Month: July 2008

Grant Hackett bettered his own 800 free short course world record yesterday, from 7:25.28 to 7:23.42, at the Victorian Championships in Victoria, Australia. Source: SwimInfo.

On July 5th, Margaret Hoelzer set a new 200 meter backstroke world record with the time of 2:06.09, beating Kirsty Coventry’s world standard of 2:06.39 from February.

Source: SwimInfo

On July 4th, Aaron Piersol tied Ryan Lochte’s 200 backstroke world record, and Phelps set a new 200 IM world record in the time of 1:54.80. Lochte swam 1:54.34 in the 200 backstroke, and 1:55.22 in the 200 IM (third fastest time in history).

Source: SwimInfo here and here

The agency is studying Viagra’s effects in athletes, but hasn’t yet banned it. Viagra is not on the International Olympic Committee’s list of prohibited drugs, so athletes can take it at the Beijing Olympics.

Read cbsnews.com

First Hayley McGregory bettered the 100 Backstroke of Natalie Coughlin with a 59.15 (Coughlin’s WR was 59.21), and then Coughlin took it back in the next heat with a 59.03.

Couchlin’s own comments after the swim

Katie Hoff beat Australia’s Stephanie Rice’s time of 4:31.46 with the new world record 4:31.12. And Phelps bettered his own world record to 4:05.25, in a race where Ryan Lochte with 4:06.08 also went under the former world record of 4:06.22. Read here and here at SwimInfo.

Here is Phelps’ world record