Yes - one more time it's about the suit:
Here is a comparison to 2004 and what it took to make top 16 (top 8 for the 400) over the first 7 events:
2004 listed first then 2008 then the approx. % drop
400 IM - 4:24.8 to 4:21.0 1.5%
100 Fly - 1:01.29 to 59.97 2%
400 Free - 3:55.0 to 3:51.4 1.6%
400 IM - 4:49.57 to 4:43.2 2.3%
100 Br - 1:04.0 to 1:02.36 2.5%
100 Bk - 1:04.12 to 1:02.31 2.6%
200 Free - 1:51.1 to 1:48.76 2.2%
Ok - to be fair, people are getting faster, but I would guess at least a 1.5% drop across the board for the suit -- that is net time !
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phdude, it looks like you took out your reference to Jimmy Feigen, but it is true he broke the national HS record in the 50 wearing briefs. His time was 19.65. He went the 19.49 at the Texas state meet wearing a legskin (1% faster).
I can think of a lot of reasons a talented high school swimmer drops 16/100ths in a 50 at state champs vs. a few weeks prior. The suit could be one of them. But I'll bet the pool where TX states takes place is pretty nice, and I'll bet the crowd was really fired up which got him excited. I'm pretty sure he practiced starts and turns between the 19.65 and the 19.49--tiny RT and turn improvements can easily mean a .16 difference. I'm not saying it's not the suit; I'm saying there are other factors that everyone is suddenly ignoring. Suit or no suit--would anyone actually not expect him to improve that much in his key event at the biggest scy meet of the season?
phdude, it looks like you took out your reference to Jimmy Feigen, but it is true he broke the national HS record in the 50 wearing briefs. His time was 19.65. He went the 19.49 at the Texas state meet wearing a legskin (1% faster).
I can think of a lot of reasons a talented high school swimmer drops 16/100ths in a 50 at state champs vs. a few weeks prior. The suit could be one of them. But I'll bet the pool where TX states takes place is pretty nice, and I'll bet the crowd was really fired up which got him excited. I'm pretty sure he practiced starts and turns between the 19.65 and the 19.49--tiny RT and turn improvements can easily mean a .16 difference. I'm not saying it's not the suit; I'm saying there are other factors that everyone is suddenly ignoring. Suit or no suit--would anyone actually not expect him to improve that much in his key event at the biggest scy meet of the season?
