Mid-December.... in the midst of the most depressing year in swimming history. Gone were the exciting days of 2009 when world records were crushed on a weekly basis.
First the Chinese women came through to break the 4x200 freestyle relay WR on day 1 of the World Swimming Championship (SCM) in Dubai. This was a nice breakthrough but then on Day 2... Ryan Lochte happened.
An individual event World Record... nice. A brilliant swim in the 400IM.
Then on Day 3, Lochte decided to put the cherry on top...
If the summer of 2010 was not evidence enough, Lochte's pair of world records sealed the deal making 2010 the year of Ryan Lochte.
In a year when many swimmers fought to come well short of their personal best from the shiny suit era, Lochte's brilliance was a breath of fresh air. When no one else could, Lochte did. The energy in the swimming world is back, belief has returned, and less then two years away from the 2012 games in London, maybe the records are ready to return in 2011 and the shine of the sport will return to the swimmers and no longer the talk of "the suits".
