Michael Phelps's Swimsuit Lets Him Down

German Paul Biedermann handed Michael Phelps his first loss at a major international event in four years in the 200 meter freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Rome. Or should we say, Paul Biedermann's swimsuit handed Michael Phelps's swimsuit the loss.   Phelps saw this one coming a mile away - or at least 400 meters away. Earlier in the week, Biedermann shocked swimmers everywhere when he broke Ian Thorpe's world record in the 400 meter freestyle. The record had previously been considered unbreakable. But Paul Biedermann, wearing his Arena X-Glide swimsuit has managed to trim seconds off his times. Seconds may not seem like much, but in a sport where tenths of seconds routinely decide the winner, an entire second is a pretty big deal.   Biedermann makes no bones about giving credit where it is due - his swimsuit. The swimmer finished fifth in the 200 meter freestyle at last year's Olympics and failed to qualify for the finals in the 400 meter - and now he's a world champion and record holder? The Arena is a polyurethane based suit that blows the competition away in terms of buoyancy and stability. The suits have been banned from competition beginning next year, which is good for the sport.   Michael Phelps did not come out and criticize Biedermann point blank regarding the swimsuit controversy. When asked about the swimsuit issue he responded that next year swimming will be swimming again and athletes will not be able to rely on a suit to do the work for them.