Phelps Tops Himself at Trials
Now he weighs about 200 pounds and is as lean and muscular as a panther.
"I'm very happy with how I swam tonight," Phelps said during a post-race news conference, sporting an Orioles baseball cap and munching a food bar. "Going into a race it's always a goal of mine to do a best time and swim as fast as I can. I'm extremely satisfied and looking forward to that race at the Olympics."
He said it was a relief to make the Olympic team. "The Olympic trials is probably more stressful than the Olympic Games itself so being able to come in and get the first race under your belt, [you can] step back and relax a little bit."
His victory Wednesday came before a large crowd perched in makeshift bleachers erected around a temporary pool outside the Long Beach Convention Center, within sight of the orange-and-black smokestacks of the mothballed oceanliner Queen Mary and with the smell of the ocean in the air.
Last July Phelps set the world record of 4:09.09 in the 400 IM, more than a second faster than the world record he had set in the event just the previous April, which was 0.37 second faster than the one he had set nine months before that.
Such stunning time reductions in so short a period have people here talking about Phelps one day breaking the four-minute barrier.
"A lot of people are kind of joking when they talk about it," said Tarrah Smith Pollaro, media coordinator for USA Swimming, the sport's U.S. governing body. "The fact that people are even talking about it is pretty significant. Even that it's in the realm of possibilities talks about how good he is."
Phelps is so young that he could easily compete in two more Olympiads after Athens, lowering his times all the while.
On Thursday Phelps is scheduled to compete in his second test, the 200-meter freestyle, an event in which he holds the American record of 1:45.99. The world record of 1:44.06 is held by Australia's Ian Thorpe.
On Friday he is set to swim both the 200-meter butterfly, in which he holds the world record of 1:53.93, and, most likely, the final of the 200 freestyle.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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Michael Phelps gets U.S. Olympic trials off to flying start by winning the 400-meter individual medley and in the process earning a spot on team.
(Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)
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_____U.S. Swimming Trials_____
• When: Through Wednesday.
• Where: Long Beach, Calif.
• Last Night's Winners: Men's 400 IM -- Michael Phelps; men's 400 freestyle -- Klete Keller; women's 400 IM -- Katie Hoff.
• Tonight's Finals: Men's 100 breaststroke; women's 100 butterfly, 400 freestyle.
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| _____ Countdown to Athens _____
• The Olympics are less than a week away and organizers are pulling the pieces together for the Aug. 13 opening.
_____ From The Post _____
• Dana Vollmer will be one of those tales of courage that come up during the Olympics.
• Michael Wilbon: In Athens, the new can't hold a torch to the ancient.
• Lauryn Williams is far more interested in chasing goals she can see rather than those she can imagine.
• Notebook: Jerome Young reportedly tested positive for the banned drug EPO at a meet last month.
_____ Live Online _____
• Tony Azevedo, the top scorer on the U.S. Men's Water Polo team, took questions July 28.
• Alexander Kitroeff discussed his book, "Wrestling with the Ancients: Modern Greek Identity and the Olympics," and the history of the Games on July 27.
_____ On Our Site _____
• Photos: Swimming trials.
• Photos: Track and field trials.
_____ Swimming's Wonder Boy _____
• Phelps's main training partners and buddies reflect on blown chances. (July 27)
• Coach Bob Bowman has been the guiding force for Phelps. (July 4)
• Gallery: Coach shows the way to Athens.
• Numerous endorsements already have made Phelps a millionaire. (June 1)
• Gallery: The road to the Games are paved with gold.
• Phelps expected to be the Games' most-decorated athlete. (April 18)
• Gallery: Phelps making a splash.
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