Published: 16 April, 2008, 16:36
Edited: 16 April, 2008, 16:36
A new battle has erupted in the swimming pool – and it's all to do with what the competitors are wearing. Athletes using the new revolutionary Speedo LZR swimsuit recently set an amazing 18 world records in the short course world championships&
Some have called it a technological breakthrough, others say it’s simply an elaborate publicity stunt, but a controversial space-age swimsuit has gripped the swimming world.
A host of world records have been toppled in the last eight weeks by swimmers wearing the high-tech LZR Racer bodysuit.
The people behind it, Speedo, claim it can carve as much as two per cent off race times.
However, other swimwear manufacturers claim they've been placed at a disadvantage because they’d followed the rules concerning materials set by swimming's world governing body, FINA.
Nevertheless, FINA have stood by their decision to approve the LZR, saying the suit is legal and Speedo's competitors had misinterpreted the rules.
One of those competitors is Arena, which sponsors the Russian swimming team, and with the Olympics quickly approaching, the Russian Swimming Federation can’t let anything hinder their athletes' performance.
“If you look at the teams that set world records, all of them except our team were wearing Speedo swimsuits. It is a problem, because we have a contract with Arena. They’ve also put out a similar model, but it hasn’t been licensed by FINA yet,” Aleksandr Klokov, Russia coach, said.
The Olympic squad will be decided in early June. By then it should be clear whether Russia will swap their sponsor, or decide the new Arena suit is just as good.