Phelps' coach says the ace swimmer will not hit the pool until swimsuit issue is resolved
Phelps' coach says the ace swimmer will not hit the pool until swimsuit issue is resolved
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But The legendary US swimmer's coach, Bob Bowman believed that more than the effort (and perhaps the skill) of Germany's Paul Biedermann, who defeated Phelps in the 200m freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships final yesterday, it was the swimsuit that was responsible for Phelps' defeat.
Bowman, who takes most of the decisions for the ace swimmer, insisted Phelps would not swim again until the swimsuit issue was resolved.
Phelps was beaten by Biedermann, a German wearing an Arena X-glide suit who finished a distant fifth in the final of the 200m freestyle at Beijing Olympics.
After Phelps' shock defeat, Bowman said: "They (FINA) better do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these seats."
And FINA responded by terming the new-age suits "illegal" from next year, probably from April. According to the new regulations announced yesterday, FINA will limit the size of the suits and restrict the materials from which they are made to "textiles".
At the same time, FINA didn't cite the suits as the reason for the heaps of world records being broken in the ongoing meet. "The world records are being broken here because these people are fantastic athletes," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu said.
Tell that to Bob Bowman, and his famous protege!
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