Phelps Will Calm the Waters

Packing for Athens was never going to be easy.

For Michael Phelps, the question was as much about what to take as what not to take. Not what to wear, but what not to swim. Only so much could get crammed into his overhead bin of events at the Olympics.

And so, he left a race behind.

Phelps lightened the load Wednesday at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Long Beach, omitting the 200-meter backstroke from his Athens program, leaving him with five individual events and possibly up to three relays.

Phelps refused when his coach, Bob Bowman, offered the choice of taking the 200 freestyle off the table, which would have removed a marquee matchup against world-record holder Ian Thorpe of Australia.

“He said, ‘Absolutely not,’ ” Bowman told reporters at Long Beach Arena after Phelps’ announcement. “ ... I was hoping he’d say that.”

Thorpe had entered his domain, the 200 individual medley, last summer with Phelps easily winning in Barcelona. Now Phelps wanted to take him on in one of his signature events.

And regarding Spitz-watch, even after four victories and two seconds, not much has changed -- Phelps remains well-positioned to make a charge at Mark Spitz’s record seven gold medals in one Olympics. But his decision created something of a ripple effect outside the pool.

It elevated Bryce Hunt from third place to a ticket to Athens. Suddenly, Hunt’s touch loomed large in the 200 backstroke. He finished behind Aaron Peirsol, who broke his own world record, and Phelps, going 1:58.70. Chris DeJong was fourth in 1:59.00.

Knowing Phelps could possibly reduce his schedule, Hunt, a 22-year-old from Auburn, had aimed for third, not risking staying with the leaders. He received the news, almost like a wakeup call.

“My coach, David Marsh, was banging on the door at 8:45 a.m.,” Hunt said. “There was a couple guys on the team in the room -- we were trying to save money and we were all asleep. [Marsh] practically tackled me. He stayed in the room until I called and told my parents because he wanted to hear their reaction.”

Then there was Peirsol. His reaction was one of ambivalence, calling it a “win-lose situation.” But he did think he could break the world record again in the 200 backstroke without the presence of Phelps.

“Part of me is pretty disappointed,” Peirsol said. “I enjoy racing the guy. He has a tough, tough schedule -- he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. Maybe it was coincidental my event fell on a tough day for him.”

That was Monday, when Phelps competed in the 200 backstroke final, the 200 individual medley final and the semifinals of the 100 butterfly.

His ability is so considerable that he pulled through the marathon but paid for it the next day in the 100 fly final, losing to Ian Crocker.

“The farther through the week we got, the better I was feeling,” said Phelps, who had one world record in his six events, the 400 individual medley. “I don’t think fatigue played an issue.”

He wasn’t about to offer excuses. But Team Phelps wasn’t about to compromise the 100 fly and recognized the toll the campaign was taking.

Bowman knew what he wanted to do about the schedule Tuesday night but slept on it. He also spoke with the men’s Olympic coach, Eddie Reese, and the women’s coach, Mark Schubert, and, of course, Phelps, among others. The key was the hat trick of races Monday night.

“The following day he really felt it,” Bowman said. “Last night in the 100 fly final, I don’t think he felt like he was really in a peak position. To race Ian Crocker, you’re going to have to be in peak condition.”

Having raced 17 times in six events, the attention will turn to the relays in Athens. Though Jason Lezak and others said they would like Phelps to swim a time trial for the 400 freestyle relay, the decision-maker, Reese, has not subscribed to that line of thinking.

He referred to a comment of one of his sprinters, Neil Walker, saying: “We definitely want to be fair.... [But] Neil said fair isn’t as important as fast.”

Reese was talking on the morning of the final day of the trials. Six world records were set: two by Brendan Hansen in the breaststroke events, one by Peirsol, one by Phelps, one by Crocker, and one by Amanda Beard in the 200 breaststroke.

Such are the lofty expectations of Phelps that even Reese’s wife, Elinor, chided him for one of his critiques. After all, world records went down in the two races Phelps lost in Long Beach.

“As far as what he’ll do, I don’t even want to go here, but I will,” Reese said. “I didn’t think he looked that good at the meet. My wife was all over me about that comment because of how fast he went. He broke a world record. He’s just a lot better than he’s shown, than he showed at this meet.

“He will go faster.”

So will the American men, it appears. Schubert said the women’s team needed to improve a lot between the trials and Athens. The men are aiming for their best showing since 1976.

“I said all along this could be one of the strongest men’s teams since the ’76 team,” Reese said. “.... The ’76 team won every gold medal but one and had five 1-2-3 finishes.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

U.S. Olympic Swimming Team

The U.S. roster for the Olympic swimming competition, pending USOC approval:

*--* MEN Swimmer Hometown Event(s) Ian Crocker Portland, Maine 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 400 freestyle relay Nate Dusing Villa Hills, Ky. 400 freestyle relay Mark Gangloff Akron, Ohio 100 breaststroke Scott Goldblatt Scotch Plains, N.J. 800 freestyle relay Gary Hall Jr. Paradise Valley, Ariz. 50 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay Brendan Hansen Havertown, Pa. 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke Bryce Hunt Newburgh, Ind. 200 backstroke Larsen Jensen Bakersfield 400 freestyle, 1,500 freestyle Klete Keller Phoenix 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay Dan Ketchum Cincinnati 800 freestyle relay Lenny Krayzelburg Studio City 100 backstroke Jason Lezak Irvine 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay Ryan Lochte Daytona Beach, Fla. 200 IM, 800 freestyle relay Tom Malchow St. Paul, Minn. 200 butterfly Aaron Peirsol Irvine 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke Michael Phelps Baltimore 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 IM, 400 IM, 800 freestyle relay Scott Usher Grand Island, Neb. 200 breaststroke Peter Vanderkaay Rochester, Mich. 800 freestyle relay Erik Vendt North Easton, Mass. 400 IM, 1,500 freestyle Neil Walker Verona, Wis. 400 freestyle relay Gabe Woodward Bakersfield 400 freestyle relay WOMEN Swimmer Hometown Event(s) Amanda Beard Irvine 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 IM Lindsay Benko Elkhart, Ind. 200 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay Caroline Bruce Wichita, Kan. 200 breaststroke Kristen Caverly San Clemente 200 backstroke Haley Cope Chico, Calif. 100 backstroke Maritza Correia Valrico, Fla. 400 freestyle relay Natalie Coughlin Concord, Calif. 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay Katie Hoff Abington, Md. 200 IM, 400 IM Margaret Hoelzer Huntsville, Ala. 200 backstroke Kalyn Keller Phoenix 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle Rhi Jeffrey Delray Beach, Fla. 800 freestyle relay Kara Lynn Joyce Ann Arbor, Mich. 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay Dana Kirk Bremerton, Wash. 200 butterfly Tara Kirk Bremerton, Wash. 100 breaststroke Rachel Komisarz Louisville, Ky. 100 butterfly, 800 freestyle relay Colleen Lanne Tucson 400 freestyle relay Diana Munz Chagrin Falls, Ohio 800 freestyle Carly Piper Grosse Pointe, Mich. 800 freestyle relay Kaitlin Sandeno Lake Forest 200 butterfly, 400 freestyle, 400 IM, 800 freestyle relay Jenny Thompson New York 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 400 freestyle relay Dana Vollmer Granbury, Texas 200 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay Amanda Weir Lawrenceville, Ga. 400 freestyle relay

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