Bare-Chested Phelps Rebounds With Record

Swimmer challenges others to switch before ban takes effect

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps challenged his competitors at the upcoming FINA/Arena World Cup meets to race without the full-body technical suits recently banned by swimming authorities for providing an unfair advantage in speed. The ban doesn’t go into effect until January, but Phelps said he was “getting ready for where the sport is going,” by switching early to a waist-to-knee “jammer.” More»

(AP) - Michael Phelps and the US 400-meter medley relay team closed the fastest meet in swimming history with an appropriate finish Sunday night in Rome—the 43rd world record. Phelps earned his fifth gold medal of a world championship that showed he's still got plenty of motivation, even after scoring a record eight golds at the Beijing Olympics. More»

(AP) - Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic again, and this time there was no doubt about it. With a defiant performance in a supposedly inferior suit, Phelps became the first swimmer to break 50 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly, beating the Serbian with a time of 49.82. Cavic also broke 50 seconds, but 49.95 was good enough only for silver. He wasn't nearly as close as last year's Beijing Olympics, when Phelps famously won by one-hundredth of a second. Cavic always maintained that he actually touched first. More»

Swimming aims to weed out banned attire

(NEWSER) - Swimmers at this year’s world championships will be subjected to a barcode test to ensure their suits are legal, the Times of London reports. Suits’ buoyancy will be checked before the event, with each outfit assigned a code. At race time, the suits will be scanned; if they don’t match up to the given code, swimmers will have 20 minutes to change. More»

Cutting-edge swimwear adds array of advantages

(NEWSER) - After more than 100 records were broken in the past year and a half, the international swimming federation has put 348 high-tech swimsuits under the microscope—banning 10 of them and requiring modifications to another 136, the New York Times reports. The suits can increase buoyancy, squeeze the body into position, and cut drag, said a coach. FINA’s move could lead to the disqualification of some records. More»