Hi Teresa,
it's Paul Biedermann. He won the 400 and 200 m freestyle titles.
He's a very humble guy. Very nice. Very young (21).
I know he was originally not a member of the delegation to see the Pope and even said he needed to prepare for his next event.
Since Mr. Phelps turned it down, I guess he decided to go, instead. Good for him!!
Thanks for the info, Heike! Paul does look like a very nice young man. Impression further reinforced in that he kissed the Pope's ring!
Now, I seem to have a better picture: Very likely, the organizers first asked Phelps to represent the male swimmers, but he declined
for the reason he gave. So they did the obvious thing: Ask Biedermann, who is German, and a meet star in his own right, despite
the controversy over the new type bodysuit he wore. Good for Paul!
He might feel as euphoric now as Federica Pellegrini, who said she felt more nervous about getting to meet the Pope than before
starting a race. She also said she's still floating on air because the Pope told her he had watched all her races during this meet.
TERESA
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/08/2009 03:52]