Men's 200 Meter Butterfly

The only way Michael Phelps does not win gold in this event is if something catastrophic happens. They did some underwater filming in high-def-slo-mo of Phelps for a special they will be showing during the Olympic games on NBC. Definitely worth watching if you want to see the most beautiful butterfly stroke ever seen, Rowdy Gaines will no doubt provide some nice analysis to help you see everything you should be seeing. Phelps has the 10 fastest times in history in this event, not just the WR which is 1:52.09.


Phelps keeps his chin & arms low on the water when taking a breath

When we talk about Phelps's stroke (we'll get to the competition later) there are several key things to notice. First, since the picture above illustrates it so well, he's very efficient when breathing. Most butterfliers follow a breathing pattern something like one up one down, two up one down, one up two down, etc. Phelps will breath every stroke because his stroke is so efficient that he is not presenting his chest to the oncoming water. He's extremely symmetrical with his stroke which further reduces inefficencies. Finally, and this isn't so much limited to the butterfuly but will be showcased in this event, he holds a tight streamline off the walls while dolphin kicking. You're much faster underwater than normal swimming, but you go into oxygen debt. There is actually a rule that in every stroke swimmers must surface 15 meters off the wall. I like to call it the Berkoff Rule after a backstroker that mastered this technique back when you could go as far as you wanted.

Okay, so the battle for second is going to be a showdown between Wu Peng of China, and three strong Europeans: Ioannis Drymonakos, Pawel Korzeniowski and Nikolay Skvortsov who placed in that order at the European Championships this year. Even though the 3 Europeans have a faster time than Wu Peng this year, you always get a boost being in your home nation. Wu Peng knows how to perform in big meets and took silver in Melbourne.

Medal Predictions:

Video:

Phelps SHATTERS his own WR at Worlds in Melbourne

Phelps owns the gold in Athens

Phelps takes 5th in his first Olympics in Sydney at age 15

 

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