how to swim. Now a sophomore at Westlake (Austin, Texas), Beck has broken the national 200-yard individual medley record not once, but three times in a single month.
Michael Phelps expects to be in top form at next month's World Swimming Championships after capturing five titles in the final US tune-up meet in Missouri.
Japan sounded a warning to China ahead of the Beijing Olympics by matching the swimming giants' gold medal tally at the 15th Asian Games, while a South Korean teenager became the fastest Asian ever over 1,500m on Thursday.
Laure Manaudou of France set the seal on the European swimming championships in Budapest with a stunning world record in the women's 400 meters freestyle.
Germany's Britta Steffen claimed a world record in the women's 100m freestyle and Laure Manaudou of France broke a 19-year European mark on a memorable day at the European swimming championships in Budapest.
Germany set a world relay record to give the European swimming championships a rousing finish to the opening day of the main pool action.
Australia's Libby Lenton produced a couple of upsets to take her tally to five golds at the world short course championships -- with two more titles on Sunday's final evening.
America's Ryan Lochte set the first world record at the world short course swimming championships in Shanghai with a new best in the men's 200 meters individual medley on Friday.
South Africa's Ryk Neethling rebounded from a below par display at last month's Commonweatth Games to win the men's 200 meters freestyle gold on the first day of the world short course swimming championships in Shanghai.
David Davies gave Wales its first Commonwealth Games swimming gold for 32 years on Tuesday, destroying a proud Australian record for good measure.
Leisel Jones set the first world record of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, while Papua New Guinea won their first swimming title on Monday.
Australian hope Libby Lenton was on the receiving end of an inspired swim from Scotland's Caitlin McClatchey, who took the first swimming gold of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
France's Laure Manaudou broke her second world record of the European short course swimming championships to clinch her third gold medal in Trieste on Saturday.
Laszlo Cseh of Hungary shattered the world record in the men's 400 meter individual medley and France's Laure Manaudou set a world best in the women's 800m freestyle at the European Short-Course Swimming Championships in Trieste on Friday.
World and Olympic swimming champion Otylia Jedrzejczak of Poland has been seriously injured in a car crash in which her younger brother was killed, the Polish PAP newsagency has reported.
Aaron Peirsol smashed his own world record in the 100-meter backstroke Saturday night, swimming a surprising 53.17 seconds at the U.S. trials in Indianapolis for the world championships later this year.
Australia's Brooke Hanson charged to two gold medals while Ian Crocker needed a world record to give the U.S. their only individual win at the world short course championships on Sunday.
Ian Crocker of the United States set a short course world record of 22.71 seconds in the 50 metres butterfly at the world championships on Sunday.
Michael Phelps has pulled out of the 400 meters individual medley at the world short course swimming championships with a sore back.
Michael Phelps has won a fifth gold to claim a place alongside Mark Spitz as one of the greatest swimmers in Olympic history.
Jodie Henry became the first Australian since the great Dawn Fraser to win the Olympic 100m women's freestyle title when she surged past rivals to scoop gold in an exciting final on Thursday.
Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband won Wednesday's big battle in the pool in Athens to retain his Olympic title in the 100 meters freestyle -- considered the Games' blue riband swimming event.
Michael Phelps launched the United States to a narrow victory in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay in Athens to grab his third gold medal in four days.
Teenager Laure Manaudou became the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic swimming title as she took the women's 400 meters freestyle crown on Sunday.
Aaron Peirsol broke his 200 meters backstroke world record and Amanda Beard regained hers in the 200m breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic trials on Monday.
Australia's new 100 meters freestyle world record holder Lisbeth Lenton had to be content with second behind Jodie Henry in her national championships final.
Lisbeth Lenton has set a world record in the 100 metres freestyle at the Australian championships and Olympic selection trials.
Ian Thorpe has qualified for Australia's Olympic team with 200 meters freestyle victory at his national championships, two days after he was disqualified in the 400m freestyle.
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