The 2003 FINA World Aquatics Championships was a supremely exciting event for swimming fans. Not only did it gave us a preview of what was to come at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but the individual performances at those championships proved swimming was still a long way from reaching its potential.
An 18-year-old Michael Phelps set 5 individual World Records, two of which came during semifinals. Neither semifinal mark would last more than 24 hours, however, as Phelps would only continue to improve in the finals, though he wasn’t the only one who got faster heat-by-heat.
The prelims of the men’s 100 meter butterfly at the 2003 FINA World Championships took place on the morning of July 25th. Americans Phelps and Ian Crocker emerged from the prelims as the top-2 seeds going into the semifinals, establishing times of 52.27 and 52.35, respectively. The World Record stood at 51.81, set by Australian Michael Klim in 1999 while the Course Record stood at 52.10 and was owned by the Olympic gold medalist from 2000, Sweden’s Lars Frolander, set in Fukuoka in 2001.
While prelims results were nothing special, even compared to the World and Course Records at the time, the semifinals were electric.
Swimming in heat 1, lane 6 of the first semifinal, Ukraine’s Andrii Serdinov blasted a 51.76 to erase Klim’s 4-year-old World Record. A name perhaps a little forgotten by history because of what happened next, Serdinov is not a name often spoken about the way that Crocker, Phelps, and Cavic are in the late-2000s butterfly discussions.
The next-closest competitor in the heat, USA’s Crocker, was fully 45/100ths behind Serdinov, touching in 52.21 to equal his lifetime best from the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships.
As Serdinov made his way towards the media heat 2 stepped onto the blocks. Not only was Serdinov the fastest-ever in the 100 fly, but he was also one of only five men to ever break the 52-second barrier, joining Aussies Klim and Geoff Huegill, (51.98, 2000) German Thomas Rupprath (51.88, 2002), and American Phelps (51.84, April 2003), who was awaiting the starter’s horn for the second semifinal.
Phelps had been 51.8 three times in the past two years, each time missing Klim’s World Record by mere hundredths.
As Serdinov celebrated Phelps charged down the pool, his back-end speed propelling him ahead of the minutes-old record Serdinov set in the first semifinal. Phelps touched in 51.47, taking 29/100ths off Serdinov’s mark and 34/100ths off Klim’s time from 1999.
Serdinov would have to try again.
The lane assignments and entry times for the final of the Men’s 100 Butterfly, which took place on July 26th, 2003, were set as follows:
- Evgeny Korotshkin, Russia, 52.55
- Igor Marchenko, Russia, 52.44
- Ian Crocker, USA, 52.21
- Michael Phelps, USA, 51.47
- Andrii Serdinov, Ukraine, 51.76
- Thomas Rupprath, Germany, 52.37
- Franck Esposito, France, 52.49
- Takashi Yamamoto, Japan, 52.55
Crocker blasted out to an early lead, and by 50 meters was fully 1.12 seconds under World Record pace, turning in 23.99. Rupprath and Serdinov trailed splitting 24.31 and 24.39, respectively. Serdinov utilized a relatively high-arm recovery and every-other breathing pattern throughout the race, a stark contrast to Phelps one lane above who appears to breathe on all but three strokes (not counting the two breakout strokes). Rupprath, meanwhile, also demonstrates a high-arm recovery but maintains a two-down-one-up breathing pattern.
With less than 25 meters remaining five men were ahead of or finger-tipping the World Record line. Ultimately, the mark Phelps had set in the semifinals would out-run all competitors except himself and Crocker, though it was Crocker who touched first and took the World Record into uncharted territory with a 50.98, shaving half-a-second from Phelps’ one-day-old record. Phelps nonetheless shaved another 37/100ths from his previous mark to finish 2nd in 51.10, leaving bronze to Serdinov who also went a lifetime best, touching in 51.59.
The 2003 World Championships were a breakthrough for Crocker, who dropped an immense 1.23 seconds from his best time in Barcelona.
Phelps and Crocker would wrestle for the title of world’s greatest in the 100 butterfly for the next five years. Though Phelps usually got the better of Crocker when gold medals were on the line, it wasn’t until 2009 that Phelps once again boasted a faster best-time than Crocker. While Phelps managed a “magic touch” to win gold in the 100 fly at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Crocker won the 2005 World Championships in a blazing 50.40 which remained the “textile World Record” until 2016 when Singapore’s Joseph Schooling managed a 50.39 to win Olympic gold.
Finals, Men’s 100 Butterfly, 2003 World Championships:
(Crocker lane 3, Phelps lane 4, Serdinov lane 5; Phelps does not appear to be a medal-contender until around 75 meters when he makes his classic charge near the end of the race.)
Phelps’ dominion of the individual medleys was also secured during these championships. Phelps set a new World Record in the semifinals of the 200 IM and then lowered the mark again by 1.5 seconds in the finals to capture the title by nearly 4 seconds. Australian Ian Thorpe took second in the 200 IM in 2003, swimming a 1:59.66 to Phelps’ 1:56.04. Phelps also won the 400 IM in 4:09.09 and the 200 fly in 1:54.35. Interestingly, Phelps never stood on top of the podium to receive a relay medal in 2003. Though Phelps got Team USA out to an early lead in the 800 freestyle relay, the team was overtaken by Australia and settled for silver. Phelps did earn a gold from the 400 medley relay, though he swam the butterfly leg in prelims, ceding the finals to Crocker, as he would in 2004, though in 2003 the action was not voluntary.
With all the textile suit talk, nobody talks about the addition of the backstop to the starting block. I never used em so I have no idea what they do, but I have to imagine they provide some benefits.
I wonder what an analysis on the 400 im would look like
Crazy that those times would still be elite now, contending for medals. Only Dressel has really advanced the event From where it was in the early 2000s in 15 years
Loving the historical look backs
A bit off topic, but when we’re talking about textile world records and all, it’s not like all textile suits are the same within the last 15 years, not even close. The Mizuno that Schooling wore is leagues above the FS2 in compression, buoyancy. It has taping as well which acts like a spring for your legs.
Not to take anything away from Schooling’s swim in the least, I just thought I’d point this out since the term, “textile world record” that we all use at some point is pretty vague. Suits today are not even close to the 2009 level, but they’re probably not too far off from the 2008 LZR Racer.
This is a fascinating point, and we often overlook it. I’d love a more detailed analysis of today’s suits compared to the supersuit and pre-supersuit era.
Sometime next summer or so, I plan to make a video reviewing LZR Racer leggings and compare it to the LZR Pure Intent and Mizuno suits today. I’ll probably attempt to do a time trial with the LZR Racer to see how fast I go then race in the Mizuno/Pure Intent. I can’t be sure since I’ve never worn the suit yet, but the LZR Racer, being only 50 percent polyurethane, no dual layering and no taping, might even only be an equal to today’s suits, or if superior, not by much.
Do you have a youtube channel?
Pure intent is trashhh
That would account for the drag impact, but maybe not the buoyancy impact.
Yeah but remember even before 2008 leg skins and full body suits were a thing. Better suits now but just jammers. Watching thorpes old swims in the full body suit with arms is crazy. Was the only one who really wore those? I wasn’t old enough to remember
Crocker did his 50.40 in just a leg skin. Thorpe did use a full body suit, but going 3:41.8 in a brief at 16? I don’t think he needed it to go 3:40.0 lol
Pretty much, Hackett did very briefly towards the end of his career.
As someone who’s swum in them all I’d go:
1) Arena/Jaked 2009 suit
2) LZR full body
3) LZR legging
4) Modern suit (Mizuno, Arena Carbon)
5) LZR jammer
Hard to compare because they were very different to modern suits. They were just super water repellent and floaty, but didn’t have the compression or snap of a modern taped suit.
Phelps’ 400 IM WR I think is comparable to textile times now.
Showing my age here – what is a taped suit?
@xman Taping on suits basically is on the inside of the tech suit, so when you stretch out the suit, it wants to revert back to its original form. Kicking with taping is just insane, your legs don’t die at the end of a race as much. Suits that revolutionized this are the Mizuno Gx Sonic III ST and MR. The LZR Pure Intent, Tyr Venzo, and Arena Carbon suits now have this type of taping.
Wow! Might shell out the money for this as a motivation to do LC 200 IMand 200 free at Masters this summer (hopefully).
That’s kind of why I think Phelp’s 07 world champs performance is all the more incredible. He wore an FS2 jammer for the 400im, which took place at the end of the competition and destroyed the world record. In the same meet he went a 1:52.09 in the 200 fly, at the time no one had even been under 1:54.
’07 MP was probably the best version ever. He broke his wrist 6 months before trials 2008
it’s also kind of moot b/c of Dressel’s 49.5 textile
It’s not a simple comparison to make because of how they feel. I think had Phelps worn a Mizuno the day he went 49, Cavic would have beat him. But I also think if Dressel was given a LZR bodysuit the day he went 49.50 he’d have been slower (not sure by how much)….
The reason I say that is because we aren’t used to how racing in a bodysuit feels anymore, a bodysuit makes you faster, but does come with some unwanted effects, even breathing is a chore once it’s zipped up and if your not used to it it’ll throw you off. Had Dressel raced in a LZR bodysuit for a year prior to worlds 2019 then… Read more »
Last swim I saw while at an airport bar before boarding place to take me to boot camp. First day of boot camp did not go well…..
Crocker one of the few to out touch the GOAT in that 100m fly.
Mental that Crocker improved over a second in these Championships.
MP lowered the 100 fly WR by 2 seconds through his career, which is crazy when you think about it. What’s crazier is that the rest of the world went right with him, through Crocker and Cavic. Those guys laid waste to the times on 100 fly.
In contrast, no one’s really oing with Dressel.
He also lowered the world record in the 200m butterfly by more than 3 seconds (first breaking that record at 15 years old). In the 15 years between his birth and breaking that world record for the first time, it only dropped a second and a half.
Although there was serious stagnation in the event during those 15 years before he first broke it. Malchow was pumping out 1:55s like clockwork for a decade
@GoldMedalMel