Cant remember where I read it, but I heard that someone is petitioning to have Popov's 50 LCM Free world record expunged since it was done in a time trial.
I disagree. If it was done legally, it should stand as a WR.
Meets are there to crown champions and award medals etc under race circumstances, but the pool and the clock are there all the time, taking on all comers.
Steve
Steve:
This has always been a controversial issue. The first time I heard about petitioning not to have time trial swims to count toward World Records was back in 1984. Peter Williams broke the World Record in the 50 Meter Free and in the press Tom Jager did not think it should have been counted because he did not perform the swim in race like conditions. As I remember FINA was suppose to make a decision on this but by the time they did, Tom Jager had alread broken the World Record and it was a moot point. I am not sure if they ever took the record off the books.
Rowdy Gaines, had broken the American Record of :49.99 held by Jim Montgomery in 1980 with a time of :49.61 in a competitive USS swimming meet. The next time he broke the American Record was at a time trial after the Longhorn Invitational in April 1981 and he went :49.47 for a new American Record but fell short of the World Record of :49.44 by Jonty Skinner of South Africa. On his second attempt at the time trial he went :49.36 and set the World Record which stood until Matt Biondi came along in 1985. I believe Mr Goodsmith (John Smith) who is a frequent vistor here swam next to Rowdy at the time trial when he set the World Record. I don't remember anybody protesting or petitioning this record because it was in a time trial format after a swim meet.
The next time I remember World Records in a time trial atmosphere was the 1991 Sprint Races for prize money that was on TV from Nashville. It featured 4 of the best sprint swimmers in the world at that time. I believe they were Adam Schmidt, Steve Crocker, and of course Matt Biondi and Tom Jager. With swim off eliminations it came down to Biondi vs Jager. Tom Jager was the current World Record holder for the 50 Free before the final showdown with Biondi with a time of :22.12.
In one of the swims before the final show down, Tom Jager went :21.98 for a new World Record. In the final swim, Tom Jager and Matt Biondi swam a lane apart. In the final both swimmers broke the Word Record that was just hours old. Matt Biondi went :21.85 and Tom Jager went :21.81 and that record stood as an American Record until Gary Hall Jr. broke it at the Olympic Trials going :21.76. Two months prior to Hall's swim Alex Popov went :21.64 in a time trial in Russia.
I remember in an interview about 5 years ago in European Swimming Times, Editor Kelvin Juba asked Popov if he felt guilty about setting the WR in a time trial. He said no and mentioned the Nashville swims as a time trial like setting for both Biondi and Jager. He said he would have been the World Record holder in 1992 from the Barcelona Olympics because his :21.91 was the fastest competition swim ever excluding the Nashville final. Since that swim in 2000, I have not heard of anybody doing World Record swims in time trials or even people attemping them. I believe FINA will not erase the record because its been over 5 years and probably cause an international controversy because there have been time trials that have counted toward World Records.
I do believe that if the FINA member nations petition in the future not to have time trial World Records and have them only in competition then it will possibly change otherwise it won't.
Steve:
This has always been a controversial issue. The first time I heard about petitioning not to have time trial swims to count toward World Records was back in 1984. Peter Williams broke the World Record in the 50 Meter Free and in the press Tom Jager did not think it should have been counted because he did not perform the swim in race like conditions. As I remember FINA was suppose to make a decision on this but by the time they did, Tom Jager had alread broken the World Record and it was a moot point. I am not sure if they ever took the record off the books.
Rowdy Gaines, had broken the American Record of :49.99 held by Jim Montgomery in 1980 with a time of :49.61 in a competitive USS swimming meet. The next time he broke the American Record was at a time trial after the Longhorn Invitational in April 1981 and he went :49.47 for a new American Record but fell short of the World Record of :49.44 by Jonty Skinner of South Africa. On his second attempt at the time trial he went :49.36 and set the World Record which stood until Matt Biondi came along in 1985. I believe Mr Goodsmith (John Smith) who is a frequent vistor here swam next to Rowdy at the time trial when he set the World Record. I don't remember anybody protesting or petitioning this record because it was in a time trial format after a swim meet.
The next time I remember World Records in a time trial atmosphere was the 1991 Sprint Races for prize money that was on TV from Nashville. It featured 4 of the best sprint swimmers in the world at that time. I believe they were Adam Schmidt, Steve Crocker, and of course Matt Biondi and Tom Jager. With swim off eliminations it came down to Biondi vs Jager. Tom Jager was the current World Record holder for the 50 Free before the final showdown with Biondi with a time of :22.12.
In one of the swims before the final show down, Tom Jager went :21.98 for a new World Record. In the final swim, Tom Jager and Matt Biondi swam a lane apart. In the final both swimmers broke the Word Record that was just hours old. Matt Biondi went :21.85 and Tom Jager went :21.81 and that record stood as an American Record until Gary Hall Jr. broke it at the Olympic Trials going :21.76. Two months prior to Hall's swim Alex Popov went :21.64 in a time trial in Russia.
I remember in an interview about 5 years ago in European Swimming Times, Editor Kelvin Juba asked Popov if he felt guilty about setting the WR in a time trial. He said no and mentioned the Nashville swims as a time trial like setting for both Biondi and Jager. He said he would have been the World Record holder in 1992 from the Barcelona Olympics because his :21.91 was the fastest competition swim ever excluding the Nashville final. Since that swim in 2000, I have not heard of anybody doing World Record swims in time trials or even people attemping them. I believe FINA will not erase the record because its been over 5 years and probably cause an international controversy because there have been time trials that have counted toward World Records.
I do believe that if the FINA member nations petition in the future not to have time trial World Records and have them only in competition then it will possibly change otherwise it won't.
