OH!!!
PED = performance enhancing drug
I was wondering why there was all this talk about the short little golfer's socks with the pom-poms, 'cuz that's what I think about when anyone says peds. Also: the scuzzy ones made out of pantyhose material usually supplied by shoe stores for those who arrive sans socks.
So, is "PED" leetspeak? Or just another abbreviation I didn't get the memo about (e.g.: SDK)? I vote to not make abbreviations that already match other pop culture references.
idk, ima noob - LOL - sry :fish2:
There is one area that is not on the poll that I think is a contributing factor to the contribution of World Records and that is the Advancement of Professional Swimming around the World.
Twelve years ago there were not swimmers like Phelps, Lochte, Hoff, Coughlin, etc, etc, that could stay in the sport and make a living as a professional. There were very few swimmers that gave up there NCAA eligibilty to turn professional. In the 1990's the first swimmer I remember doing this was Anita Nall and she did not have the success that was expected from this decision.
Today with more sponsorships, professional swimmers can stay in the sport and earn a living where they could not 20 years ago. You had trail blazers like Matt Biondi and Tom Jager that stayed in the sport, but that was about it and they did not have the opportunties that the swimmers today have. Also more Universities and Clubs are welcoming professional swimmers to train and belong with actual meets set up to monitor the progress. There was none of this back in the early 1990's.
Swimmers can stay in the sport longer and reach a potential that years ago they couldn't do because of the rules of professional vs amateur in the sport of swimming. In the future I see this area growing and I see the sport becoming better with faster times by swimmers and World Records being broken.
Question though-Does your theory apply to the US only?
Most foreign swimmers do not have the training system set up(HS/College/Elite swimming)or the financial support like the US does and are much more limited in what they can do long term.I'm thinking here in particular about german swimmers and the decline of their swim program.
What nobody seems to realize is that many of these new WRholders are avid lurkers of these forums, voraciously devouring invaluable technique, diet and training 'tips' from the collective wisdom of the years of experience possessed by our assembled forumites.
That many of these 'tips' are contradictory of one another only illustrates the wonderful diversity of our swimming community e.g. what works for one may produce crippling injury for another. It takes a village to break a WR...
I saw a post on here a few years ago that was a joke but holds true. Records will always be broken. In the end, swimmers will finish the race before they start if they keep coming up with new suits, drugs, training methods etc---then they will record the records as -21.00---or -18.00---IMHO
:drink:
I'd grant you that, but I haven't heard of any other major records from any other sports, other than swimming. Swimming isn't the only part of the Olympic Games. What other olympic sports are having so many records being broken this year?
Keep in mind that Athletics (Track & Field) hasn't really gotten going yet in the northern hemisphere. In fact, the World Cross Country Championships were just last weekend, so many the distance types won't come out to play for at least another month or more and the sprint whimps whine like the craven dogs they are if the temperature is below 80 F. There were several indoor WR's in track on the women's side this season; none on the men's side. Besides it may be harder in some sports (like track) that are suspected of having "dirty" records from the past to see said records broken - e.g. Kratochvelova's women's 800 m record which will be 25 years oldin July.
As I (and others) have said before, swimming is still in its infancy when it comes to being a truly professional sport. I think that we will see a lot of record "turbulence" for a few years as the impact of full-time training on markedly longer careers has it's initial effect. After that, things will calm down.
-LBJ
