Michael Phelps withdrew from the 200m individual medley at the Pan Pacific
Championships, coach Bob Bowman saying the swimmer would focus on the closing relay of the meet.
|Last Updated: Aug 22, 2010, 12:52 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Irvine: Michael Phelps withdrew from the 200m individual medley at the Pan Pacific
Championships, coach Bob Bowman saying the swimmer would focus on the closing relay of the meet.
Bowman, speaking as the heats started on the fourth and final day of competition in the pool, said Phelps told him on Friday night that he didn’t believe he could swim preliminaries and the final of the 200m medley and have enough left to help the United States in the 4x100m medley relay.
“I agreed, because I know his physical condition,” said Bowman, who prepared Phelps for his eight-gold assault at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Phelps has acknowledged all season that he isn’t in peak shape after a lengthy training break.
He won the 200m and 100m butterfly here and led off victorious US efforts in the 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relays.
Phelps’s lead-off leg in the 4x100m freestyle relay on Friday night set a Pan Pacs record for the 100m freestyle of 48.13sec. Canadian Brent Hayden had set the previous record of 48.59 in 2006.
“That was about all the gas that was left in the tank last night,” Bowman said.
Making things more difficult is the Pan Pacs rule that only two swimmers from each country can compete in each final. That puts pressure on to produce a fast time in the heats.
Phelps was squeezed out of the 400m medley final when teammates Ryan Lochte and Tyler Clary swam faster in the preliminaries and went on to finish one-two.
Lochte and Clary also topped the 200m medley qualifying times. Lochte clocked 1:58.03 and Clary 1:58.56 with Japan’s Ken Takakuwa third-fastest in 1:58.72.
Bowman said Phelps’ only regret in pulling out of the event was knowing that fans would be disappointed.
“I think he feels like he’s letting the fans down a little bit, but he doesn’t want to let his teammates down in the relay,” Bowman said.
There was still plenty of star power on offer Saturday.
Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima, who Olympic breaststroke doubles in both Athens and Beijing, topped the qualifying times in the 200m breast with a time of 2:09.23, with American Eric Santeau second-quickest and Japan’s Naoya Tomita third-fastest.
World record-holder Christian Sprenger of Australia failed to make the final.
World record-holder Cesar Cielo of Brazil set the pace in 50m freestyle qualifying ahead of American Nathan Adrian and Canadian Brent Hayden.
Cielo won the 50m butterfly on Wednesday, but settled for third in the 100m free behind Adrian and Hayden.
Australian Eamon Sullivan and South African Roland Schoeman both missed out on finals berths.
Bureau Report
Lucknow: Ten persons were arrested during
ongoing state-wide drive against sale and manufacturing of
adulterated milk and related products, an official spokesman
said here Sunday.
While three persons were arrested in Sitapur, two each
in Azamgarh and Shahjahanpur and one each was detained in
Bijnore, Maharajganj and Gorakhpur during the drive launched
by the Food and Drug Authority, they said.
Raids were carried out in 10 districts and 12 FIRs were
lodged where cases of adulteration were detected, sources
said.
During drive 1,870 litre of adulterated milk, 1200 kg
khoya and 1500 kg ghee was seized by the FDA teams.
"As many as 21 people have been arrested in the last
two days," they said.
The FDA had launched a state-wide drive against
manufacturing and sale of adulterated milk to ensure
availability of pure products to the consumers.
During the drive on the spot testing of milk samples is
being done to check presence of starch, urea, detergent, soda
and hydrogen paraoxide.
All the district magistrates have been directed to
constitute teams at tehsil level and carry out the drive
effectively.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.