(Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com via Swim Swam)
A split bathing suit couldn't hold back Nathan Adrian at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The 2008 relay gold medalist overcame a tear in his bathing suit to win the 100-meter freestyle over a stacked field that included Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
While crouching on the block before the start of Thursday night's final, Adrian felt a tear down the middle of his rear. His tight-fitting Speedo FS3 had split, leaving him with an exposed backside and considerably more drag than he'd have liked.
Adrian dove in anyway -- "what could I do?" he said. The rip didn't have an effect on the result. He touched the wall in 48.62, more than one-tenth of a second ahead of a hard-charging Phelps. That time was good enough to be the 11th-fastest time in the world this year, but likely would have been considerably faster had the suit not split.
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The Swim Pictures and Swim Swam were able to capture pictures and reaction (site server has reportedly crashed) to the event.
"Bending over on the block and feeling that snap is never a good feeling," a chuckling Adrian told a post-race interviewer.
Thanks to Swim Swam for exposing us to this story. See what we did there?
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