Ryland James

Losses Just Olympic Motivation, Phelps Says

Berlin. Beijing Olympic star Michael Phelps insisted on Sunday he would use his poor form at Berlin’s world record-laden short-course World Cup as future motivation with an eye on the 2012 London Olympics.

Phelps won a record eight gold medals in Beijing, but could only manage a second in the 200-meter individual medley and a fifth in the 200-meter butterfly this weekend while failing to reach the final of the 200-meter freestyle.

While his rivals wore high-tech swimsuits, the 24-year-old American wears traditional trunks and says he will use the poor performances by his lofty standards to come back stronger.

“I prefer not to lose, but I knew coming in that it would be very, very hard to win anything,” Phelps said.

“I raced as hard as a I could, I’ve gotten some racing under my belt and that’s [what] we set out to do. Maybe it’s better for me that I lost today, it gives me better motivation for the future.

“I am pleased with the week as much as I can be, with how much training I’ve done, which is little. And it shows.”

Phelps’s much anticipated showdown with Germany’s Paul Biedermann failed to materialize after the American was only the 12th fastest from the 200 freestyle heats while Biedermann swam a new world record in the final.

The German inflicted the first defeat in four years on Phelps in the 200 freestyle final at Rome’s World Championships in July and then set a new record of 1 minute, 39.37 seconds in Sunday’s 200-meter freestyle final.

Sixteen world records were set over the weekend, mostly by athletes wearing the high-tech swimsuits that will be banned from Jan. 1. While Phelps flopped, fellow Beijing success story Leisel Jones ended the weekend with two new world records after adding 200-meter breaststroke success on Sunday to her 100-meter breaststroke win.

The 24-year-old Australian, who won two golds and a silver in Beijing, clinched the 200-meter breastroke here on Sunday in a time of 2:15.42, taking more than a second off the previous record.

Jones’ success came a day after she broke her own world record in the 100-meter breaststroke. She clocked 1:03.00 to lower her own mark of 1:03.72, which she set six months ago in Canberra.

“It’s been a good weekend. I am just enjoying being fit and I am enjoying racing,” Jones said.

Having competed at the Sydney Olympics of 2000 at age 14, Jones also swam at Athens in 2004 and Beijing, but her long-term target is the London Olympics.

“No Australian has done four Olympics, but I have been pretty lucky as I started when I was 14,” said Jones, who won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and 4x100-meter medley relay at Beijing, plus a silver in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Swimming

Agence France-Presse

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