Australian head coach Alan Thompson said here Tuesday that US swimming prodigy Michael Phelps' biggest obstacle in breaking Mark Spitz's record will be his own countrymen.

"I think the major competition that Michael has in a lot of his events will come from his own countrymen. He has to get through that first," Thompson said at a press conference.

Coming off a historic seven-win performance at last year's world championships, Phelps is highly expected to break Spitz's 36-year-long record -- having seven gold medals at one Olympics - in Beijing.

Phelps had the chance to break Spitz's record four years ago in Athens. However, with six gold medals and eight overall, he narrowly missed out. At the Beijing Games, Phelps is expected to swim eight events, including five individuals and three relays.

Thompson said Phelps is the only one that has the possibility to make history.

"I think Michael is a fantastic swimmer. I think if anyone in the world who could be possibly do it, it would be Michael."

"It would be a great story over the nine days of (swimming) competition. I think there would be a lot of people watching it. I'll be happy to see history...It would be a magnificent feat if he achieved it," Thompson said.

Commenting on the schedule change of swimming events in the Beijing Games, Thompson said he thought money has bought the tradition of the sport.

Heeding a request from its biggest TV partner and other broadcasters in the Americas, the International Olympic Committee shifted the swimming finals of the Beijing Games to the morning so they can be shown live in prime time in North America. Swimming finals were held in the night at previous Olympics.

"Whether the heats and the finals are in the morning or afternoon, it doesn't matter to us and our performance. We've done everything we need to do to be prepared for that," Thompson said.

"But I think in this time, loyalty is very lacking. In sport, often money talks too loudly. I think when it comes to issues like that, certain traditions that need to be followed in sports."

Asked to comment on Speedo's revolutionary swimsuit, Thompson said there is no need to make a fuss about the issue.

"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 head 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."

"If we didn't have advancement and we didn't have forward thinking people, I am sure we wouldn't be where we are now. I think the aim of the game is to break the world record. That's what our sport is about. We want to see people swim fast and we want to see what the boundaries are. We want to take them as fast as we can within the rules of the game."

Since its introduction in February, swimmers and others wearing the Speedo LZR Racer suits have set up more than 40 world records. The sponsor of the Australian swimming team is Speedo.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)