03/27/2007
Phelps Smashes Thorpe Record, Americans Take Gold in Melbourne
Ian Thorpe may be rethinking his retirement about now.
Yesterday at the World Swimming Championships, Michael Phelps smashed Thorpe's world record in the 200-meter freestyle, taking the gold medal in Melbourne waters.
Said Phelps' teammate Aaron Peirsol: "That was probably the single most incredible record in the books. He put it to rest."
Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands, whom Phelps topped by 2.42 seconds, agreed: "I thought this 200 freestyle record by Ian would last for 10, maybe 20 years. I was also next to him (Thorpe) when he set that record. But with somebody swimming this fast, I was more a spectator than a big challenge for Phelps."
Peirsol also set a world record, in the 100-meter backstroke, as did Natalie Coughlin in the same event.
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Posted 9:54 AM EST by Andy Towle in Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps, News, Sports, Swimming | Permalink
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It was actually the 200-meter freestyle, not the butterfly. An awesome performance!
Posted by: Steve | Mar 27, 2007 10:04:29 AM
thanks steve
Posted by: andy | Mar 27, 2007 10:12:51 AM
Why is it that he's in a sport that is regularly done barefoot, yet we never see any good barefoot pics of him. Me and my foot fetish are upset...
Posted by: Bill | Mar 27, 2007 10:17:05 AM
yes, but the thorpedo retains the record for shoe size (17).
Posted by: A.J. | Mar 27, 2007 10:18:20 AM
Anyone know who took those beautiful photos of Michael Phelps (top and bottom picture) and the Web site they originally came from, in case there are more in the series?
Posted by: PC | Mar 27, 2007 10:31:21 AM
Goddamn, is that the greatest back ever or what? Good lord...
Posted by: Jordan | Mar 27, 2007 11:18:37 AM
ye but thorpe is hotter and richer
Posted by: sasha | Mar 27, 2007 4:25:14 PM
Am I the only one who thinks that Michael Phelps is overrated? So he has all these Olympic gold medals and more world titles than anyone else. BFD. He ain't even that cute. To me, he's not so much of a great athlete as he is just one in a long line of what I like to call "gold whores". They come along every other year: people engineered by the US Olympic Committee to win multiple gold medals in a desperate attempt to prove that the USA is the best on earth. Be it in swimming (Michael Phelps), track & field (Marion Jones), short track speed skating (Apolo Anton Ohno), long track speed skating (Chad Hedrick), and Alpine skiing (Bode Miller). It doesn't matter if they fulfill their prophecies or not, it's still not so much competing for gold but whoring for gold. Even at world championship meets, there's always a US gold whore in the making. Even though I'm a sucker for Olympic sports, it's these attitudes of hauling great quantities of gold medals that make me, an American, root AGAINST the American team.
GROAN.
And still, that Pieter van den Hoogenband doesn't have a world title. He has three Olympic golds, a handful of European titles, but no world championship to complement them all. I was rooting for VDH to win the world title. I prefer him and Ian Thorpe to Michael Phelps.
Okay, that's enough of my rant.
Posted by: Alex Sarmiento | Mar 27, 2007 4:27:48 PM
I miss the pornstache, though. Yay for him, Brendan Hansen (who I dinf to be teddybear adorable) and the super-laidback cutie, Aaron Peirsol.
Posted by: Glenn | Mar 27, 2007 4:58:43 PM
Yeah Alex, America is the only country that does that.
Other countries just send athlete's to the Olympics for fun and fellowship with no thought whatsoever of gold or of showcasing their athletes with a sense of nationalistic pride.
Ian Thorpe (who DO you support) fits the scenario, that you claim to loath in American sports, absolutely to the letter; except the letters in parenthesis after his name are in a different order.
Thorpe was every bit as much a "gold whore" as Phelps. Australia promoted Thorpe every bit as much, if not MORE, than the US promoted Phelps. Australia's national swimming program is every bit as win hungry and nationalistic as America's.
Face it; Thorpe and Phelps were practically separated at birth, except for the AUS vs. USA thingy. I can't imagine that that one difference is so significant to you.
Bill, I agree 100%. More feet-inclusive pictures please! For the record Andy had a great picture of Thorpe, feet and all, featured on Towleroad a few months back and after a bit of searching through the archives I found it:
http://www.towleroad.com/2006/10/ian_thorpe_back.html
Enjoy!
Posted by: Zeke | Mar 27, 2007 5:00:59 PM
Make that: "Whom you DO support"
Dyslexia's a real bitch!
Posted by: Zeke | Mar 27, 2007 5:07:40 PM
I am still like Pieter van den Hoogenband more. He's down to earth guy. He beat home town favorite Thorpe for his first Olympic Gold medal 2000 in Sydney for 100 and 200. And again, he won his second 100 Olymphic Gold in 2004 in Athens against other favorites like Phelps and Thorpe. And he's not bad at all, a second behind Phelps in this world cup. For someone born in 1978 compared to Phelps (1985) and Thorpe (1982), he's not bad at all. A hardworking and humble person. Love this person to death.
Posted by: Dema | Mar 27, 2007 9:00:53 PM
I think it's marvelous that the Reverend Fred Phelps is able to take time out from picketing gay funerals to do some competitive swimming.
What's that? Oh. Nevermind.
Posted by: Damon | Mar 28, 2007 9:43:52 AM
Bravo, You have taken the sport to a level not seen since Mark, VII; long may you reign.
Posted by: MisterGaines, M.S. | Apr 2, 2007 11:17:07 PM