Phelps once again overpowering

Published 12:27 am Friday, August 15, 2008

BEIJING — There he goes again.

In a sport where medals are decided by fractions of a second, Michael Phelps keeps leaving his competitors in his wake.

Phelps won his sixth gold medal and set his sixth world record at the Beijing Olympics Friday, routing the field in the 200-meter individual medley. His time of 1:54.23 was 2.29 seconds ahead of silver medalist Laszlo Cseh of Hungary (1:56.52). American Ryan Lochte won the bronze in 1:56.53.

“I just wanted to step on it in the first 50 (meters) a little bit, and try and get out to an early lead,” said Phelps, who never trailed in the race.

In Phelps’ four individual finals, he has beaten his closest competitor by an average of 1.79 seconds — and that includes the 200-meter butterfly that he won by “only” .67 seconds because he couldn’t see after his goggles filled up with water.

In the six individual men’s events here that Phelps did not swim, the average winning margin was just .53, and only one race — the 200-meter breaststroke — was won by more than one second.

“There’s nobody in any sport that can win like he wins,” said U.S. men’s coach Eddie Reese. “I know comparing basketball to swimming is wrong. Golf to swimming is wrong. He’s not just winning. He’s crushing world records and crushing the field.”

So what makes a 23-year-old raised in suburban Baltimore head-and-shoulders — and sometimes an entire body length or two — better than the world’s best swimmers?

Body type: Some of it is God-given. Phelps was blessed with a lean 6-foot-4 body, a 6-foot-7 wingspan, and short legs with Gumby-like flexibility in his ankles that provide him remarkable propulsion in the water.

Dedication: Phelps trains every day. That includes Christmas, New Year’s, his birthday, when it’s snowing, when’s it’s icing, or when he’s sniffling. While most athletes take a day off each week to rest and recover, Phelps motors on, day after day after day. He has said that those 52 additional workouts a year give him a mental and physical edge over his competitors — and given the results here, it’s hard to argue.

Focus: While the 32-ring circus atmosphere at the Olympics has been known to rattle many athletes, Phelps is able to block out all the distractions and remain glued to his mission.

“You just look at him in awe,” said Jean Basson of South Africa, who finished fourth to Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle, 3.01 seconds back. “I see a lot of talent, but he just has this amazing focus. I was watching him in the warm-up and it is amazing to watch his focus. I’ve never seen an athlete like him before.”

Nor has the rest of the world.

Only one other man has won more gold medals in a single Olympics than Phelps: American swimmer Mark Spitz, who won seven at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Phelps has a chance to win his seventh gold medal at these Olympics early Saturday morning when he swims in the 100-meter butterfly final.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very tough race,” said Phelps, who swam the second-fastest time in the semifinals Friday, 50.97 to 50.92 for Serbia’s Milorad Cavic. “For me to sort of be a player in that race tomorrow, I have to be closer at the 50. If I’m not there at the 50, it’s going to be tough to make up.”

If all goes according to plan, Phelps will swim for a record-eighth gold on Sunday morning in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay.