2009 Best Performances
4X100 FREE RELAY
| # | Country | Time | Team | IPS | Meet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | AUS | 3:38.04 | Australia | 985 | DUELMAY |
| 2 |  | ITA | 3:40.63 | Italy | 968 | PESCRJUN |
| 3 |  | FRA | 3:41.65 | France | 961 | PESCRJUN |
| 4 |  | JPN | 3:41.80 | Japan | 960 | DUELMAY |
| 5 |  | USA | 3:42.57 | Univ.of Texas | 955 | USGP2MAR |
Australia: Eamon Sullivan may race only 50m freestyle at Australian trials for Rome 2009 world titles after undergoing hip surgery for a fourth time. The operation to clean up the joint and remove bone that had been causing the world record holder pain was carried out today at Mercy Private Hospital in Victoria. The 23-year-old is reported to be considering the 50m as his only option for Aussie trials in Sydney in March, the 100m a stroke too far during his recovery phase. "Eamon is in good spirits and is feeling OK after the operation. He will see his doctor in coming days before he heads back to Sydney at the end of the week," the swimmer's manager James Ward told the Australian media. Despite his setback, Sullivan is planning to attend an altitude training camp in Thredbo this month, according to reports. he would be on a light recovery programme.
France: As Sullivan recovers, one of the men aiming to dethrone him on the record books, Amaury Leveaux, is back in hard training and will not race, as previously expected, at meets this month. After his bombshell high-tech world records in Rijeka last month, the sprinter withdrew from racing at Réunion before the turn of the year and will now no longer race at the Schiltigheim meet as planned for this coming weekend. His coach Lionel Horter, noted that his charge is someone who needs to regenerate and build back up before he can reproduce best speeds. The coach tells that to L'Equipe alongside the words "like Phelps". Not quite the same, of course: Phelps went from 14 to Beijing without anything like the kind of break he has just taken on his way to eight Olympic gold medals. Leveaux will next race somewhere in February, then at the Mulhouse meet on March 14-15 and then at Strasbourg on April 28-29, when Alain Bernard will be waiting for him.
USA/China: An another man who may cause a sprint splash, Michael Phelps, is in the news once more. He recently returned to the city in which he rocketed into Olympic outer orbit back in August. Not much swimming effort required this time wround: he was in Beijing to film a commercial for a Japanese car maker in a deal said to be worth more than $1m. Big market is China. Phelps is due back in full training by February.
