[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]
EVENT-BY-EVENT PREVIEW: MEN’S SWIMMING
PICTURED
» Michael Phelps, USA
200 Meter Butterfly
46
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Reigning Champion: Michael Phelps, USA Past Champions: William Yorzyk (1956), Mike Troy (1960), Kevin Berry (1964), Carl Robie BY JOHN (1968), Mark Spitz (1972), Mike Bruner (1976), Sergey Fesenko (1980), Jon Sieben (1984), Michael Gross (1988), Mel Stewart (1992), Denis Pankratov (1996), Tom Malchow (2000), Michael Phelps (2004), Michael Phelps (2008) World Record: Michael Phelps, USA, 1:51.51 Notable: The triumph of Jon Sieben at the 1984 Olympics was a big upset, as the Australian teenager upended Germany’s Michael Gross en route to the gold medal. Gross was the world record holder, but Sieben set a global standard of 1:57.04 to beat “The Albatross,” who was timed in 1:57.40.
Games, Cseh’s silver medal in the 200 fly was one of three medals of that color for the Hungarian. Australia’s Nick D’Arcy will get his chance to compete at the Olympics this summer, four years LOHN after he was denied the opportunity following an altercation with Simon Cowley in a bar in which D’Arcy threw a punch that broke several bones in Cowley’s face. This year, D’Arcy has been 1:54-mid, a time that shows he’ll be a contender, as will the USA’s Tyler Clary, who clocked 1:55-low at Trials. China’s Yin Chin and Wu Peng have the chance to break through for minor medals—with Wu having won bronze at last year’s World Champs—as do South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, Poland’s Pawel Korzeniowski, Hungarian youngster Bence Biczo and Austria’s Dinko Jukic.
THE HEADLINERS He broke onto the world stage in this event in 2000, and he should walk away with a third consecutive Olympic title in London. Yes, Michael Phelps is still a heavy favorite in the event that started his legend. He will enter his last Olympics as the reigning world champion and as the owner of the four fastest times in history. Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda could be the top challenger. Matsuda, the bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics, won silver at last summer’s World Championships, just 67-hundredths behind Phelps. Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh should again be a significant factor—at the 2008
WHAT ELSE? This event is one of four (along with the 100 fly and both IMs) in which Michael Phelps can become a three-time Olympic champion. No man has ever won the same event at three straight Olympiads, and only Dawn Fraser (100 free) and Kristina Egerszegi (200 back) have three-peated on the women’s side.
Olympic Preview
SWIMMING WORLD’S PICKS Gold: Michael Phelps, USA Silver: Takeshi Matsuda, JPN Bronze: Nick D’Arcy, AUS ❖