Of Fear, Failure and World-Record Brilliance in Kazan -- On the Scene

(ATR) Bobbing in the warmup pool before the start of Tuesday night’s finals, a black-and-red swim cap bore this declaration: "Your own worst enemy is your fear."

For years and years, swimmers from other nations — even if they didn’t want to admit it and would never say so in public — feared the mighty U.S. swim team. This 2015 world championships is only three days old, and there is plenty of racing to go, but one thing, more than anything, is already clear: the fear is gone.

The rest of the world has for sure caught up to the United States.

Indeed, swimmers from other countries have proven themselves better than the Americans, and in a number of disciplines, a dramatic trend that has emerged as the No. 1 story at Kazan 2015, and could hold significant consequence for next year’s Rio 2016 Olympics.

Read the full story at 3 Wire Sports.

Written by Alan Abrahamson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.