What is the truest measure of a champion? A victory achieved against a hollow field resonates hollow in the history of a sport. We yearn to see the brightest competitors square off against one another. But mere talent alone doesn’t always measure the mark of greatness. In these times, the benefits gained from a team infrastructure -- from tactical support to superior equipment on which to perform -- cannot be undervalued. Records can fall, but we must place them in the context of what past athletes were able to achieve with inferior assistance from their gear. But ultimately it isn’t the swimsuit or the bicycle or the racket we are watching -- the athlete must still get from one end of the contest to the other in better position than his or her peers to achieve glory. So let’s take this week to look at some developments in sports around the world, and how a constantly-shifting sports landscape affects the light in which we view sublime performances... 
 

We’ve seen men and women in every discipline shaving down world records at a prodigious pace over the past several years. In the showcase event of 2009, the trend has continued; but the big story from this year’s FINA World Championships is not one of pride for all the records tumbling. After the world governing body of swimming ruled that the revolutionary new trends in swimsuit technology will soon be banned from the sport come 2010, these championships at the Foro Italico in Rome have become a last hurrah for racers who have discovered a competitive advantage in a new generation of swimsuits designed to turn an athlete into a porpoise. 

The LZR Racer from Speedo was the prototype for this technological revolution, hitting the scene before the Beijing Olympics amidst much scrutiny. Fusing traditional swimsuit materials with polyurethane panels to better compress the swimmer’s physique and create better flow through the water, the LZR Racer clad many an Olympic medalist, including record-breaking eight-gold superstar Michael Phelps. But two companies, Jaked and Arena, have stepped into the fray with a new polyurethane exterior which causes the swimmer to become even more buoyant and fluid in the water. Both manufacturers burst onto the scene back in April, setting records at the French Swimming Championships and rendering the LZR Racer largely obsolete. As one after another world, Olympic, national and/or continental record glided away, swathed in performance-enhancing fabrics every bit as effective as any needle could ever be, a vocal contingent rose up against these new suits. Citing the way in which a world-record accomplishment was cheapened when it became a commonplace occurrence just because of what a swimmer was wearing, FINA decided that it was high time they make a decision. 

But that decision could not come in time for those racers who do not have the benefit of donning one of the two most state-of-the-art, soon-to-be-outlawed suits that Jaked and Arena can produce. Michael Phelps learned all too well what the newest technology, in particular, can do for a swimmer -- both mentally and physically. When Germany’s Paul Biedermann touched the wall a full length ahead of the vaunted American swimmer in the 200-meter freestyle, it marked the first time that Phelps had lost an individual final since the world championships in Montreal four years ago. While Biedermann, a 22-year-old who has been gaining ground in the freestyle discipline over the past several years, set yet another new world record in the 200 after breaking Ian Thorpe’s 400-meter record earlier in the meet, he was not blind to the fact that the victory was as much a testament to the technological advances to be found in his Arena X-Glide suit as it was to his personal growth. 

"The suits make a difference," Biedermann acknowledged. "I hope there will be a time when I can beat Michael Phelps without these suits. I hope next year. I hope it's really soon." Biedermann has also attempted to quantify the benefits of the suit in his performance, asserting that it shaves as much as two seconds off his time. There is an obvious tangible benefit to this technology, as long-cherished records are tumbling to the accomplishments of relatively anonymous athletes. It certainly stings the Baltimore native to watch his own record fall and his gold streak end, but it isn’t as though Phelps is innocent of seeking his own competitive advantage. 

"It's going to be fun next year," Phelps said, "when swimming is back to swimming." But Phelps is a big reason behind why swimming has changed so much in the past few years to begin with. The February 2008 introduction of the LZR Racer by Speedo -- at a press gathering where American stars Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Beard and, yes, Michael Phelps were on the stage strutting in the new full-length composite suit -- heralded this swimsuit arms race in the first place. It was the LZR Racer that helped Phelps to eight gold medals in Beijing, prompting the manufacturer to pay the Olympian $1 million in bonus money for besting Mark Spitz’s single-Games gold-medal record haul. It was this suit that had Jaked and Arena clamoring to create a response to their rival’s preeminence in Beijing. And it was this suit, ultimately, that led to FINA banning not just the full-polyurethane suit but all full-body suits from the pool. 

So, as Aaron Peirsol said, “A lot of us are joking that this might be the fastest we ever go. We might as well enjoy this year. Some of these records might not be broken for a long, long time.” Athletes would obviously rather be on an even playing field with their peers; it affords the greatest legitimacy to any achievement. But at the same time, it doesn’t matter if it is drugs or training techniques or the technology in a sport’s equipment -- if something is not banned within a sport, an athlete will feel compelled to improve his or her situation to the utmost and will make uncomfortable decisions based on keeping up with the competition. Swimmers who have contracts with one company will break contract to take advantage of the best technology... it is human nature to seek that competitive edge. The FINA decision comes too late for this year’s world championships, but it will place swimming back a few years to a time when technology aided, rather than determined, the result... 
 

Just as most of the ink recently in swimming has dealt with action outside the pool, so too has cycling’s post-Tour press dealt with events off the tarmac. The 2009 edition of the Tour de France, which I chronicled stage by stage this year, was one of the most exciting races in years. The presence of four former champions was a far cry from other recent years, where more riders had a shot at glory but only because the field overall was weaker. But rather than regaling the excitement generated by the Tour this year -- a general buzz which has led NBC sports affiliate Universal Sports to purchase four years of exclusive multimedia broadcast rights to the Vuelta a España taking place one month from now in Spain. The network, which has found a place in 56 million American homes, now has exclusive rights to two of cycling’s grand tours as well as its world championships -- and a platform which affords them the ability to provide online broadcasts to millions more. 

We should be rejoicing that there is more access than ever before -- but the story of cycling has become the saga of Astana, the Kazakh-sponsored team that yielded the winner of this year’s Tour in Alberto Contador and placed relentless Lance Armstrong in third after three years away from the sport. Contador and Armstrong, who both came into the race with victory wishes and yellow dreams, were uneasy teammates from the time Armstrong first revealed his return to the sport. 

Now it is likely that neither of them will soon be in the powder blue of Astana. Armstrong has already agreed to terms with American electronics retailer Radio Shack to sponsor a new team to begin racing in the 2010 season, and will undoubtedly be taking his longtime friend and team director Johan Bruyneel with him. Many of the Armstrong loyalists will surely come along for the trip as well. This leaves Contador looking for his own team for next year. He is still technically under contract for another year with the team, but the fact that Alexander Vinokourov is returning after a two-year suspension to this team that he personally resurrected and rebranded as a Kazakh entry into the peloton will only exacerbate an already stressful situation. Further, the documented reality that riders (including Contador) were often waiting in vain for their paychecks at the beginning of the season will help spur his departure. 

One guarantee is that Contador will not be clad in Radio Shack kit come the first races of 2010. Firing off in the press, the champions continue to trade barbs against one another. Even during the Tour itself, a simple glance over Armstrong’s Twitter page after each stage revealed one snipe after another about Contador taking charge of this race. Armstrong got Bruyneel to assert that Alberto would have to prove his worthiness as the team’s leader, but once the Spaniard proved the seven-time champion largely unnecessary in the framework of the team, it rankled the American to no end. Contador has replied following his win with some stinging shots of his own: 

“My relationship with Lance is zero. He is a great champion and has done a great Tour, but on a personal level I have never had a great admiration for him and I never will. It was a delicate situation, tense, the two riders who had most weight on the team did not have an easy relationship and that puts the rest of the technical staff and the riders in an uncomfortable position. [But] we knew that if kept cool heads, there would be no big problem.” 

They were able to work together this one time, and both reaped the benefits well enough to land upon the podium. But the tension ultimately came down to the fact that there was but one top step on that podium, and one of the two men would inevitably be disappointed with his position. So Armstrong already has his plan of attack in motion to reclaim the maillot jaune from his former teammate; where will Contador land next season for his title defense? 

Contador will certainly leave Astana or risk missing out on defending his Tour title yet again. After winning in 2007, he was left without a team when Discovery Channel dissolved. Bruyneel went to work for a revamped and redesigned Astana team following the revelation that several of its riders, including leader Vinokourov, had tested positive for homologous blood doping. In came the U.S. Postal/Discovery management crew, reforming the Kazakh squad in its image. Contador came along for the ride. But Tour organizer ASO decided that even the mention of the Astana name so soon after it had disgraced the race would damage its image, looking at the label rather than the overhauled product behind that label. With Vinokourov returning to cycling following his suspension and determined to take back the reins of his team, it is wholly likely that ASO will once again disinvite Astana from the Tour in 2010. 

So Contador will be headed elsewhere. Some rumors have had him starting up a new squad with his countryman, the Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso. Alonso, an avid cycling fan and friend of the Tour champion, has stated before that he desires to eventually start a team in the professional peloton. Other options have included Caisse d’Epargne, where he could depend on the assistance of another friend, Alejandro Valverde -- unless his ongoing ban in Italy as CONI investigators try to tie him to performance-enhancing drugs becomes more widespread. The team also has the experience of guiding a Tour winner before, as it is the same crew headed by manager Eusebio Unzue that was once known by the names of former sponsors Reynolds and Banesto and over the years has guided other Spanish Tour champions Pedro Delgado, Miguel Indurain and Oscar Pereiro. 

He has also been spoken of as someone who might be joining the Garmin-Slipstream team which placed Bradley Wiggins and Christian Vande Velde in the top ten this year at the Tour. He would definitely bolster that squad’s profile further, and with their potent roster already built it would provide the best established team support. The team has proven that it could keep him from losing time in team time trials; it has a healthy mix of riders that have proven they can support a top-five candidate two years in a row; and it has an unflagging dedication to clean sport that would help further legitimize Contador’s achievements in these skeptical times. 

Regardless of where Contador lands, though, it will be he and not Lance Armstrong who comes into the season as the prohibitive favorite to win cycling’s showcase event. Over twenty-three days in July, the Spaniard is simply the best of his generation. The Armstrong era has passed, and the fact that Contador is a better balanced and well-rounded champion is reassuring for a sport that has been trying in recent years to gain a more widespread appreciation from fans for its full season of events outside of July alone. The development of Andy Schleck, the runner-up between Contador and Armstrong who also sets his sights on goals throughout the cycling season, will set up in the coming years a duel of greats that will eclipse the Armstrong/Ullrich battles of the previous decade. A war of words is meaningless, in the end... it is what each rider does on the road that will determine his greatness going forward... 
 

Just like Lance Armstrong, another iconic former champion is returning to his sport. No, we’re not talking about Tom Watson, whose rise and fall at Turnberry for the 2009 British Open was followed up this week with a back-to-earth tie for eighth at the Senior British Open, five shots back of winner Loren Roberts and his playoff opponents on the course at Sunningdale. No, this is another out-of-retirement story, and Watson’s been playing consistently for years on the senior circuit. 

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa sustained severe head injuries after he was struck by a spring flying off of Rubens Barrichello’s car during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Massa suffered a fractured skull and was in intensive care for several days in an artificially-induced coma while the immediate damage was repaired. Miraculously, whether due to the newest-generation carbon fiber helmets or sheer luck, Massa is able to sit up and speak after initial diagnoses feared for his eyesight and long-term cognitive ability. He has taken his first steps, and is able to spend more and more time each day with his parents and wife as he recovers. 

But he will not be able to drive, obviously, in time for the European Grand Prix on August 23. So iconic five-time Formula 1 champion and Ferrari stalwart Michael Schumacher has decided to break his retirement to sit in for the injured driver. The German, who has been working as a consultant for Ferrari since his 2006 retirement, has asserted that this is not a full-time return but merely a moonlighting role for a friend and his former team. It will be intriguing nonetheless. 

Since Schumacher’s retirement, we’ve seen the rise of a new crop of Formula 1 stars. Just like cycling’s champions during Armstrong’s retirement were viewed in a paler light for not having beaten the best rider in the sport’s recent history, so too have this new generation of Formula 1 drivers had to wonder in vain how they would fare against their sport’s greatest. Now guys like Lewis Hamilton will get their first crack at the Teutonic dominator. Even with so much time away, Schumacher looks like he will easily be a game competitor. August 23 will provide some fascinating drama as Schumacher reintroduces himself to open-wheel racing in Valencia, Spain... 
 

One Spaniard who still wonders if he’ll be able to come back to his sport mulls his options after falling from his top-tier perch. Rafael Nadal, who was stunned out of his shot at five straight French Open titles at Roland Garros by eventual finalist Robin Soderling in the fourth round, has been suffering with tendonitis in both knees ever since his defeat. He was unable to defend his Wimbledon crown. And with rival Roger Federer taking both the French and Wimbledon titles, the Swiss champion reentered the predominant position atop the rankings and bested Pete Sampras’ all-time Grand Slam record in the process. 

Nadal has been rehabbing in earnest recently, with an aim at returning to competition in Montreal on August 8. But it is uncertain whether or not he is really in good enough shape to be competing on the professional circuit, and the next week and a half will determine whether Nadal can be ready in time for the last Grand Slam event of the year. With Flushing Meadows in the final throes of preparation for the U.S. Open, time is running out on the Spaniard’s chances to return in a position to contend for the one Slam which has yet to find its way into his trophy case. 

Even as Andy Murray has found new levels of success, Novak Djokovic continues to flash glimpses of promise along with agonizing bouts of ineptitude, and a new generation of tennis stars emerges with revelatory promise every tournament, it is the Nadal-Federer rivalry which has defined this generation of tennis for fans. We have seen Federer written off last season after mononucleosis weakened his chances at success; now he is being feted as the greatest of all time by many. Nadal was viewed as the ascendant one last season, but now people wonder if he’ll ever reclaim his glory now that Federer’s rediscovered his swagger... 
 

Nadal will surely be back. But I’d rather see him have to miss the rest of this season if that means he can return as strong next year as Federer did this season. Because, ultimately, sports is all about watching the best beat the best. That is why Contador’s 2009 Tour victory will be remembered more vividly than his 2007 title, taken only after Rabobank pulled Michael Rasmussen out of the race while he was clad in yellow and passing on the inheritance to Alberto. It is why Stewart Cink’s British Open victory means so much more than just sweet vindication; the fact that he denied a legend his record-tying sixth title is no small part of this victory’s value. It is what made Soderling’s surge to the finals in Paris so significant, as he knocked off the man who seemingly had a career-long stranglehold on the red clay of Roland Garros. And it is why, should Hamilton or Button or any of the other Formula 1 stars keep Schumacher off the podium of his first race back, their achievement will be all the sweeter...