Michael Phelps has a new freestyle technique to cope with that 46.96 as he turns his gaze to the world of sprinting in time for a new beginning in his race career this summer.
The technique will be on full show for the first time in racing at the Charlotte UltraSwim, North Carolina, on May 14-17, when Phelps returns from his short suspension following that overblown incident with the party, the photo, the snitch and the bong late last year.
Phelps, winner of eight golds in Beijing, is not revealing any details as yet. He told AP: "You'll all have to see. I'm not saying anything until we unveil it. It's a significant change. You'll be able to tell exactly what I did as soon as I take my first stroke."
Phelps will race 100 and 200m free and 100m 'fly at Charlotte. "I'm going to try it this year. If it works, it works," Phelps said. "If it doesn't, I'll go back to the old stroke."
Phelps was in Manhattan on Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Omega store. The keeper of time stuck by Phelps through all the shock-horror moments back in December. Some dropped him but Omega president Stephen Urquhart said: "This is something in his private life. Michael reacted very well. He went out, he apologised. This has no bearing at all on what he's done, his sporting activity, what he's done with the media. He's always been fantastic with us." Quite so.
He remains popular in the US too, judging by the crowds that came to get a glimpse of the swimmer. In the new store, Phelps signed a photo of the underwater view of his 0.01sec win in the 100m butterfly over Milorad Cavic (SRB) at the Olympics.
Sporting a goatee beard, Phelps was described a s having shed the extra pounds he put on during his downtime after Beijing. Weight training has increased. It is said to show. It is said that Superfish is more ready to sprint than ever before: at 47.51 from the Beijing relay lead-off, only Alain Bernard (FRA) and Eamon Sullivan (AUS) have gone quicker (until lunchtime today at least).
