The World Swimming Championships, now underway in Rome, will be slightly different this year. Any records that are set will either not be recognized or have a big fat asterisk next to them, probably with the initials APSA standing for All-Polyurethane Swimsuit Aided.
FINA, which gave the green light to the suits, has reversed the decision and banned them for future use. Some of the suits that were used to such good effect in Beijing were only partly polyurethane, but these new suits are totally poly and are very fast but impractical.
They can take up to 10 minutes to put on. They can be used only so many times before they lose their effectiveness and they cost a lot of money. The swimmer’s body doesn’t even get wet.
FINA rejected some of these suits in March after complaints they trapped air around a swimmer’s body, thus making them more buoyant, but the ban was lifted after manufacturers provided evidence that they did not trap air – remember when the Philip Morris Company provided evidence that smoking was not harmful to your health?
So let’s list various sports where equipment gives some
competitors a big edge. Rugby? Soccer? Aussie Rules? American football? Tennis? Golf? Basketball? Cricket? Baseball? Nope!
Cycling, yes. A Cervelo carbon-fiber & titanium bike costs a fortune but the same rider can time-trial or track-ride one faster than his regular bike. I’m not going to count Formular One because the driver, as skilled as he may be, only sits there. Did I miss one or two? Any other sports where money/technology buys you much better performance?
Bottom line is, swimmers will have to go back to a suit that’s accepted by everybody, like the old Speedo rather than the new Adidas Hydrofoil, so it looks like we’re going to have a level swimming pool next year.
Let’s take a poll. Who do you think is smarter, FINA or the IRB?
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