Phelps slips under the radar at worlds

ROME (AP) — Michael Phelps has somehow slipped under the radar while preparing for the world championships.

The swimmer who won a record eight Olympic gold medals at last summer’s Beijing Games has been getting over jet lag, eating pizza and adjusting to the Mediterranean sun without much commotion. Which is just what his team wanted.

“It’s actually been real calm here, and that’s what we were looking for when we chose this location,” Mark Schubert, head coach and general manager of the U.S. national team, said from Riccione on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

“He’s been asked for a few autographs by fans and they’ve been polite, but it hasn’t been huge crowds, Schubert said. “I think he’s a little lower on the radar in Riccione.”

Swimming events in Rome begin next weekend and the U.S. team won’t arrive in the capital until Thursday. The team has access to indoor and outdoor pools in Riccione.

“The training has been going really well,” said Bob Bowman, Phelps’ personal coach. “The last three, four days we’ve just been acclimating and getting over the time difference. It’s a beautiful setup here.”

Phelps will swim only three individual events in Rome — the 200 freestyle, and 100 and 200 butterfly — plus all three relays.

“You don’t have to do quite as much conditioning, but the pressure is probably greater with fewer events,” Bowman said. “Michael has been kind of following the normal practice patterns, sharpening a few things up a little bit. He’s just got to rest up and get mentally ready.”

At the U.S. national championships in Indianapolis last week, Phelps set a world record in the 100 butterfly, although he pulled out of the 100 free with a sore neck.

Bowman said Phelps would return to the sprint event in the future, perhaps at the 2011 worlds in Shanghai.

“It will all work itself out in time,” Bowman said, noting that Phelps had limited training for what was supposed to be his new event.

Phelps was suspended for three months by USA Swimming after the publication of a photo showing him inhaling from a marijuana pipe in February.

“We come into this meet with three months of training and I changed his stroke,” Bowman added. “He will absolutely do [the 100 free] in the future.”

Phelps won seven golds at the last worlds in Melbourne, Australia, two years ago. In Montreal in 2005, his haul was five golds and a silver.

“I think Michael is going to swim well,” Schubert said. “If you look at how he performed in Indianapolis, you can see he’s in great shape now. He’s excited and he always seems to bring out his best at big events.”

For now though, Phelps is taking it easy and slowly building up his training regimen.

“Last night we all went out to dinner and most of the team enjoyed an Italian pizza,” Schubert said. “We’re staying at a family run hotel and the food has been Italian and I think everyone has been enjoying the quality of the food.”

Phelps isn’t up to the 10,000-calorie diet he made famous in Beijing yet.

“We’re still in training mode,” Schubert said.

U.S. takes silver

Olympic champions Qin Kai and Wang Feng of China defended their world championship title in 3-meter synchronized diving on Saturday, beating Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen of the United States in the six-dive final.

Qin and Wang compiled 467.94 points to win the gold medal on the second day of the swimming world championships at the Foro Italico. Dumais and Ipsen took silver with 445.59 points and Alexandre Despatie and Reuben Ross of Canada were third with 428.64.

The 29-year-old Dumais and 16-year-old Ipsen blend youth and experience. The pair only began training together in March, yet they remained in the top three positions after each round.

Dumais is appearing in his sixth worlds, having previously won three medals — silver on 3-meter and bronze on 3-meter synchro in 2005 and silver on 1-meter in 1998.

This is Ipsen’s first worlds, having won a junior world championship on 1-meter in 2006.