The governing body of world swimming will review swimsuit design next month, as concerns grow about the growing influence of technology within the sport.
Since its global launch less than six weeks ago, Speedo's new LZR Racer swimsuit has been at the forefront of an incredible sequence of performances, with the likes of Australian trio Eamon Sullivan, Stephanie Rice and Libby Trickett, United States competitors Natalie Coughlin and Hayley McGregory, and France's rising star, Alain Bernard, achieving 16 world records, eight of which have been posted in the last week.
FINA, the international body, has been placed on the defensive by the slew of news stories announcing the fresh shattering of old milestones, not least because Speedo's new products have been developed in conjunction with the American space agency, NASA, and industrial company ANSYS, one of the world's leading engineering simulation software providers.
"There is no proof that any swimsuits offer any advantage to swimmers," said FINA's chief executive Cornel Marculsecu, yesterday, before appearing to contradict himself. "But we are going to meet with the manufacturers at the world championships in Manchester in April and review the regulations and we are going to look at the thickness of the material," he added. "It's not only Speedo which has launched new suits; all the leading manufacturers are going to do the same before the Olympic Games in Beijing and we have to make sure there is a level playing field."
His argument was left looking even more rickety last night when Fred Vergnoux, the head coach at the City of Edinburgh club, and the British men's coach for the Olympics, told The Herald he had no doubt that the Speedo equipment had changed the face of swimming forever.
"Basically, if you don't wear this suit you are putting yourself in a difficult position, because there is no question that it is better than anything else around at the moment," said Vergnoux, who explained exactly why this should be the case. "The LRZ Racer allows the swimmer greater buoyancy, less drag, and it is designed to help you move through the water more quickly than would previously have been the case.
"Just look at somebody like Eamon Sullivan - he has absolutely destroyed the great Alexander Popov's world record in the 50m freestyle and has broken his own record twice taking it down from 21.56secs to 21.28 as of yesterday since February.
Personally, I think it's quite sad that everybody seems to be talking about swimsuits rather than the commitment and the hard work of the competitors, their coaches and support staff. But the bottom line is there have been 17 world records so far in 2008 and 16 of these have been by people wearing Speedo. It's hard to argue with that."
There should at least be a fair chance for all the participants at next week's British Olympic trials in Manchester, after Speedo yesterday confirmed that the LZR racer suit will be made available to everybody involved. "We are delighted by the results which have been achieved so far for what is the world's first fully bonded, ultrasonically welded swim suit," said Speedo co-president David Robinson. "The suit has met all the requirements laid down by FINA and has been fully approved by them. A meeting will be held with FINA, along with other manufacturers during the world championships, but this meeting was scheduled months ago and is not specific to the LZR Racer.
"Ultimately, technology in sport has always been debated, but it plays a vital part in making sport more exciting and it is simply progress.
Without it, swimmers would still be wearing woollen suits and tennis racquets would still be made of wood."
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