New rules announced today!
BBC
World swimming governing body Fina has moved to limit the impact of the controversial hi-tech swimsuits.
Last year saw an astonishing 108 world records broken, 79 of them by swimmers wearing one suit, the Speedo LZR Racer.
But following a three-day meeting in Dubai, Fina has stipulated swimsuits should not cover the neck and must not extend past the shoulders and ankles.
... opponents of the hi-tech suits argue the buoyancy they create amounts to "technological doping".
And matters came to a head in December when 17 world records tumbled at the European Short-Course Championships with the sight of swimmers squeezing into more than one suit in an attempt to compress their bodies and trap air for buoyancy dismaying many observers...
Article
It’s about time FINA started giving some opposition to the so called “tech suit” fad.
Any world’s records in swimming are meaningless if they are achieved merely through a bunch of personal mechanization gimicks.
Now watch this thread go up in flames of another verbal altercation just like all the other comments I’ve posted on this subject. :bitching:
Dolphin 2
Dolphin,
I believe the limitations FINA has put in place generally make sense. There will still be plenty of world records broken in the future because there is a lot more to breaking records than just the suits. Several world records were broken last summer by swimmers not wearing full tech suits (Lochte, Phelps wore just legskins) so they are not a requirement to break a world record.
The world does not stay static in any sport so why such the fuss? "Mechanization", really? Are you secretly Janet Evans and just pissed that you lost your world records and this is your form of therapy? If so, I somewhat understand and I hope you eventually get over it although I think your world records would have been broken by the current group of swimmers with or without the tech suits.
Tim
It’s about time FINA started giving some opposition to the so called “tech suit” fad.
Any world’s records in swimming are meaningless if they are achieved merely through a bunch of personal mechanization gimicks.
Now watch this thread go up in flames of another verbal altercation just like all the other comments I’ve posted on this subject. :bitching:
Dolphin 2
Dolphin,
I believe the limitations FINA has put in place generally make sense. There will still be plenty of world records broken in the future because there is a lot more to breaking records than just the suits. Several world records were broken last summer by swimmers not wearing full tech suits (Lochte, Phelps wore just legskins) so they are not a requirement to break a world record.
The world does not stay static in any sport so why such the fuss? "Mechanization", really? Are you secretly Janet Evans and just pissed that you lost your world records and this is your form of therapy? If so, I somewhat understand and I hope you eventually get over it although I think your world records would have been broken by the current group of swimmers with or without the tech suits.
Tim
