Phelps accepts defeat but urges action on swimsuits

From James Toney, Sportsbeat, in Rome

MICHAEL Phelps refused to blame new swimsuit technology for a rare defeat at the World Swimming Championships in Rome.

BEATEN BUT UPBEAT: Michael Phelps is looking ahead to Wednesday's 200m butterfly final

The 14-time Olympic champion was edged out by Paul Biedermann in the final of the 200m freestyle - and the German also rewrote the world record Phelps set in the Water Cube last summer.

And while gracious in defeat, he added his voice to the simmering row over swimsuit rules - with 14 world records falling in the first three days of the championships.

"Paul is a very strong swimmer and has had an excellent year," he said.

"I did all I could to beat him, including the strong underwater kicking that usually works well, but he was just faster than me.

"I have not been beaten by the swimsuit but by a great athlete.

"However, a solution needs to be found to the issue of swimsuits as this is not swimming anymore.

"Technology has to go forward but I am looking forward to the time when we can go back to pure swimming."

Whether it was a coincidence but just as Phelps's race finished, Speedo, his high-profile backers, released a statement supporting the decision of world governing body Fina to ban suits made from all-polyurethane, a substance which makes them more buoyant.

"From next year, swimsuit material can only be textile fabric," said Fina executive director Cornel Marculescu.

"For men the costume shall not extend above the naval or below the knee.

"For women it shall not extend above the neck, beyond the shoulders or below the knee."

Meanwhile, Phelps vowed to bounce back from his defeat - and later advanced to the 200m butterfly final as the second quickest qualifier, behind Japan's Takeshi Matsuda.

"I came to this meeting not knowing what to expect," he added.

"I had never taken six months off before. It is clear that I am not in my best shape and I know that I have to physically train and g et back to my best performance level with a view to the London 2012 Olympics.

"I will start working as soon as I can and I am confident that I will be in my best shape for the next major competitions, particularly for London."

Bob Bowman, who has guided Phelps career, hinted he would pull the swimmer from all competitions, until the issue over swimsuits has been resolved - with Fina setting a deadline of April next year to implement their rule change.

"We've lost all the history of the sport," he fumed.

"The sport is in shambles right now and they better do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these suits.

"It took Michael from 2003 to 2008 to go from 1:46 to 1:42.9 and this guy's done it in 11 months. That's an amazing training program. I would love to know how that works."