Too many Swimming World records!

jerry3571
jerry3571 Posts: 1,532
edited August 2008 in Campaign
I'm sat watching the Olympics and seeing a moving green line in the Swimming Pool get swallowed up as swimmers get faster towards the finishing line. This green line shows where the World Record pace is. Almost every final has this line coming in 2nd 3rd or even fourth place.
As a bike rider, I am so so so so so suspicious about these World Records. How the hell does everyone suddenly manage to swim faster?
Professional Cyclists get stalked, Team Buses and Hotels are raided and staff and families (Schlecks) are targeted by the Police.
Am I missing a trick here? How does Cycling get brutalized by the Authorities and Press and these Swimmers break World Records as if they were nothing.
I think all sports should bring themselves up to Cycling's standards of Drug enforcement.
I'm not saying that the Swimmers have found a new drug to break these World Records but it really gives that impression to me. How can Swimming improve in such a way; it's impossible!!

PS- Alpe D'Huez was climbed 2 minutes slower than Pantani's record time; personally I think that is a good sign of cleaner racing.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”- Albert Einstein

"You can't ride the Tour de France on mineral water."
-Jacques Anquetil

Comments

  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Actually they work a lot on the pools, to prevent waves forming on the water and the swimmers are wearing suits which help make them faster.

    But of course, this is professional sport, just look at the US cycling or the athletics team for examples of how people get away with doping for years.

    I'm just amazed by the number of medals on offer, the same people are being rewarded for near-identical events. You can even win medals by swimming backwards!
  • fluff.
    fluff. Posts: 771
    To be fair, the Olympics really is the biggest event in the swimming calender, the worlds are small cheese in comparision. People organise their lives for 4 years around being in peak condition for it, so you can expect some records. I do think there are too many medals available though, and did they lose any events because of open water swimming like track cycling did because of the bmx events? /grumble
  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    Not joking here, but I read that it's to do with the new swimsuits.
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    Yeah, I also got the impression that the new swim suits are supposed to be making a big difference.
  • Parsnip49
    Parsnip49 Posts: 205
    There are a lot of reasons:

    Faster pools - bigger and deeper, with waves that leave the pool, not bounce back into it.
    Better lane dividers - less turbulent water.
    The new speedo LZR suit - much quicker than human skin through water

    Its like comparing someone doing a TT On a TT bike and someone on a road bike - if they both have the same engine, the TT bike will be quicker - technology, rather than the swimmers improving (although this happens too) leads to a lot of WRs falling.
  • RedAende
    RedAende Posts: 158
    must be short pool :lol:

    Red Aende, Red Spesh Hardrock, Wine Mercian, Rusty Flying Scot
  • jerry3571
    jerry3571 Posts: 1,532
    I've previously said about the average speed, during the early 1990's, went up, every year at the Tour de France. Nothing was said at the time and since then people have said that it was Carbon Fibre, Aerodynamics and titanium that were the reasons. This was of course during the first EPO years. 80% of our bodies power output comes from burning Oxygen and this must be the greatest factor in athletic endurance. Hence the use of EPO.

    I'm sure the swim suits have been around for a few years because I used to like the lady swimmers in their High Cut Cossies but alas :cry: I guess if the deepening of the Pool and the Lane Dividers help then maybe fair enough but as I said above, that this has happened in Cycling over 15 years ago and other reasons were touted. I get suspicious when nearly every race is a World Record.
    :?
    “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”- Albert Einstein

    "You can't ride the Tour de France on mineral water."
    -Jacques Anquetil
  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    Well from what I've read, not having the new swimsuit means you aren't competitive and federations have gone against their own sponsors in order to wear the brand new swimsuit.
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • k-dog
    k-dog Posts: 1,652
    must be short pool Laughing

    They actually said during the commentary today that some recent world records had to be removed as they discovered that the pool was too short - something like 4cm.

    Reminds me of the early days of the hour record when the guy who had recently had his record broken got a measuring tape and measured the line around the track and said that the guy hadn't broken his record as it was a few inches shorter than the official length.
    I'm left handed, if that matters.
  • it is the speedo skinsuits that you see them all wearing. 8 world records where broken before the olympics in this year all of them using the skinsuit. It is making 1 second a length in the short distances hence the records are falling fast. Also Phelps is on top form and so is breaking lots of records. i think in general swimming has seen a massive increase in investment due to the number of golds available and so advances in training have also helped. But mostly it is the speedo suit. Nike have allowed all their sponsored swimmers use the suit becuase they know that they are just not able to compete without.
    Your'e never alone with schizophrenia.
  • fast as fupp
    fast as fupp Posts: 2,277
    the freaks got size 16 feet

    thats just like flippers!

    the damn yankee flipper footed freak!
    'dont forget lads, one evertonian is worth twenty kopites'
  • According to the ever lovely Sharon Davies he is 6"2' but has the upper body and arm length of someone 6"6'

    According to me, that makes him a freak, now I found out that he has size 16 feet :shock:

    the damn yankee flipper footed, Gibbon armed Freak. I would hand over some small change to be able to point at him and laugh, then at the bearded lady in the stall next door.

    Advances in training have also helped? As people who have an interest in cycling, I think we all know what that might mean :wink:
  • Parsnip49
    Parsnip49 Posts: 205
    Advances in training have also helped? As people who have an interest in cycling, I think we all know what that might mean :wink:

    If your implying doping, go take a long walk off a short pier.

    Anyone who knows anything about swimming knows that the suits and the pool have made a huge difference in the speed of the swimmers.

    Why people cant actually consider the reasons instead of saying "OMG, HE WUN!!! DOPEZ!!!" i dont know. Did you maybe notice that former world records are being beat by loads of swimmers for each race, not just the winners - are you implying that everyone is doping??

    People in the peanut gallery who point the finger about doping need to STFU - what hapened to innocent untill proven guilty???
  • Parsnip49
    Parsnip49 Posts: 205
    jerry3571 wrote:
    I'm sure the swim suits have been around for a few years because I used to like the lady swimmers in their High Cut Cossies but alas :cry: I guess if the deepening of the Pool and the Lane Dividers help then maybe fair enough but as I said above, that this has happened in Cycling over 15 years ago and other reasons were touted. I get suspicious when nearly every race is a World Record.
    :?

    The suits are brand new not available to the public yet jobbies. The difference between a swimming costume and what they are wearing now is huge.

    compare it to someone on a cervelo p3c running a sub9/1080 wheelset to a similar rider on a standard road bike doing a TT - the cervelo rider would smash the guy on the road bike, would you scream EPO or would you say that the bike made the difference?
  • Parsnip49 wrote:
    Advances in training have also helped? As people who have an interest in cycling, I think we all know what that might mean :wink:

    If your implying doping, go take a long walk off a short pier.

    Anyone who knows anything about swimming knows that the suits and the pool have made a huge difference in the speed of the swimmers.

    Why people cant actually consider the reasons instead of saying "OMG, HE WUN!!! DOPEZ!!!" i dont know. Did you maybe notice that former world records are being beat by loads of swimmers for each race, not just the winners - are you implying that everyone is doping??

    People in the peanut gallery who point the finger about doping need to STFU - what hapened to innocent untill proven guilty???

    Swam for my Primary and Secondary School Teams and my Borough (albeit a long time ago now) and I recognise how much the actual strokes have changed from what I was taught. They are obviously more efficient and obviously faster.

    Did you not notice the winky face and the might being in italics?

    People in the cheapest seats with no sense of humour need to STFU.
  • Parsnip49
    Parsnip49 Posts: 205
    I have a perfectly fine sense of humour, unfortunatley it doesnt extend to finding accusing athletes of doping funny.

    I get enough of it in the media and from eejits who are convinced that all cyclists are dopers without having to read it on a cycling forum thanks.
  • Parsnip49 wrote:
    If your implying doping, go take a long walk off a short pier.

    Anyone who knows anything about swimming knows that the suits and the pool have made a huge difference in the speed of the swimmers.

    Why people cant actually consider the reasons instead of saying "OMG, HE WUN!!! DOPEZ!!!" i dont know. Did you maybe notice that former world records are being beat by loads of swimmers for each race, not just the winners - are you implying that everyone is doping??

    People in the peanut gallery who point the finger about doping need to STFU - what hapened to innocent untill proven guilty???

    The suits have certainly helped,but I can't see them making it down to the local lido, cost a fortune and take 15 minutes to put on (One of my daughter's school-mates, who is a Junior European medalist, told me this)
    As to the doping issue, well, it's a sorry fact, but in this day & age, especially as far as us jaded cycling fans go, they're all guilty until proved innocent.
    The same applies to athletics, the Beeb have Michael Johnson on their commentary squad, he says the same, all the winners are under suspicion in the post-Ben Johnson days.
    Remember that you are an Englishman and thus have won first prize in the lottery of life.
  • fast as fupp
    fast as fupp Posts: 2,277
    spot the difference?

    TDF- ricardo ricco looks around and burns off everyone on mountain stage- doesnt break sweat or even appear to be breathing heavily

    100m final- usain bolt sprints off and spends the final 20m admiring himself on the jumbotron and waving to the crowd-breaks world record while other 7 competitors are left blowing for tugs

    as the yanks say 'do the math'
    'dont forget lads, one evertonian is worth twenty kopites'
  • +1plus no effective dope testing agency in jamaica so not out of competition testing huge 1second plus improvements by jamaican sprinters in last 28 months by evry sprinter apart from bolt seems he was always fast from junior up smacks of systematic doping to me