Michael Phelps Qualifies third in first swim race since Olympics

Michael Phelps has returned to the pool for the first time since Beijing.

Phelps, finished 3rd in the 200 free in qualifying heats of the 200 Free at the Charlotte Ultra Swim. He was narrowly beaten out by Davis Tarwater and Peter Vanderkaay. Phelps finished his first race in 1:50.46. This is over 7 seconds slower than his world record of 1:42.96.

For the non swim dorks out there, the best swimmers in the world tend to loaf the preliminary races of less competitive meets, saving up for the finals. Phelps will be judged by his night swims, not the morning effort. Much talk has been made as to the new technology in swim suits. Since Phelps won 8 gold medals in the Olympics, the swim suits have become even faster, with more world records falling. If Phelps is at his best, with the new generation of suits, he should be able to flirt with world records. If he is fat and out of shape, he won’t be within a few seconds of his best times.

Michael Phelps is coming off a 3 month suspension for getting caught smoking dope. Since then, Kellogg’s has dropped him as a sponsor.

Phelps has had a very fun off season. Besides smoking dope, Phelps has appeared on SNL. It is also rumored that he has been involved in threesomes with strippers. Here is a picture of the stripper Phelps may have had a threesome with:

Phelps has changed his freestyle stroke. While video is not yet available for today’s race, InGameNow did find this clip of Michael Phelp’s new freestyle. Notice the windmill stroke (like old school swimmer Janet Evans).

Here is Phelps swimming in the Olympics. Notice the difference in stroke:

Results of the Charlotte UltraSwim
Event 4 Men 200 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
World: W 1:42.96 8/12/2008 Michael Phelps, USA
American: A 1:42.96 8/12/2008 Michael Phelps, USA
U.S. Open: O 1:44.10 7/1/2008 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
CMC Meet: M 1:48.88 6/9/2006 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
1:52.89 WCT
1:53.39 OPEN
1:55.89 JRS
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===

1 Davis Tarwater 25 Tennessee Aqua-S 1:49.35 1:50.21 qWCT
25.58 54.29 (28.71)
1:22.30 (28.01) 1:50.21 (27.91)
2 Peter Vanderkaa 25 Club Wolverine-M 1:45.14 1:50.26 qWCT
25.74 53.99 (28.25)
1:22.04 (28.05) 1:50.26 (28.22)
3 Michael Phelps 23 North Baltimore- 1:42.96 1:50.46 qWCT
25.99 54.52 (28.53)
1:22.57 (28.05) 1:50.46 (27.89)
4 Charlie Houchin 21 Club Wolverine-M 1:50.38 1:50.98 qWCT
25.94 54.40 (28.46)
1:22.54 (28.14) 1:50.98 (28.44)
5 Dan Madwed 20 Club Wolverine-M 1:48.83 1:51.03 qWCT
26.32 54.65 (28.33)
1:22.84 (28.19) 1:51.03 (28.19)
6 Aaron Peirsol 25 Longhorn Aquatic 1:50.20 1:51.11 qWCT
26.44 54.88 (28.44)
1:23.31 (28.43) 1:51.11 (27.80)
7 Tyler Clary 20 Club Wolverine-M 1:49.59 1:51.36 qWCT
26.25 54.76 (28.51)
1:22.68 (27.92) 1:51.36 (28.68)
8 Matt Patton 22 Club Wolverine-M 1:49.76 1:51.40 qWCT
26.41 55.09 (28.68)
1:23.72 (28.63) 1:51.40 (27.68)