Swimming update

The swimsuit that is causing major controversy - Speedo winning hands down

I could scarcely believe my eyes last night, when I tuned into the World Short-course swimming championships in Manchester. This was the first opportunity I have had to see, first-hand, the results of the swimsuit wars we've been covering here in the last few weeks.

"Irrelevant world records" - the proof is in the pools

What I saw was the fulfilment of a prophecy made by the coach of the US swimming team, Mark Schubert, which we reported in our very first post on the issue some three weeks ago. He said then that the new swimsuits would one day make world records "irrelevant", and sure enough, "one day" has arrived, as records are being broken by more than two body lengths!

There are some coaches who are in denial, they say this is normal for an Olympic year. And as a physiologist, I will concede that the focus on the Olympics, the training peaks designed around it, is guaranteed to drive swimming records lower.

But last night, as I watched the Dutch Women's 4 x 200m relay team OBLITERATE a world record that had stood for six years by EIGHT SECONDS, I found it difficult to believe that coaches still feel this. That's right - EIGHT SECONDS. In fact, had it not been for a "relatively slow" final leg by the young Dutch swimmer, the record would have been destroyed by more than ten seconds.

At the time when the third swimmer touched the wall and ended 600m, the Dutch team was 8.5 seconds ahead of the record pace, set by China six years ago.

Now, I'm prepared to acknowledge that short-course records may be "softer" because they're swum a little less frequently at the national level, and that this record, in the 4 x 200m event is one that might have been up for revision. But seriously, when four teams are able to beat the old world record (which had, incidentally, survived the Athens 2004 build-up, which sort of negates the argument of some coaches), then you have to wonder about the suit and just how different it is.

A conflict for swimmers - medals or sponsors?

And on that note, Speedo's LZR has done more than just damage old world records - it's also dominated the swimsuit war that has been raging between Speedo, Arena, TYR and Adidas, and created a real dilemma for swimmers who are not in the LZR Racer.

Now admittedly, it's too early to make a call, but reports earlier this week that Arena's CEO was pushing to have the LZR Racer banned on the grounds that it was illegal were suggestive that other companies are very concerned. For the record, FINA are saying that the LZR Racer is perfectly legal, and that Speedo met every criteria they laid down in the manufacturing and development phase. FINA will still be meeting the manufacturers on Saturday to discuss matters further, so nothing is official yet, but they are in a very tightly painted corner, it seems.

Not only are the manufacturers concerned, but newer reports suggest that coaches of swimmers who are NOT wearing the Speedo LZR are also worried. This article reports the US head coach Schubert suggesting that swimmers would be faced with a "black and white" decision over which swimsuit to wear, or face losing Olympic medals as a result.

The conflict that arises with sponsors then becomes a major factor. The same article goes on to say that certain manufacturers (Arena and Adidas, in this case), are saying to their swimmers that they can, if desired, swim in the Speedo suit, and face no consequences. However, it also reports that some swimmers have been threatened with loss of sponsorship support if they go this way.

This suggests two things:

First, swimmers are looking likely to be faced with a choice between medals and sponsorship support. That clearly cannot be healthy for the sport - eight finalists per event in Beijing, and one would hope the best swimmer wins. To lose any medal by 1/100th of a second because a suit might be inferior is a shame for the athlete.

Second, the fact that Arena and Adidas are going public with the statement that they don't mind a switch in swimsuit is another example of just how Speedo has gained the upper hand. They have 18 of 19 world records (before last night in Manchester) and already, it seems that the suit has an aura of invincibility around it!

This might, of course, be premature, because the confounder in all this is that so far, not many swimmers have had the chance to race in the Arena, Adidas and TYR suits (to name a few). Speedo got into the "market" well before they did, and so the competition hasn't exactly been "field-tested" yet. Time may reveal that they are even better...? That makes the apparent concession of defeat by these companies all the more surprising.

Whether or not the differences it makes are genuinely that large, one thing that is for sure, is that if I was a Speedo LZR swimmer, I'd have a whole lot more confidence knowing I was wearing what is rapidly becoming the "Ferrari of swimsuits"!

Last word to Ryan Lochte, one of the stars of the USA swimming team, a man who is expected to pick up a share of golds in Beijing. He is one of the lucky ones...

"It basically helps you float and makes you feel like you are swimming downhill."

Ross