I think the suits were even further developed the year following Beijing and they learned how to swim in them. They also could hear the end was coming politically, so their training plan included worlds to try and take down records. Maybe now they are focusing on 2012 and it did not include this year's short course.
Just a thought.
I don't think there is much question that the main factor was the suit ban, and all other considerations are fairly minor by comparison.
Although there were no LCM records set this year, there were several close calls. My prediction is that there will be a few WRs in the year of the Olympics, though not a huge number. (They will not necessarily be set at the Olympics themselves; often people swim a little faster in the trials.)
I think the main draw of Olympic swimming to "the common person" will be the story-lines (eg, Lochte vs Phelps); indeed one can argue that has always been the case. Phelps' pursuit of his "octet" was independent of the whole suit thing.
Lochte and several other top swimmers don't have the body fat of a 48 year old masters swimmer...
If I had Lochte's or even Soni's body fat i wouldn't want the suits back either...
I'll never understand this argument. If you put on body fat, you should pay the price in the pool and not kid yourself about it. In this sense the suit ban gives an incentive for healthy behavior.
Fine physical specimens they may be, but their (lack of) body fat is certainly not what set Lochte and Soni apart from their peers.
I think the suits were even further developed the year following Beijing and they learned how to swim in them. They also could hear the end was coming politically, so their training plan included worlds to try and take down records. Maybe now they are focusing on 2012 and it did not include this year's short course.
Just a thought.
I don't think there is much question that the main factor was the suit ban, and all other considerations are fairly minor by comparison.
Although there were no LCM records set this year, there were several close calls. My prediction is that there will be a few WRs in the year of the Olympics, though not a huge number. (They will not necessarily be set at the Olympics themselves; often people swim a little faster in the trials.)
I think the main draw of Olympic swimming to "the common person" will be the story-lines (eg, Lochte vs Phelps); indeed one can argue that has always been the case. Phelps' pursuit of his "octet" was independent of the whole suit thing.
Lochte and several other top swimmers don't have the body fat of a 48 year old masters swimmer...
If I had Lochte's or even Soni's body fat i wouldn't want the suits back either...
I'll never understand this argument. If you put on body fat, you should pay the price in the pool and not kid yourself about it. In this sense the suit ban gives an incentive for healthy behavior.
Fine physical specimens they may be, but their (lack of) body fat is certainly not what set Lochte and Soni apart from their peers.
