BARCELONA, July 26. JUST when Michael Phelps had been declared officially superhuman and all but unbeatable, along comes Ian Crocker to do the impossible.
Yesterday, Phelps laid waste to Michael Klim's four year-old world record of 51.81 in the 100m fly (which had just been lowered to 51.76 by Ukraine's Andrei Serdinov in the previous semifinal heat) with an astonishing 51.47. It was the first of two world records on the day for Phelps — a feat never before accomplished by a male swimmer.
The only questions in the minds of the capacity crowd at the Palau Sant Jordi tonight were could Phelps take that record down still further and, if so, by how much?
The answers were: Yes. And: By a lot.
But it wasn't enough.
Ian Crocker, a native of Maine and University of Texas senior-to-be and former American record-holder who had been eclipsed by Phelps since the teen's meteoric rise to the top in the last two years, reached deep inside himself for what may be the most incredible of all the world records set here this past week.
Crocker exploded at the start, immediately grabbed the lead and never let go. Splitting a mind-boggling 23.99 at the 50, he led Phelps, in seventh place, by 62-hundredths of a second.
Then came the turn, and Phelps began mowing down opponents. One by one, they fell to his withering onslaught. Everyone of them…except Crocker.
The Texan burst through the 51-second barrier — an unthinkable achievement just two days ago — as he touched in 50.98 seconds. Phelps followed in 51.10, well under his old mark.
(Crocker's time is faster than Mark Spitz's winning time of 51.22 in the 100 free at the 1972 Munich Olympics!)
Serdinov clocked 51.59 to take bronze, becoming the third fastest man in history. A record five swimmers in all swam under 52 seconds.