British Join Lzr Swimsuit Protest

British Swimming has joined a growing number of European bodies to have signed an official objection against the use of LZR technology in swimsuit design as developed by Speedo.

Fifteen out of the 17 top European nations, including Great Britain, have signed an objection which is to be presented to the world governing body FINA calling for a number of regulations to be discussed and implemented.

British Swimming’s coaches gave their support to the protest after the number of world records set this year reached 105 at the European Short Course Championships in Croatia.

The objection concerns the materials used in the Speedo LZR Racer suit, which was brought into the market in February, which help swimmers become more streamlined through the use of a flotation device called neoprene.

British Swimming’s national performance director Michael Scott was among the governing body’s coaches to have put his name to the protest.

He said: ‘It demeans the records and kind of cheapens them to an extent. Up to this generation of suits I think it’s just been maximising performance but I think we’re crossing the line to enhancing performance and to me that is a whole different area.’

FINA regulations state no device should aid buoyancy, speed and endurance but when questioned further at the World Short Course Championships in Manchester in April, the governing body insisted the swimmers were not using a device, but simply wearing a suit.