{"id":382614,"date":"2019-07-23T06:15:24","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T13:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=382614"},"modified":"2019-07-23T14:46:42","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T21:46:42","slug":"rieders-richter-scale-what-happened-to-ryan-murphy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/rieders-richter-scale-what-happened-to-ryan-murphy\/","title":{"rendered":"Rieder’s Richter Scale: What Happened to Ryan Murphy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each day during the FINA World Swimming Championships, Swimming World will present \u201cRieder\u2019s Richter Scale,\u201d an analysis of the impact of each swimming final on the sport\u2019s wider landscape: \u201c1\u201d indicates just a minor tremor, while a \u201c10\u201d means a race brought massive upheaval. Ryan Murphy<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The women\u2019s and men\u2019s 100 backstroke finals came and went, and neither of the American world record-holders, Kathleen Baker<\/strong> for the women and Ryan Murphy<\/strong> for the men, stood on the medal podium. While Baker\u2019s departure from her top form makes some sense as she has dealt with injuries in 2019, Murphy\u2019s performance stands out as another of those glaring, unanticipated results<\/a> that have become the norm of these World Championships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sure, Murphy\u2019s world record of 51.85 hasn\u2019t been touched in three years, but he came really close when he won gold at the Pan Pacific Championships last summer in 51.94. Before the week started, he hinted of a progression building from his disappointing Worlds in 2017 that would culminate in next year\u2019s Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t necessarily take too much from this competition because I know from the training I have done, I have gotten a lot better,\u201d Murphy said in a pre-meet press conference. \u201cWhether that shows up on the scoreboard, we\u2019ll see. But I know I\u2019ll be better next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, he tempered expectations for this year\u2019s championships, but he still showed confidence in his own abilities. And surely he didn\u2019t expect to go out ahead of world record-pace in his 100 back final and then fade badly, badly enough for the sixth-fastest back-half split in the field and badly enough to end up fourth.<\/p>\n

Murphy ended up well off the pace of China\u2019s Xu<\/strong> Jiayu<\/strong>, who defended his world title from 2017, and also behind both Evgeny Rylov<\/strong> and Mitch Larkin<\/strong>. His final time was 52.78, one hundredth off the podium and more than nine tenths off his own world record.<\/p>\n

$\"fina$ <\/p>\n

Yes, the U.S. team as a whole has struggled this week, but Murphy seemed to be in a perfect spot to stop the bleeding\u2014only for the dependable backstroke star to do exactly the opposite. And after three days, that leaves the American men with a mere two medals, golds in both the 4×100 free relay and 50 fly (Caeleb Dressel<\/strong>). That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake: It was shocking to watch the world record-holder and Olympic gold medalist fade so badly. Credit to the men who stepped up to claim the podium spots, but Murphy\u2019s disappointment means the 100 back registers on the Richter scale with a 7<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Reaction to the men\u2019s 200 free progressed through three stages. As the athletes touched the wall, Danas Rapsys<\/strong> appeared to win his first World title, his blistering final 50 enough to get by Sun Yang<\/strong> and break 1:45 for the first time. Big breakthrough swim for the 24-year-old Lithuanian and probably a 4 on the Richter scale.<\/p>\n
But then came the disqualification. Rapsys was gone, his flinch on the blocks enough for a false start, and now Sun would be awarded his second gold medal of the week. Okay, some post-finish drama, and now a 5 on the scale.<\/p>\n
Then came the awards ceremony, where co-bronze medalist Duncan<\/strong> Scott<\/strong>, fresh off a performance (1:45.63) that he surely knew wasn\u2019t his best, became a hero in the eyes of much of the Gwangju crowd and many more across the world.<\/p>\n
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And then stay for the victory lap and camaraderie: pic.twitter.com\/5aMSdJUi1m<\/a><\/p>\n
— Ross Tucker (@Scienceofsport) July 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n