Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis looks to add to her medal haul in the individual event if she advances to the final.
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The attack happened fresh off Phelps’ gold medal-winning performance in the men’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay at the Rio Olympics.
Up for the cup: Phelps was sporting a number of marks What is cupping?
The 23-time medal victor Phelps is one of a number of athletes that are sporting large red circles on their torsos as a healing technique known as “cupping” gains popularity among competitors in Rio.
Phelps retired four years ago, insisting he was done with swimming, only to return for what he calls his real farewell, the one that will send him out the way he really wants to go. American celebrities Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Anniston have also been photographed sporting the distinctive bruises after therapy.
“I wanted to hit the wall good and get under the wake of the swimmers next to me”, Phelps said. She will be busy Monday night, competing in the 100 back final at 10:30 p.m. and returning 66 minutes later for the 200 IM semifinals. To create suction, practitioners – or sometimes the athletes themselves – turn over the circular cups onto their skin, then either heat the cups or apply an air pump to them.
While Jake Dalton has tried cupping, he relies more on massage and a Game Ready after having shoulder surgery last season.
The idea is that bringing blood to overworked areas – on Phelps, they’re concentrated on his massive shoulders and thighs – speeds up recovery by increasing blood flow and reducing soreness.
“Its effectiveness is because it’s all part of the body’s natural healing process”, Hamilton said.
But there is a scarcity of accredited studies to prove cupping’s efficacy, which has led to a fair amount of skepticism.
“As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Phelps was faster”, said Fabien Gilot, who had the unfortunate task of swimming the second leg for the now-silver medalists.
While they can do it on their own, Naddour said having someone help move the cups around can help loosen muscles and tendons.
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Hamilton said cupping is “no such thing”. I felt like we had to give him that chance.
