Ian Thorpe complained, not without justification,
of jet lag.
Michael Phelps did some flying too.
Swimming’s two biggest stars crossed paths Wednesday at the Qantas
Skins, a made-for-TV meet consisting of doctored events. The titans had
been hastily matched the previous day on the anchor leg of what was
supposed to be a climactic relay, but Phelps was glad that Thorpe scratched
with fatigue, as the 18-year-old from Rodgers Forge also was running on
empty by then.
“By the time I got to that relay, if Ian would have been in there, I
would have been smoked even worse,” Phelps said.
Phelps might have wobbled at the end, but he nonetheless reiterated
the point made at his previous international meet, the world championships
in Barcelona, where he set an unprecedented five world records.
He picked up where he left off last summer, with a pair of wins that netted him
$11,000 of the $125,000 Australian prize money and a pair of stuffed
kangaroos.
Thorpe, the 21-year-old local and national hero, arrived here earlier
in the day after three weeks of training in the altitude of Flagstaff,
Ariz.
Phelps also headed to bed wiped out, after winning the men’s 50-meter
butterfly sprint, which consisted of three elimination races, and a
grueling middle-distance freestyle, which used a point system through four
races that added up to 400 meters, a distance where Phelps is the American
record-holder.
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A crowd of 6,113 gathered at the Sydney Aquatic Center for the
seventh annual Qantas Skins, a record for the meet and the largest swim
gathering here since the 2000 Olympics. That’s when Phelps made his
international debut as a 15-year-old and finished fifth in the 200-meter
butterfly.
Ten Americans were invited to compete, four of them being North
Baltimore Aquatic Club teammates of Phelps, and he was the only one to
collect a victory, let alone two.
Phelps won four of a possible five “Skins,” as Grant Hackett held him
off in the opening leg of the middle-distance freestyle, by five-hundredths
of a second. Seeking to avenge the opening leg of the 800 relay in
Barcelona, when he was beaten by Phelps’ American record effort, Hackett
won the starting 200 last night in 1 minute, 49.28 seconds — but it came
with a price.
The reigning Olympic 1,500 champ wilted in the final three races of
the middle-distance freestyle. Suffering from dehydration and a stomach
bug, Hackett required an oxygen mask and medical attention. He is iffy for
the FINA World Cup in Melbourne this weekend, where Phelps will enter six
events, starting with the 200 butterfly and 100 individual medley tomorrow.
Phelps followed that minor setback to Hackett by winning the last
three legs of the middle-distance freestyle. He covered the 100 in 52.98,
then a pair of 50s in 24.64 and 24.35. Thorpe entered only the 50 freestyle
sprint, and in the last of his three elimination races, won in 24.20.
“Michael’s pretty good at this game,” coach Bob Bowman said. “I said
something to him about not using the dolphin kick in the 100, and he said
he was saving it for the 50s.”
The fastest all-around swimmer in history, Phelps’ stamina and range
received a lesser test in the 50 butterfly sprint. He received a minor
scare in that five-man event, where he was third in the first round, where
the two slowest were eliminated. The suspense was short-lived, as Phelps
won the final two elimination rounds by .51 and 1.31 seconds over
Australian Adam Pine.
That was Phelps’ initial win in Australia. After his second, he got
all of eight minutes rest before the mixed medley relay, where he was
handed a fourth place and stayed right there.
“Hands down, that was the worst relay start I have had in the history
of my career,” Phelps said. “I was zonked at the start, my arms went one
way and my body another.
“I tested my limit tonight,” he said. “I know where it is,
but that was fun, a learning experience.”