Michael Phelps is still excluded from the US team competing in the World Championships because of a DUI arrest, but he casts dire observations as he watched his teammates struggle without him.
"Honestly, I really don't know what to say about what I've seen over there,"Phelps mentioned to NBC. "An interesting place for USA Swimming to be in, because we've never been in it. We've never been in a spot where we're trying to get back to the top."
The context for his comments was about the US men's 4x100 relay in the World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
It was obvious that the USA needed Phelps. In the recently concluded FINA World Championships, the USA still had the most medals but it was the worst finish since 2009. One of the shockers was on the men's 4x200m relay where Phelps was definitely missed, as recounted by CNN.
"Phelps' absence from the U.S. team in Kazan was keenly felt in events such as the 4x200m freestyle relay, where its previously invincible team was surprisingly beaten to silver by Britain, anchored by individual 200m freestyle champion James Guy."
It would be a stretch to judge a country's performance based on one relay event or even one meet but the expectations for the Americans are simply too high. They won 23 medals but were only one gold medal ahead of the Australians (8-7).
However, do not expect the US to be toppled anytime soon. Michael Phelps is slated to return to competition in the Rio Olympics, and he sent a message in the US Championships in San Antonio. CNN reported that "the 22-time Olympic medalist won the 100m butterfly in 50.45 seconds, almost a second faster than the time he set to win gold in the event at the 2012 Games in London."
It was also faster than the 50.56 second recorded time by World Championship gold medalist Chad le Cos of South Africa.