At the 2004 US Olympic Trials, 6 world records were broken: 5 on the men's side and 1 on the women's. We have to go back to the 1972 Trials for the record of 14 World Records set at a single US Olympic Trials. At half way through the 2008 Trials, 6 have already been broken, with another 6 American records being set.

Is it the suits? Almost all the swimmers are wearing the Speedo LZR Racer. Is it the caps? Almost as many are wearing 2-the new Speedo cap over their team cap. Is it the pool? Temporary waters seem to be the fashion of the day, but who knows if these pools are really faster. Is it the crowd? The Qwest Center has seen record numbers-over 12,000 fans a night. Is it doping? Gary Hall Jr. alluded as much in his press conference, while Dara Torres offered up her blood tests as evidence she's clean. How about the fact that it's an Olympic year? Even last year's World Champs were faster than Athens in most events. Maybe it's the Phelps' factor? The idea that he has revolutionized the sport in terms of the number of events he races, the way he splits, and his kick, and a group of multi-talented swimmers like Ryan Lochte, Katie Hoff and Natalie Couglin have stepped up to the challenge.

Maybe it's just a combination of all these things: a magic cocktail that has so many swimming so fast. The one thing that's interesting to watch is how the relatively unknown swimmers who are ranked on top, respond to the pressure of the Olympic Trials Final. While Hoff and Phelps respond with World and American records, the rookies seem to swim tighter, and even if they've managed to win or make the team, they are slower in the final than they were in the heats or semis.

Despite NBC's endless plugging of Michael Phelps and his Herculean feats, Katie Hoff deserves as much ink. While in Beijing she will have much more competition from many more swimmers than Phelps might do, her rise from 15 year old newcomer to a woman in total control is remarkable.

Four more days and four more nights. We haven't even seen Hall Jr. or Torres in the water, and the battles in the men's back and women's breast are only half over. Can Crocker and Lochte defeat Phelps and Peirsol again, or will they wait until Beijing to win gold? At the very least we will continue to see stars, current and past, grace the waters and pool-deck in what is arguably the most competitive and exciting swimming competition in the world.