The slick new swimsuit that has led to more than 12 world records already this year will be examined by swimming's world governing body amid debate about the quest for speed in the pool.
"There are concerns about suits being like triathlon suits, which are thicker," FINA executive director Cornel Marculsecu was quoted as saying by SwimNews.com on Monday. "There are buoyancy issues. We have to review this."
There have been 13 world records set since the middle of last month, 12 in the LZR Racer, a full-length body swimsuit made by Speedo.
Federica Pellegrini of Italy ended the one-brand exclusivity on Monday night, lowering the record for the 400m freestyle in a new Arena outfit.
Marculsecu said the suit would be discussed at the world short course championships in Manchester, England, next month.
French swimmer Alain Bernard was wearing the LZR suit when he broke three world records in three nights at the European championships -- twice in the 100 freestyle and also the 50 freestyle.
FINA approved the US$550 suit, which is made of extremely lightweight, water repellant fabric -- electronically bonded rather than sewn together -- with special panels to reduce drag.
Bernard has an individual deal with Speedo but his French team is linked to a rival swimwear company and has called for an inquiry into the suit.
"I think it deserves a real debate. It's even worth being analyzed by an ethical committee," French swimming federation technical director Claude Fauquet said.
Speedo also launched a new suit before the world championships in Australia last year.
"At the Melbourne world championships, 11 records fell in four days and there was no call for that suit to be banned," Rob Davies, general manager of Speedo Australia, said on Monday in a telephone interview. "It is FINA approved. It is available to everyone."
The increasing use of such suits has led some swimmers to question the growing importance of technology in competition.
"It is going to be a technological battle come the Olympics," South African swimmer Roland Schoeman said at the launch of the Powerskin R-evolution suit by Speedo's rival Arena -- and worn on Monday night by Pellegrini.
"It would be great to see the final of the Olympics just be basically people and their talent, like Popov when he was just swimming in his briefs," said Schoeman, the world 50m butterfly champion. "That is true testament to an individual's work ethic and ability -- more than the suit to help correct any imperfections."
Alexander Popov swam in traditional briefs. The Russian's long-standing 50m freestyle world record was broken last month by Eamon Sullivan of Australia, who was wearing the Speedo suit. Bernard lowered it again on Sunday night.
But Schoeman acknowledged a change was unlikely.
"It would be like Tiger Woods going to Nike and saying, `I want to go back to a wooden driver,'" Schoeman said.
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS