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95 Comments
- b3and1p, on 08/20/2008, -3/+71I think the suits are a big deal too
- DonKarnage25, on 08/20/2008, -1/+30Uhh.. dude? Did you watch any of the races? Most of the races had several people breaking the world records. I think I saw one race where 5-6 people broke the world record.
- Specialist, on 08/20/2008, -0/+26Definitely, when they are released for sale to the general public later this year they will apparently cost almost $500 and are recommended to be replaced every 9 races
- Mononuclear, on 08/20/2008, -2/+26Beijing is not the record for most swimming world records broken. That would be 1972 Olympics with 28 records broken.It has to do with the pool, suits, different training strategies, and changes in swimming rules. No one thing is responsible but all of them together take away seconds from your time.
Looking at the wikipedia entry I only count 21 records being broken. So the 1976 games with 24 would also beat Beijing. Unless there really were 25.
see http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/42 ... - MurMurs, on 08/19/2008, -10/+33I think that the pool is one of the factors, but I also think that athletes are getting better and better as time goes on.
- e2superman, on 08/20/2008, -10/+30In 1972 weren't there also a ton of records broken. Why are there always conspiracy stories. Some years there are more records broken then others.... and the say "OMG one guy broke seven" makes no sense. A "faster" pool would help everyone the same and not one guy only.
- z3021017, on 08/20/2008, -0/+19So it was the pool that was on steroids...
- UMDWei, on 08/20/2008, -0/+14The new and the old will never be the same.
Have you seen the old Olympic balance beam routines for women's gymnastics? They looked like elementary school practices compared to today's routines.
Also, old clips of Babe Ruth playing baseball - the pitchers were practically lobbing the balls to home plate compared to today's 90+ mph pitches. - CarnivalOfDust, on 08/20/2008, -1/+12I feel really bad for some of the previous record-holders. As far as I'm concerned, a redesign of the course environment is a far greater shift than any equipment change.
- imitokay, on 08/20/2008, -0/+9sounds like a catch 22 to me
You can't improve competition without improving "technology"
but improving technology hurts competition between new and old - SugarCoatedSalt, on 08/20/2008, -0/+8as science gets better and better, so do athletes.
- sleepunderstars, on 08/19/2008, -0/+7gotta love science!
- ngmcs8203, on 08/20/2008, -0/+6As far as I've heard (NBC stories and whatnot) the suits only shave off tenths of a second. I think it plays a big role, but isn't more of a reason than the ability of the athletes.
- Enfenestrate, on 08/20/2008, -0/+6It wasn't a "Lets get Phelps as many records as we can by making the pool faster and making better suits" conspiracy. Phelps benefited like everyone else, he just happened to also swim better than anyone else, so he ended up with lots of the records.
It's in the interest of the host nation to make a fast pool. More records fall, more people buy tickets/watch on tv. It's in the best interest of Speedo to make ridiculous suits that drop time like crazy because people will buy the ***** of out the suit now that they watched records get broken all over the place during the olympics, in that suit.. - Mononuclear, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5You swim faster in a speedo than naked.
- Aeaus, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5Really, I think THIS IS THE ***** CASE THE ARTICLE MAKES.
Thank you. - Scienceisfun, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5My thoughts exactly. In the men's 4x100 freestyle, the top five teams all broke the old world record. And, that world record was set the day earlier during qualifying by the USA, and Phelps didn't even swim that race.
- l31101, on 08/20/2008, -2/+7As long as everyone is benefiting from the depth of the pool, i'm fine with it.
- iDoraemon, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5Wasn't there an article on Digg before the Olympic games started that stated no records would be broken?
Author of that article = douche - RyeBrye, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4If Nike did spend $3M on the suits, I bet Speedo would thank them for the contribution - since the LZR suits are Speedo's baby, not Nike's
- topgigmedia, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4what about those suits/caps they wear? when they are swimming (at least in phelps' case - out of the pool he is push exhibitionist mode.)
- DNABeast, on 08/20/2008, -2/+5This was back in the days before steroids were compulsory.
- DonKarnage25, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3Agreed. These suits are gonna cost a ***** when they hit the commercial market.
- mk2ja, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4This article links to a story on Popular Mechanics that seems to have better explanations for why the records are being broken, especially the ones by Phelps. (Though the title of this article is misleading, it is still quite interesting.)
http://digg.com/olympics/After_8_Phelps_Golds_8_Qu ... - fearlessfx, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4Id like to see olympic swim competitions done in a giant wave pool. That would be sweet.
- jgzman, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3Correct. Phelps beat everyone present because he was good. He beat everyone NOT present, (i.e., existing records) possibly because the pool was deeper.
- gemlarin, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3According to http://www.speedo80.com/lzr-racer/products/male-bo ... the LZR is 320 pounds or just under $600.
- antechinus, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4More likely that the performance enhancing drugs are not detectable with the current tests.
- ninjajaja, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4Michael Phelps may be impressive with his 8 gold medals but George Eyser beats him anyday. Anyone who can win gold medals with a wooden leg is just amazing.
- ahtu, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3Phelps didn't even use the suit on all of his records.
Maybe he's just that good? Anyone thought of that yet - scratt, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3Suits ok.. I am in two minds about that, but it certainly invalidates a comparison between todays records and previous records at least at the human level..
The pool is more irritating. Don't we have standard sizes for a reason?
Taking this to the extreme you could shorten the swimming distance to 99 meters in the 100 meters....
Or how about giving the swimmers a current which flows with them to swim in?
Or a less dense medium to swim in...
This should not be seen as a criticism of Phelps, and the people above who do are stupid.
All athletes have had the same advantages... It simply means that perhaps this years records for all swimmers are invalid, or at least less credible, when compared to previous years. Phelps still won the events. - zodiac101, on 08/20/2008, -2/+4I think that since the Olympics have began there should be set course restrictions instead of having courses differ from one Olympics to the other. This way you can make sure all athletes throughout history have a equal chance at the records set by previous athletes.
- sipsyrup, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2It might be affecting other sports too!! We must destroy the moon!!
- OfNumbers, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2I certainly hope when I make it to the 2012 Olympics for in-line bicyclying they'll cut about 200 feet off my track and I'll break world records resulting in media attention and fame. No one will question my world record beating performances, they will only revel.
- Chaos12, on 08/20/2008, -2/+4New Speedo suits, new training techniques, new pools, new lane separators. Lot of help these games.
- Enfenestrate, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2New rules too. Breaststroke incorporated a dolphin kick into the pullout. That adds a good deal of power off of the walls. It's been around over a year now, but this was the first time in the Olympics.
- jasmus, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3Science has helped those countries that can afford to throw millions of dollars at athletes.
- sipsyrup, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2The pool is not that big of a deal, nor is it very new technology... The pool at the Texas Swimming Center at UT is just as deep. In fact, many world records have been broken in it since it was built in 1977. It's just a faster pool. There are slow pools and fast pools, much like pitcher fields and hitter fields in baseballs.
http://www.tsc.utexas.edu/about/faq.html - bmcnally, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2A "faster" pool would help everyone the same and not one guy only.
Which is probably why the world record was broken by 5 teams in the SAME HEAT during the 4x100 open. These aren't always conspiracy stories - the fact is that sometimes the equipment provided to the athletes gives them a distinct technological advantage over Olympians of the past. - jasmus, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2from the looks of it, most of them did.
- speakafreaka, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2depends.. world records can be broken at any sanctioned meet. Im assuming theres been a recent one where these suits were tried out?
- Shugii, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2I think that's what he's saying. Everyone have been achieving better times than the olympics previously because the pool is deeper than the last. He's not saying the record breakers are the ones who are going faster than the other swimmers but that everyone is going faster because of the pool. Which i think is *****.
- tweedius, on 08/20/2008, -1/+2I think it has a lot more to do with the new suits that take into account the fluid dynamics of swimming. You must have missed that article?
- charlietuna, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1So I hear that Phelps' physique had a lot to do with this. Since his long reach is accepted as one of the factors which helped him win so much gold, I'll ask this semi rhetorical question: might we expect to see competitive parents paying for surgery to lengthen their child's arms so they have a longer stroke?
- waydee, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1Nobody is belittling that, they're just trying to find out why _everyone_ is breaking world records by huge margins.
- chillypacman, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1There is such a thng as the peak of human efficiency.
Athletes from the Athens olympics are older, it's not like you can say 'I've been swimming 40 years and the day before my retirement I broke a world record'. There is a prime age when your body is at peak fitness. - charlietuna, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1Most likely Nike/Speedo whoever have an incentive to inflate that number for the R&D tax write-off and bragging rights as to the sophistication of the suit.
- sipsyrup, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1Bone lengthening surgery is one of the most painful things you can do to your body. You can get a couple of inches, sure, but the pain usually makes it not worth it. It's definitely possible, but it's very doubtful you'll see this in the near future.
- charlietuna, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1There's no end to this line of discussion. The wind, salinity of the water, proximity to the shore, heck even the use of goggles might be brought into question. There is too much emphasis on winning at all costs and none on sportsmanship and the honor of working hard and simply giving it your best shot. In the end it shouldn't be such a big deal that some people beat out others. That was why the original (unenforceable) rules stressed amateur competition.
- Enfenestrate, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1It will take a long, long time before Phelps' one olympics and total medal counts fall, but the records won't last. I'd be shocked if a single one still stands by the next olympics. granted that would most likely be because Phelps himself broke them, but broken is broken.
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