Beijing - Michael Phelps may have won eight gold medals in the pool but that would mean nothing if he ever thought about taking up open water swimming. "Even if you are a superstar you might not qualify for open water," said women's 10-kilometres gold medallist Larisa Ilchenko.
Ilchenko is kind of Phelps' equivalent on stretches of water beyond a 50m pool, having added gold in the inaugural race to eight world titles.
The 19-year-old Russian said that Australian two-time 1,500m gold medallist Grant Hackett earlier this year failed to qualify for the men's Olympic open water race which is set for Thursday.
While pool swimmers are confined to their lane, open water swimming is a rough affair at times.
