"The water is the same as other pools. I felt nothing different, " Chinese swimmer Pang Jiaying, a bronze medalist in 200-meter freestyle, said, shrugging off the speculation.

SPEEDO LZR RACER

Then it comes to the revolutionary bodysuit of Speedo, which has stirred enough hubbub ever since it was introduced to swimmers.

Since February this year, almost all the record-breaking feats were connected with the Speedo LZR Racer. The LZR suit, designed with help from U.S. space agency NASA, keeps swimmers in a corset-like grip which is said to allow the swimmer to maintain the best body position in the water for longer and reduce drag.

Some reports have credited it with reducing swimming times by up to 2 percent, although Speedo officials said that is impossible to verify. But many believe the advantages are as much psychological as physical.

"I think it might help. But all in all it is I that swam the race. If one doesn't have the capability, he will not swim fast no matter what he wears," said China's Pang, who wore a Speedo in the race.

Pang's view was shared by many athletes, including the brand's most phenomenal "spokesperson". "It helps me go faster. But of course, I also broke world record before I began to wear it," said Phelps.

Alan Thompson, Australia's head coach, indicated that Speedo's success largely relied on its outstanding marketing efforts. "The fact that Speedo has done such a good job that ensures they've signed up some of the world's greatest athletes to their brand probably ensures that they get the greatest exposure with the swimsuit," he said.

The coach said that the amount of focus that has been placed on the swimsuit has shifted public attentions on performances of the athletes. "Swimsuit technology advancement is something we've been doing since we wore full-length woolen suits in 1908. So...it's nothing new."

TRAINING & HARD WORK

The "dancing" of world records at the Water Cube has shocked spectators, but not so much to the professionals.

"This is the Olympics. There was so much hard work, so much preparation and so much history behind each person, each gold, silver and bronze. Everyone is giving the best," said Australia's Libby Trickett, gold medalist in the women's 100-meter butterfly.

Before the Olympics, Australian head coach Thompson had predicted the Olympic swimming competition will be the fastest and toughest ever witnessed. "I said that about the world championships in Melbourne last year and I don't think it is going to be any different in Beijing," said Thompason.

Traditionally the major swimming superpowers at Olympic Games have been Australia and the United States, but Thompson cautioned that other nations are rapidly closing the gap. "The depth in world swimming these days is huge," said the coach in Kuala Lumpur before leading his team to Beijing.

"It won't be a two-horse race between Australia and the US. I mean you look at countries like Great Britain, Japan, the French, the South Africans, they perform very solidly. They've made changes from going to the semis to the finals to lower medals to gold medals. There's a major shift in world swimming," he said.

Chen Yunpeng, former head coach of the Chinese swimming team, agreed. Chen said the dazzling change in the swimming pool in recent year was a result of training innovation and the hard efforts of the athletes.

"Training regimes are upgrading so fast and people are focusing on details, like the dolphin kick. It's the training revolution and the hard work of athletes rather than Water Cube or swimsuit that produce so many world records," he said.