Editorial: A Fool’s Gold

By Brent Rutemiller- CEO for Sports Publications International

Phoenix, Ariz., August 16. I sat in my living room, just like millions of other TV viewers around the world, watching Kosuke Kitajima racing Brendan Hansen for the Olympic gold medal in the 100 breaststroke on Sunday. Brendan kept his world record. Kosuke got his gold medal, but …

What happened next was something unbelievable to me… I stood up and pointed to the screen, “Look! Look! Did you see that? He did a dolphin kick!” Shaking my head, I yelled, “That IS ILLEGAL!”

Shown on replay for that split second, for the entire world to see, was Kosuke Kitajima performing an illegal underwater butterfly kick off the turn. It was the perfect magic act. A Houdini masterpiece performed underwater, guised in refracted light so no judge could possibly see. Yet, he could not fool the camera revealing his secret to the discerning eye. He won the gold. But was it fool’s gold?

Kosuke Kitajima performed a swift, powerful and illegal butterfly kick during the pull phase of his underwater pullout. There is NO question about it. As his hands passed his shoulder line, the kick, when combined with the pull down phase of the arm, enhanced his propulsive forces, which then catapulted him forward in the water. If the viewer were to see only this phase of his race, he would swear that Kosuke was going to swim a butterfly race.

These athletes are machines that repeat movements over and over again until they become unconscious habits. There is no thought of technique in a race. The body is preprogrammed, allowing the mind to watch the race unfold before them. For that reason every underwater pullout is identical to the previous one. For that same reason, Kosuke Kitajima certainly performed the same trick during his underwater pullout after the dive.

Yes, I guess I am accusing Kosuke Kitajima of cheating and even suspecting him of doing it twice in the same race. Bring on the 200 meter breaststroke and prove that I saw it wrong. The cameras will be rolling underwater, I hope. Please prove me wrong for your sake and for the sport of swimming.

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