Michael Phelps from a Penn standpoint

• TWEET
• SHARE
• SHARE

Unless you've been under a rock recently, you've probably heard about US swimmer Michael Phelps who broke Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in one Olympics by winning his eighth 2008 Olympics gold medal on Sunday Beijing time. (In case you didn't hear, here's ESPN's web page devoted to the 23-year old.)

As a sports fan I'm quite impressed with Phelps' accomplishment, but I'll admit that my only knowledge of swimming comes from the one season of Penn swimming that I covered for the DP. So although Phelps himself does not have any Penn connection (the closest I can come up with is that he was born just two hours away in Baltimore, Md.), I thought I would ask two Penn people who actually know swimming to give their thoughts on Phelps: men's and women's swimming coach Mike Schnur and rising-junior Sara Coenen, who owns three Penn swimming records of her own.

Of course both were quite impressed with Phelps' performance.

"[I'm] probably thinking the same thing as everyone else: Holy crap!" Coenen said. " It has just been so cool watching him either win a race by miles, out-touch someone by literally a fingernail, or as a part of a relay where he only can hold the race so much in his own hands."

In addition, Coenen is proud of a fellow swimmer bringing swimming into the spotlight.

She sees "the whole event as a way to bring more recognition to the sport," she said. "To see a swimmer getting so much attention, and the sport being talked about on ESPN for more than 15 seconds, is really rewarding."

Schnur, who himself set two records while a swimmer at Penn in the late 1980's, put Phelps's accomplishments on a grand scale.

The fact that Phelps won events while having to swim all four strokes specifically impressed Schnur.

"Its not just that he wins and sets world records," Schnur said. "It's the variety of events he does. Winning the 400 [Individual Medley] and setting an American record in the 100 free would be tantamount to a runner winning the 100 meter dash and the 1500. Its amazing and nobody has ever even attempted it before. Competitive swimming is a world wide sport with millions of athletes. Michael Phelps is far and away the best."

Coenen was a little more hesitant to name Phelps "Greatest Athlete Ever."

"His eight medals is obviously a major accomplishment," she said. "But I think it is a very hard thing to put into a ranking in history of sports. For one thing, he still has at least one more, and possibly two more Olympics to go. I don't think what he has done can be put into a ranking until he has finished.

"Similar to all best athletes who have made their name known, such as Favre, Jordan or Woods, we are going to have to wait a little longer to actually compare him to all the other 'greats', because he isn't done being great yet."

She was quick to mention however that she believes he's the greatest swimmer ever.

"In the swimming world, though, he is already on the top," she said. "Times tell that, and obviously the eight gold medals compared to Mark Spitz's previous seven do as well... He is simply the best."

In his eight races Phelps set seven world records and eight Olympic records. However he's not the only one shattering previous high marks. New world records were set 25 times altering 21 distinct world records.

Coming into the Olympics there had been talk about new suits possibly affecting times. (Here was the Penn reaction to the suits.) However, both Schnur and Coenen were skeptical that the suits are the main reason for both Phelps' and everyone else's success.

"The suits are contributing to the speed and the records, but they give Phelps no competitive advantage over the other swimmers since they are all wearing the same suits," Schnur said.

" The LZR suits are a factor as they have been in the past years, with Fast Skins and Aquablades being top suits in previous Olympics," Coenen added. "But I think the hype is a little too much, because people have to understand that the sport is just still developing... The suits are a part of this evolving process, so they do have a part in the records, but not too much."

Regardless of improved technology, Phelps has been quite the spectacle at the Olympics, which have been significantly bolstered by Phelps. In fact, the IOC changed around the schedule so that all of the finals that Phelps would compete in would be in the mornings Beijing time. That way the races could be broadcast in prime time in America. This strategy greatly helped NBC, as Saturday night (Eastern Standard Time) -- when Phelps raced for his eighth gold medal -- drew NBC's highest ratings for a Saturday night program since 1990.

And why wouldn't America tune in to witness history? For as Schnur said, "It's been really fun to watch, huh?"

***

Another big story from Beijing is that Jamaican Usain Bolt broke his own world record in the 100m dash, sprinting to a ridiculous time of 9.69. Bolt has raced at the Penn Relays before, and can be seen in this video from the 2004 relays.

***

But the biggest Penn Olympic story is that rower Susan Francia, Class of 2004, won a gold medal for the USA.