At Grand Prix, all eyes are on Phelps

By Lenny Goldman
Feb. 19, 2008

Swimmer Michael Phelps reacts to a second-place finish in the men’s 100-meter backstroke during the Missouri Grand Prix at the Student Recreation Complex. Phelps, who has won eight Olympic medals and broken world records, was one of the several world-renowned swimmers to compete this weekend.

Sure, swimmer Michael Phelps has won eight Olympic medals, shattered world records and become an international star, but on Saturday he was eating lunch at Plaza 900 like everybody else.

“He’s probably not a lot different from the regular college student,” his coach Bob Bowman said. “He likes pretty much the same things. He likes to play video games, he likes listening to music and doing the same things normal college kids like to do.”

The 22-year-old Towson, Md., native visited Columbia this past weekend to compete in the Missouri Grand Prix. In last year’s competition Phelps set a world record in the 200-Meter Butterfly. Phelps swam a faster time this year, but he already had broken the world record last March in Melbourne, Australia.

“Today was a step headed in the right direction,” Phelps said after the race. “Coming out of this competition last year I was able to drop two seconds. If I drop a second off this, who knows what can happen?”

Phelps debuted the Speedo Fastskin LZR, the swimsuit that he will be using in the Olympics.

“It has an entirely new surface and a fit which is a lot better,” Bowman said. “The results have been really good so far, we’re very pleased with it.”

The Missouri Grand Prix was set up in a similar format to the Olympics in Beijing this summer. Both have morning finals and use a 50m pool.

Zimbabwe native Kirsty Coventry gained her own momentum for the Olympics by setting the world record in the 200 Meter Backstroke on Saturday.

The previous record was 206.62 seconds and Coventry finished in 206.39 seconds.

“It was kind of painful, but it’s exciting,” Coventry said. “It’s been a goal of mine to get (the world record) for a long time and it makes it even better to get it before the Olympics.”

Coventry followed her typical routine on Saturday, but added a few extra laps to warm up because of the morning race.

“I was nervous because I usually swim a lot faster at night,” she said. “I heard the announcement that I broke the record before I saw the score board. When I looked up and saw it I just started jumping up and down.”

Missouri swim team member Francie Szostak found motivation in watching some of the world’s best perform in her home pool.

“Hopefully one day I can compete on their level now, but for now it’s just cool to compete in the same meet as them.”

Because Szostak swam in two events throughout the weekend, she had to draw a line between being a competitor and fan by resisting the urge to ask for autographs.

“I know who all these swimmers are from watching them on television and seeing them in magazines, but to see people like Phelps walk past me on the pool deck is just amazing,” Szostak said. “This competition is really awesome because you swim your race and pop up and watch world records being broken.”

Share on Facebook

At Grand Prix, all eyes are on Phelps

More Feb. 19, 2008 Sports Stories

Most recent Sports Stories