Kitajima went 2:07.51 to break Hansen's WR by .99 sec.He was wearing a LZR in defiance of Japanese swimming authorities.I can't find video of the swim yet,can anyone else?
Former Member
Lefty, I don't know how old you are.....but when I swam AAU in California, High School and a year of college.....you used to be allowed 2 false starts. So, if the guy in the lane next to you had one false start and you didn't, we used to try and pull them off causing their second but only my first. Thus eliminating one more competitor. If the official thought you were doing it intentionally (cheating) you could be DQ'd. That is one of the reasons for the change to a single false start in swimming....of course the amount of time that could add to the meet was another reason for sure....Used to have a lot more false starts in meets then you see now.
Are you saying that you are comfortable calling him a cheater because of familiarity?
No, I say I am comfortable calling him a cheat for the same reason Jim is....as a lifelong breaststroker, I know where I can throw in a dolphin kick and hope to get away with it......if you do the old 2 footed start and a keyhole dive, you throw in a dolphin kick right as you enter the water and propel yourself a lot further than the person next to you. It is illegal and is cheating. Always has been. They changed the rule mainly because of the uproar over Kitajima at the Olympics....that rule had been dabated for quite a while before that. It is actually easier on the official to allow it, because like I said earlier......trying to see this kick from above and behind the swimmer is not so easy.....if I am off to the side, or using underwater cameras I can see it real easy. But the dolphin kick on the start is still illegal...it has to be done during the down stroke of the arms....not before.....if you watch the video he actually does two on the start and one on the turn. Clearly cheating in my opinion.
Not to belabor the point, but what you described happening right after the initial dive is pretty sneaky stuff.
It's hard to buy that he was unaware of what he was pulling off... under the surface.
video.google.com/videoplay
Heck yeah, he got away with a lot of stuff in Athens. Aside from the Kitajima moments, Daniel Guyrta really left an impression. He was the skinny Hungarian kid who beat Hansen 3 times in the 200. He split 1:04, 1:06 in finals to bump Hansen down to 3rd place. Guyrta's got a little more speed now (1:01.61 at MareNostrum yesterday)and he could surprise many in Beijing. Interesting times ahead.
