Will Michael Phelps's Golden Quest Start With a Silver?

Michael Phelps has a shot to win six gold medals in six events beginning this Sunday at the world championships in Rome, but the drama of his quest could fizzle quickly. Phelps's coach, Bob Bowman, figures a major dose of creativity will be required to help Phelps avoid kicking off the meet with an unwanted silver -- or worse.

The problem: Race No. 1 is the 400-meter freestyle relay, one of three relays in which Phelps is expected to compete, along with the 100 and 200 butterfly and the 200 free.

Buoyed by the latest 100-percent polyurethane suits, the French have taken over the 100 meters. Five of the top eight performances this year have come from Frenchmen. Only one of the top 10 has come from an eligible American.

"We're strong except for one event; we're weak in the 400 freestyle relay," Bowman, who is also the head coach of the men's world championship team, said by phone from Riccione, Italy. "We are clearly underdogs in that event. You can't spin it any other way. [The French] have five guys under 48 seconds [this year] and we don't have any."

The U.S. team does have Phelps, who swam the American record of 47.51 seconds last year. But Phelps has been testing out a new stroke -- a straight-armed motion -- in the 100 and his best time this summer, 48.65, is ranked 34th in the world.

And unavailable is Jason Lezak, who produced the heart-stopping chase-down of Alain Bernard in the Olympics last year to salvage what had seemed a lost gold medal.

Lezak decided to compete this summer in the Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletic event, instead of the world championships. He surely made Bowman wince when he set an event record with his 47.78 Sunday in 100 free, then reportedly followed that up with a 47.57 anchor-leg in the 400 free relay Monday.

Lezak's individual 100 time is 0.22 of a second faster than American Nathan Adrian swam in winning the 100 free at the U.S. championships two weeks ago. It's also faster than any American has swum in the event this summer.

But it is not faster than the times posted by four Frenchman at France's national championships in April. Bernard swam what appeared to be a world-record breaking 46.94. Though FINA, the world swimming governing body, denied the record because Bernard had competed in an unapproved suit, a statement was nonetheless made. Fred Bousquet, meantime, posted a 47.15; Amaury Leveaux, 47.76; and William Maynard, 47.77. There's also Fabien Gilot, who broke 48 seconds (47.98).

What is Bowman to do against a field of so many sub-48 swimmers?

For one thing, he will lead off with Phelps.

"He's the only person we've got who can go 47-low," Bowman said. "The key to the race is the leadoff leg. If you get lost behind in the waves, you're not going to catch up."