From USA Today: Incoming FINA President rumored to favor briefs over speedsuits:
But FINA doesn't appear ready to budge.
"A swimsuit is not a device. A swimsuit is equipment," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told The AP. "They can propose whatever they want, we are in a democratic world, but a device is clearly defined in the rules."
But with the rules changing from month to month, manufacturers have been left guessing.
"I still don't know what rules to use starting in September. If the rules change for January, we need four months of time for redesigns," Arena's Musciacchio said.
Making matters more complicated is that Julio Maglione of Uruguay will take over from Mustapha Larfaoui as FINA's president on Friday.
Maglione is rumored to favor a return to briefs.
"I'm hope it's more than a rumor," Zimmer said. "The new president is going to have to clean house. That's really the only way that this can happen. And I don't just say that for us. We know that Arena is very upset, Speedo has got to be really upset about what's happening, just because we've all invested a lot of money.
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In my opinion, it's not going to happen for if FINA does not approve speedsuits, the suit companies will find someone, or create a sports governing body that will.
3 comments:
I think a return to briefs is absolutely unnecessary. Although I do think that cutting out these speed-suits is a must, returning us to the condition the sport was in during the 96 Atlanta games is a bit much. Since the advent of the fastsuits in 2000, there had not been a dramatic overhaul of the world records beyond what was expected. And those world records that were smashed from the pre-fastskin era were done by super-swimmers (phelps, thorpe, de bruin, etc..).
As much as a return to briefs would bring the sport back to some utopian stage, I think that there would be significant repercussions for the swimmers themselves, mainly psychologically. As a swimmer, it must be hard enough to realize that after this year they may never swim as fast because of the suits by simply moving back to full-body textile suits. But to move back to briefs would completely destroy the psyche of the swimmer.
I think we should be realistic about swim suits. We must acknowledge that the new techsuits are too much. We must also acknowledge that the suits from 2007 (FS-Pro and TYR Tracer Light) offered no huge benefit (from looking at the times performed) over the original fastskin and aquablade. Lets move back to that era, because to remove all body-suits, and jammers, and legskins, would be to say that the past 9 years, not just the past 2, were technologically aided years, and that just is not the case.
Hey Tony:
Now "Matt" can go back where he belongs, to the fashion industry...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqIt5yPmLbVxMP-CXjgHIhRv6_lQD99KPFR01
i really think it would be crazy if someone swam in a speedo style suit and broke a world record! what would all these people who are solely attributing these world records to the suit and not the training/talent of the athletes say?!?!
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