Fina To Ban Suits From January

The controversial performance-enhancing, non-textile swimsuits will be banned from 1st January 2010, world swimming’s governing body FINA has announced.

FINA had previously said the ban might not take effect until April or May, three or four months later than expected.

But it was brought forward when Olympic legend Michael Phelps threatened to withdraw until the suits were outlawed.

Twenty-nine world records were set in the first five days of the current FINA World Championships in Rome.

Only two of the current world records, both men’s and women’s, were set before the introduction of polyurethane suits in 2008.

And, with the ban being implemented in January, it is likely that many of the current records may not be broken for many years.

The return to common textile suits, men in shorts and women in suits above the knee and to the shoulder strap, would mean world records would be almost impossible to better in the short term.

The World Swimming Federation’s decision came amid calls from a number of national swimming federations for record-breaking suits to be banned.

However, the question of exactly how to define ‘allowable textiles’ is unlikely to be determined until the next FINA bureau meeting in September or October.

The Speedo LZR is a 50% polyurethane swimsuit which caused controversy in 2008 as a series of world records were set by swimmers wearing it.

Since it was unveiled in February that year, 135 long and short course world records have been broken.