Worlds Overshadowed By Swimsuit Row
A row over the latest approved swimsuit technology threatens to dominate the attention at the FINA world championships.
Swimmers are split over the opinion of the decision the governing body FINA made to approve a number of suits it initially rejected.
The latest approved suit is said to enhance buoyancy and reduce drag, and some swimmers have claimed this offers an unfair advantage.
FINA had originally rejected some of these new suits in March after claims that they trapped air in the suit – thus giving the swimmer more buoyancy. But the ban was lifted after manufacturers provided evidence that this was not the case.
This hasn’t quieted controversy, however, and in the run up to the world Championships, many high-profile swimmers are taking sides.
Leading the opposition is British Olympic gold medallist, Becky Adlington, who refuses to wear the suit, claiming that it enhances performance.
Instead of the new, ‘faster’ suit that FINA recently approved, Adlington said she will wear the Speedo LZR she wore in Beijing for the upcoming world championships.
The LZR, however, caused its own controversy when it was first released as well, due to the high number of broken world records of swimmers wearing it at last year’s Olympics.
