Swimming Championships

Michael Phelps has always been a little obsessed with numbers, to the point where they sometimes pop up in his dreams. But over the last four years, no number has rattled around inside his head more than 50.40. It represented the world record time in the 100-meter butterfly. It belonged, though, to American Ian Crocker, who set that mark in 2005 in a race in which he beat Phelps by more than a full second.

Swimmers set 11 world records in the first two days of the world championships, proof that the supposed stewards of the sport have turned the sublime into the ridiculous. Records that stood for years now change hands within hours, and more will fall in the last six days of competition at Rome's Foro Italico pool. "This is just ridiculous," five-time Olympian Dara Torres told reporters in Rome.

For several days leading up to the U.S. nationals, Katie Hoff swore she felt better. Sure, a respiratory illness earlier this month had wiped her out, forcing her to nearly drop out of a meet in Santa Clara, and she was coughing nonstop. But with rest, she said she felt like herself again. She was ready to prove she was still one of the world's elite swimmers. Midway through the women's 400-meter freestyle Tuesday night, it was clear that something wasn't right.

He tinkered with his stroke and exhausted his muscles in the weight room. He grew a mustache. He won some races and lost a few. He just missed out on grabbing the world record he wants but doesn't own. All that, however interesting or mundane, was merely part of a three-month dress rehearsal for swimmer Michael Phelps. The real opening act -- the one likely to provide the first snippet of drama to his return to competitive swimming -- begins today at the national championships in Indianapolis.

When you think about it, Michael Phelps isn't just the greatest swimmer in the world because he's incredibly fast. It's also because, no matter what's going on in his life, no matter what transition he's undertaking or controversy he's facing, he's never slow. There are times when he's faster than others, certainly. But one part of his athletic genius that is so easy to overlook is his consistency. He's occasionally amazing, often good and never awful.