More controversy over high-tech swimsuits
International swimming federation FINA has released its list of approved swimwear after reviewing 348 swimsuits made by 21 different manufacturers. Its investigations followed complaints that certain suits were giving competitors an unfair advantage.
Last month Alain Bernard wore Arena's X-Glide and Frederic Bousquet wore the Jaked 01 swimsuit at the French championships in April. Both French swimmers set new world records at the event. However, neither suit is on the new approved FINA list, which comprises 202 suits. The federation has not yet announced whether the records will stand.
According to reports, ten swimwear models were ruled out completely and 136 were returned to manufacturers by the judging panel and producers have 30 days to submit modified designs. The main FINA concern seems to be suits that are completely covered with polyurethane in order to improve buoyancy.
However, 12 designs in the Speedo LZR range were among the approved swimsuits on the list, despite having been the subject of great controversy since the launch of “the world’s fastest swimsuit”.
At the Beijing Olympics, 94% of all swimming races won were won by swimmers wearing the suit and 23 of the 25 world records broken were achieved by swimmers competing in it.
