Swimming World Honors 2008 World Swimmers of the Year

PHOENIX, Arizona, December 1. WHILE one of the honorees in the Swimming World Magazine World Swimmers of the Year was a no brainer, the other came down to a much more competitive vote according to our expert panel in the December issue of Swimming World Magazine.

Click play below for a multimedia look Inside Swimming World Magazine as presented by The Morning Swim Show's Peter Busch:

The 2008 Swimming World Male and Female World Swimmers of the Year are Michael Phelps of the U.S. and Stephanie Rice of Australia.

MALE
1. MICHAEL PHELPS, USA
2. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan
3. Ryan Lochte, USA
4t. Aaron Peirsol, USA
4t. Tae Hwan Park, Korea

The choice of Michael Phelps as the Male World Swimmer of the Year came via a unanimous vote by the panel after the man put together the strongest Olympics ever. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps broke Mark Spitz' record with eight gold medals.

Here is a laundry list of Phelps' performance in Beijing:
• Four individual world records: the 200 free (1:42.96), 200 fly (1:52.03), 200 IM (1:54.23) and 400 IM (4:03.84).
• A member of three relay world records: the 400 medley (3:29.34), 400 free (3:08.24) and 800 free (6:58.56).
• An unprecedented eight Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Phelps also did what no one has done in the history of the award, dating back to Don Schollander's honor in 1964 – win the award five times. No other swimmer has been able to reproduce Phelps' longevity at the pinnacle of the sport. Heading into the year, Phelps had tied Ian Thorpe with four World Swimmer of the Year awards. Now, Phelps stands alone in another category as the man has ascended to the very top of the food chain in the sport of swimming, both in present day and in history's reflection.

FEMALE
1. STEPHANIE RICE, Australia
2. Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe
3. Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain
4. Britta Steffen, Germany
5. Natalie Coughlin, USA

Rice returned the Female World Swimmer of the Year award to Australia for the third time in four years as Leisel Jones won the title in 2005 and 2006. The trifecta makes Australia the first country with three wins on the women's side since Janet Evans gave the U.S. three titles in four years from 1987-90. Rice finished her amazing year with world records in the 200 IM (2:08.45) and 400 IM (4:29.45). She also won three gold medals in Beijing with victories in both IMs and the 800 freestyle relay.

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December 2008 Issue
Contents of The December issue:

3 TECH TIP: Straight Arm Recovery demonstrated by Aaron Peirsol
8 10 BEST PERFORMANCES OF 2008 by John Lohn
12 2008 WORLD BEST BY EVENT by Bob Ingram
14 WORLD SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR:
16 FEMALE AMERICAN SWIMMER OF THE YEAR:
17 MALE PACIFIC RIM SWIMMER OF THE YEAR:
18 EUROPEAN SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR:
20 AFRICAN SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR:
22 OPEN WATER SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR:
24 SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR:
26 WATER POLO PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
28 DIVERS OF THE YEAR:
30 DISABLED SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR:
52 LONG COURSE RECORDS
55 WORLD AND AMERICAN RECORD PROGRESSION

DEPARTMENTS:
6 A VOICE for the SPORT
32 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
50 FOR THE RECORD
59 CALENDAR
62 PARTING SHOT

In the Swimming Technique portion of the magazine you will find the following:

40 Q&A WITH COACH GLENN NEUFELD by Michael J. Stott
42 HOW THEY TRAIN: Evan Reed by Michael J. Stott

In the SWIM portion of the magazine you will find the following:

35 THE POOL'S EDGE, PRESENTED BY VIEW: Swimming Pool Blues by Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen
Here are seven suggestions to help you keep fit and beat the winter blues.
38 DRYSIDE TRAINING: Dryland Tips for Better Backstroke by J.R. Rosania

In the Junior Swimmer portion of the magazine you will find the following:
45 SPEEDO AMERICAN RELAY by Judy Jacob
46 TYR AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE MONTH: Barbara Caraballo
47 GOLDMINDS: 20 Things to Do Now if You Want to Win Gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games by Wayne Goldsmith

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Michael Phelps named 2008 Male World Swimmer of the Year.

Stephanie Rice named 2008 Female World Swimmer of the Year.

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