The Catalyst

By Kenyon Hayward, Reporter

In Charlotte, NC, Micheal Phelps was beat in the 100 meter freestyle final. This is now his second loss in a row. At the UltraSwim, Fredrick Bousquet from France was the lucky winner. Bousquet won at 48.22 seconds and then there was Phelps as the runner- up at 49.04 seconds. As far as beating him, Fredrick said, “When you race that guy, you can’t count on your back-end speed to beat him, I had to used my strength, speed and go out as fast as I could.”

In the second 50, Phelps and Bousquet went at the same speed. But Fredrick said he’s happy with it and that it’s good for him, (considering that Phelps is the Beijing Olympic hero.) Phelps had been on a winning streak for a whole year until Aaron Peirsol held the victory for the 100 back on Saturday, May 16th. He’s also a world record holder and an Olympic champion.

Phelps was disappointed with his turn and his finish. “I usually don’t mess up on little things like that. I have to go back and focus. It’s a lot of small things I need to fix. There are some things I’m still perfecting. Before long I’ll be able to do it for a whole 100.” Phelps said after his loss to Bousquet. He also added that he’s glad to have his first meet behind him.

Phelps will be swimming again at Santa Clara in June. Hopefully he’s mentally in the meet and ready to perfect his turns and finish!