MICHAEL PHELPS

AGE: 22
OCCUPATION: World's fastest swimmer
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 1
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0

PRO: The American set a new world record in the men's 400 m individual medley final at the World Swimming Championships: 4 mins. and 6.22 secs. He's now just 10 world records away from the 33 world-record record of Marc Spitz.

CON: Four mins. and 6.22 secs.? He couldn't make it an even six? Feh. And if this nasty "Genocide Olympics" epithet sticks to all participants, it's going to take more than chlorine to wash it off.