Did Michael Phelps use super suit?

[Simaril]

Phelps isnt gaining from the suit -- its his dolphin kick. Watch the races, and you'll see that he makes up huge amounts on the competition during the kick phase after the turns.

Underwater dolphin kicking so dramatically reduces drage from surface turbulence and the air water interface that there's a rule limiting its use to 15 meters. Phelps has 3 big advantages in this phase of the race: He has magnificent mechanics; he has excellent lung capacity, so he comes close to the 15 meter limit every turn (including the last one, where he gains a lot of ground); and particularly from his SIZE 14 FEET! Turns out that 90% of the thrust from the dolphin kick comes from the feet.

[Simaril]

I saw an article a few days ago (didn't have time to read it) mentioning that performance drugs were getting away from means of detection. 

Suspected as much.

THink about it -- there was a race where ALL 3 MEDAL FINISHERS surpassed the previous best time in the history of the world. Just seems veeery unlikely that result could have happened without something major changing about the sport, and I haven't heard about any groundbreaking technical changes (like the Fosbury Flop brought about in the high jump so long ago.)

[indy007]

The new testing coming out doesn't look for specific drugs. It's like adware. They'll always make a new version faster than you can release detectors. Instead, they establish a baseline and watch your body for changes that would indicate drug use. Right now there is no test at all for certain forms of blood doping. You can freeze your own blood during a training peak, and inject it back in before the competition... at that point, you're superman when it comes to endurance. Only way to detect that type of cheating is to randomly raid athletes houses and hotel rooms.

[Donzo]

Suspected as much.

THink about it -- there was a race where ALL 3 MEDAL FINISHERS surpassed the previous best time in the history of the world. Just seems veeery unlikely that result could have happened without something major changing about the sport, and I haven't heard about any groundbreaking technical changes (like the Fosbury Flop brought about in the high jump so long ago.)

I heard that the pool itself is different than those of past Olympics.

More sophisticated pool design has also helped to dissipate wave action. The pool in Beijing is three meters deep, compared with two meters for many racing pools. The added depth is designed to lessen resistance.

For major international competitions, like the Olympics, the pool is 10 lanes wide, instead of 8. The two empty outside lanes serve as buffers, keeping the waves from ricocheting, dispersing them instead to a gutter system that is flush with the surface of the water. The plastic buoys that serve as lane dividers are designed to direct water downward instead of outward. The nonskid starting blocks are meant to facilitate a propulsive takeoff, similar to track and field, which can shave valuable ticks off the clock.

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/sports/olympics/12records.html

[moot]

The new testing coming out doesn't look for specific drugs. It's like adware. They'll always make a new version faster than you can release detectors. Instead, they establish a baseline and watch your body for changes that would indicate drug use. Right now there is no test at all for certain forms of blood doping. You can freeze your own blood during a training peak, and inject it back in before the competition... at that point, you're superman when it comes to endurance. Only way to detect that type of cheating is to randomly raid athletes houses and hotel rooms.

The one I read about (but can't find again..) wasn't a drug, it was genetic.  I forgot the specifics, I only remember that it left no chemical trail anywhere, except I guess if you know the procedure and can recognize the signature elsewhere.  The article worded it in contrast with that sort of detection though, opposing it to every other method that looked at fluid samples.

[VonMessa]

The "suit" is not really much more than the old days of shaving/nair(ing) off of body hair. 

Maybe so he doesn't get razor burn?

Seriously, shall we go back to Jordan and the "is it the shoes?" question?

Like lyric said, someone is still paddling, rowing, pedalling, etc.

Do we cry foul and make accusations of cheating because he has size 14 feet and has almost 15% more flexion in the range of motion  of his ankles, effectively making his feet like paddles?

IMO he is a superior athlete who has been training very hard for this moment.  I fail to grasp the philosophy of why some people get so mad at others who make goals, work hard to attain said goals, and then finally achieve success.

[myelo]

A goggle malfunction can easily cost you the race.

Didn't keep Phelps from winning the 200 fly and setting a record. His googles were leaking the entire race.

[midnight Target]

Many Americans including Phelps have volunteered to do extraordinary testing. Including the storage of their blood into the indefinite future to accomodate tests that we haven't even thought of yet, and daily blood and urinalysis AND they all gave a baseline sample well before the games as a means of comparison.

I think he's clean.

[mtnman]

Didn't keep Phelps from winning the 200 fly and setting a record. His googles were leaking the entire race.

Leaking I could always deal with.  Even if one lense completely filled I was Ok.  But when they both fill you have a serious handicap.  The worst is when they momentarily partially flip down when you hit the water off the blocks.  Both lenses fill completely, and then reseal over your eyes.  This effectively blinds you to seeing much beyond light and dark.  Your ability to track straight down the lane is impaired, as is timing your turns.  Not conducive to a good time...

Way back when I swam, our pools were designed as described above.  The depth was less, which makes a big difference, and we only had 8 lanes, which also makes a big difference.  Our lane dividers were designed with the same goals in mind, as were the water-level gutters.  I'm sure that improvements have been made over the last 20 years, but the intention has always been the same.

I know we could feel the difference when we hit pools that were deeper or shallower than ours, and could see it in our times.  I swam in the normal "Speedo" days, and 20 years later I'm still amazed at how "draggy" a pair of regular trunks feel. 

Back then, we shaved down for state level meets, or for conference or sectionals if it was doubtful you'd make the state cuts.  Nairing wasn't considered good enough, as removing the rough, dead surface skin layers was the goal as much as removing the hair.  We also used lubricating gell of some sort (don't remember the name).  It wasn't as effective as the modern methods I'm sure, but it was good enough that you didn't dare get it on areas of your body where you WANTED drag (palms, feet, inner arms, etc...)  I never used a cap, but shaved my head.  The cap was considered "faster" though.

MtnMan

[CAP1]

Leaking I could always deal with.  Even if one lense completely filled I was Ok.  But when they both fill you have a serious handicap.  The worst is when they momentarily partially flip down when you hit the water off the blocks.  Both lenses fill completely, and then reseal over your eyes.  This effectively blinds you to seeing much beyond light and dark.  Your ability to track straight down the lane is impaired, as is timing your turns.  Not conducive to a good time...

Way back when I swam, our pools were designed as described above.  The depth was less, which makes a big difference, and we only had 8 lanes, which also makes a big difference.  Our lane dividers were designed with the same goals in mind, as were the water-level gutters.  I'm sure that improvements have been made over the last 20 years, but the intention has always been the same.

I know we could feel the difference when we hit pools that were deeper or shallower than ours, and could see it in our times.  I swam in the normal "Speedo" days, and 20 years later I'm still amazed at how "draggy" a pair of regular trunks feel. 

Back then, we shaved down for state level meets, or for conference or sectionals if it was doubtful you'd make the state cuts.  Nairing wasn't considered good enough, as removing the rough, dead surface skin layers was the goal as much as removing the hair.  We also used lubricating gell of some sort (don't remember the name).  It wasn't as effective as the modern methods I'm sure, but it was good enough that you didn't dare get it on areas of your body where you WANTED drag (palms, feet, inner arms, etc...)  I never used a cap, but shaved my head.  The cap was considered "faster" though.

MtnMan

didn't they used to not wear goggles?

[boxboy28]

Confusedhious say:     3 Legged man swims faster

[moot]

Looks like the article I mentioned was probably refering to gene doping..  Looks like it's been around for a few years already: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_doping
I haven't followed this at all, so I dunno how hard it really is to detect.

[myelo]

Spitz won his medals with no goggles (weren't allowed), no cap and a $10 swimsuit. And a bigass mustache.

[mtnman]

didn't they used to not wear goggles?

Yup.  They used to not wear suits too.

[Angus]

Did you know that some of the suits are developed from the same concept as sharks have...the rough skin is actually for speed!!
Look here, very interesting, - James May from the Top Gear crew exploring hydrodynamics....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GLGIomG-bc