Read the article "What's Up with the Suits?" by John Leonard at the following site:
http://www.swimmingcoach.org/
Now note that he sat on the FINA "Commission for Swimwear Approval" that produced the current fiasco:
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../21315.asp
My prediction, FWIW, is that post 01-01-2010, men will be back into FS Pro Jammers (read" paper suits), and women into traditional tanks. Isn't that the only way to be "pure" and eliminate compression, buoyancy, air-trapping, drag reduction, etc?
Perhaps we should also get rid of goggles and silicone caps, since they also represent technological breaks with the past.
While I am happy to race in any type of suit, as long as it is a level playing field (and I consider LZR, B70, Jaked, AquaZone, Tracer Rise, Powerskin, etc to be level enough), I am nauseated by the "purist" argument that swimming has become all about the suits. It has not. Everyone has access to a LZR, or a B70, or ... So it is still racing, only in different equipment. Yes, a less-fit swimmer with poor technique may be aided more by the suits than a fit swimmer with good technique. But certainly not enough to beat the latter.
The purist argument is based on the dramatic drops in times achieved with the new suits. So what? Does the fact that Bousquet and cohorts are setting records minimize Biondi's accmplishments; or Popov's/Jager's/Thorpe's/Salinkov's/Spitz's? Of course not.:bitching:
Somebody find a way to get rid of FINA, please. And mute Craig Lord, while you're at it...:bitching:
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No, it's not all about the suits. www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../21308.asp
Here's a good quote:
"Times are supposed to get faster, but apparently, only at some preconceived rate established through the sport's own brief history. Whatever that gradual rate is supposed to be, according to whomever it is who gets to decide, the improvements over the past year exceeded it. But is this kind of evolutionary acceleration really unprecedented? Or is it just our misperception of our own history? "
And I've repeatedly made this comment, and people tell me I'm deluded every time:
"Another revealing statistic is the sustained rate of improvement by the same swimmers one year after the latest generation of suits was introduced. Many elite swimmers are smashing their own person records set a year ago wearing the same suits. How do the suit critics account for this widespread, sustained improvement?"
If we're going back to tanks and jammers, that's pre-2000. Ridiculous.
That article also makes it sound like the B70 will not be on the FINA list to be issued on June 19 despite re-testing.
I agree 100%, and I thought Mr. Guthrie's article was well-written and quite convincing. My beef is with bureaucrats and journalists (and Speedo-compensated coaches) who are hell-bent on trying to stop the advancement of technology.
We can agree that the suits make you faster than a Lycra or paper jammer/tank. However, it is fair to assume they make EVERYONE faster (albeit the unfit fatties relatively more so). Therefore, training and talent still matter.
No, it's not all about the suits. www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../21308.asp
Here's a good quote:
"Times are supposed to get faster, but apparently, only at some preconceived rate established through the sport's own brief history. Whatever that gradual rate is supposed to be, according to whomever it is who gets to decide, the improvements over the past year exceeded it. But is this kind of evolutionary acceleration really unprecedented? Or is it just our misperception of our own history? "
And I've repeatedly made this comment, and people tell me I'm deluded every time:
"Another revealing statistic is the sustained rate of improvement by the same swimmers one year after the latest generation of suits was introduced. Many elite swimmers are smashing their own person records set a year ago wearing the same suits. How do the suit critics account for this widespread, sustained improvement?"
If we're going back to tanks and jammers, that's pre-2000. Ridiculous.
That article also makes it sound like the B70 will not be on the FINA list to be issued on June 19 despite re-testing.
I agree 100%, and I thought Mr. Guthrie's article was well-written and quite convincing. My beef is with bureaucrats and journalists (and Speedo-compensated coaches) who are hell-bent on trying to stop the advancement of technology.
We can agree that the suits make you faster than a Lycra or paper jammer/tank. However, it is fair to assume they make EVERYONE faster (albeit the unfit fatties relatively more so). Therefore, training and talent still matter.
