The Week That Was: Fast Times, Controversy Rule The Headlines

Some of the best swimmers in the United States came to central Arizona for the Arena Pro Swim Series last week, which marked Michael Phelps’ return to competition. His appearance at the meet was just one of many headlines from around the world that had many in the swimming community abuzz, and this edition of The Week That Was counts down the top five headlines from the past few days.

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The Week That Was #5: Mark Spitz alleges that Michael Phelps did not win 100 fly in Beijing

On Sunday morning in the Western Hemisphere, an article in the British newspaper Express Sports quoted Mark Spitz as saying that he received an email from Omega that Phelps did not win the famous 100 butterfly final in Beijing that garnered him his seventh gold medal of that meet. The controversy surrounding that finish has been scrutinized from every angle since the race, but the results remained official. Spitz, who won seven golds at the 1972 Olympics, also said “I don’t believe he won the race but he’s still the greatest swimmer in the world, with or without that medal.” That means that, even without the alleged email from Omega, Spitz has his own doubts about the outcome of the race. Swimming World has reached out to Spitz’s representatives to clarify the comment, but have not received a reply. Spitz’s comments were taken from an interview done in Shanghai, China, at the Laureus Awards, which Spitz hosted. Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, essentially supplied “no comment” replies to the matter.

The Week That Was #4: Bob Bowman approached about head swim coach job at Arizona State University

Many names have been thrown around regarding the now-vacant head coaching job at Arizona State University, but one name that was rarely mentioned was Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps’ longtime coach. But an article in the Arizona Republic says Bowman did visit ASU on Friday to discuss the possibility of him taking the position recently held by Dorsey Tierney-Walker for seven seasons. Bowman did coach at the University of Michigan for four years, from 2004 to 2008, but is now running the show at North Baltimore Aquatic Club with a strong group of postgraduate athletes. The article also claimed that Jeremy Kipp, an assistant coach at the University of Southern California, is also a candidate. It’s likely that a coach will be hired soon to get next season’s program planned and to begin recruiting on the July 1 start date.

The Week That Was #3: Western Kentucky suspends swimming and diving teams for five years

Late last Monday, the athletic department at Western Kentucky University announced that the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were suspended for five years after allegations of sexual misconduct, hazing and other violations surfaced. The charges were brought by a former student-athlete and were followed up by Bowling Green police and university officials. Though details of the specifics regarding the violations are not completely clear, it is believed that underage drinking and some sexual assault had taken place among team members, with the coaching staff aware of it and turning a blind eye. Head swimming coach Bruce Marchionda will be released form his duties as coach effective June 30, as well as the diving head coach, Chelsea Ale, and associate head coach, Brian Thomas. Claire Donahue, an Olympian who represented WKU collegiately, said in an emotional interview that she will keep Marchionda as coach and relocate from her longtime training base and the “family” she has trained with for many years.

The Week That Was #2: Adam Peaty breaks 58 seconds to set 100 breast world record

Before Adam Peaty stepped up for the 100 breast final Friday at the British nationals in London, the meet was already being discussed heavily, as many of the country’s top athletes were having trouble qualifying for the world championship team. British Swimming had set qualifying times that were as fast or faster than national records, with some times equal to what it might take to win a medal at this summer’s national championships. While several were able to beat those times to automatically qualify, none did it better than Adam Peaty, who swam a 57.92 in the 100 breast. That broke Cameron Van Der Burgh’s world record of 58.46 that was set in the same pool at the 2012 Olympics. Peaty split 27.04 for 50 meters, which was just three hundredths of a second under world record pace. It was the blistering 30.88 that sealed the deal for Peaty as he pulled away from Ross Murdoch in the final 25 meters to earn a standing ovation. Peaty will obviously the top star of the British team going to worlds, but there will be many others with top medal chances. Jazz Carlin, Hannah Miley, Fran Halsall and Chris Walker-Hebborn could take home individual medal for Great Britain, which is experiencing a resurgence after what was hailed as a disappointing home Olympics in 2012.

The Week That Was #1: Michael Phelps wins two in return to competition at Arena Pro Swim Series

Fans flocked to Mesa, Ariz., for the latest stop of the Arena Pro Swim Series, where Michael Phelps made his return to competition after a six-month ban due to his DUI arrest last September. Phelps had been able to train consistently during those six months, which also included some time in rehab. Phelps appeared to be a different person than usual in his time in Arizona, speaking more personally during press interviews and spending more time with fans than normal. He also swam fast, winning the 100 fly and 100 free though the times were not as fast as he posted last year when he returned to racing after a 20-month hiatus. It’s part of a new type of training plan he and coach Bob Bowman have set up for Phelps and the rest of his teammates at North Baltimore, which entails improving on racing times throughout the season instead of posting the same times at each meet. Phelps will be aiming for the USA Swimming nationals in August, since he withdrew from the world championship team. FINA President Cornel Marculescu said he could get Phelps into the meet if the Greatest Olympian Of All Time wanted to swim. Phelps said he was not interested in displacing someone on the team to accept FINA’s offer. Many athletes who will be swimming at worlds put up strong swims, including ace distance swimmer Katie Ledecky. Ledecky was under world record pace for more than half of the 800 freestyle Saturday, and challenged her record pace for part of the 400 free as well. Ryan Lochte won the 200 IM, while Katinka Hosszu won both IM races on her way to defending those world titles.