Share this with that purist Bob Costas

Swimming records ain't what they used to be.

It's early in the middle of the three years and 348 days between Olympiads, but some sports scientists have concluded that the "swimming world record is now an endangered species. And that is not good for the sport." The average lifespan of a woman's record is 247 days; for a men's record, it's 382. One has to laugh like hell at these numbers, remembering how Bob Costas fawned over the U.S. swimming sensation Michael Phelps and his eight world records.

Costas is notorious for going on about the sanctity of certain baseball records, but oh, it's different when you're lionizing an American swimmer. Phelps might have won eight golds anyway, but it's clear he had help. Oddly enough, The United States, post-Phelps, is out to ban hi-tech suits.

Related:
Swimming's credibility crisis: How FINA's blind eye is affecting the purity of the sport (The Science of Sport)