Nicole Jeffery | April 09, 2008
SWIMWEAR manufacturer Arena has called for all new generation swimsuits to be banned, including its own, until they can be further analysed to ensure they are not illegally enhancing performance.
Italian-based Arena's chief executive Cristiano Portas sent an open letter to the International Swimming Federation at the weekend saying that a "firestorm of public concern has ensued about the alleged buoyancy advantage provided by Speedo LZR Racer and Tyr Tracer Light suits".
Since the Speedo suit was launched on February 12, 19 world records have been broken, 18 by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer. The 19th record was set in Arena's new suit.
Portas said FINA faced an "irrecoverable loss of credibility for swimming sports, just a few months before the Olympic Games" if it did not conduct a "reliable and transparent analysis" of the fabrics used in the suits.
He hinted that his company would take legal action if FINA did not prove that its rivals' suits were legal.
Italian world 100m freestyle champion Filippo Magnini, sponsored by Arena, said he had tried the Speedo suit and it provided "strong buoyancy".
"It helped me a lot ... there are some average athletes who have made unthinkable progress," Magnini said.
Magnini called for a return to the "traditional swimsuit" but said he expected "everyone to race in that suit, and there'll be more distorted results".
FINA responded with a statement saying that it was willing to re-examine the process of swimsuit approval.
"However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no objective scientific evidence on the alleged buoyancy advantage provided by the Speedo LZR Racer or any other swimsuit approved by FINA," the statement said.
FINA will meet all the manufacturers on Sunday during the world short-course swimming championships in Manchester to discuss the issue.
Speedo Australia chief Rob Davies ascribed Arena's actions to "corporate jealousy" and said all approved swimsuits had gone through the same FINA process.
He is confident that the LZR Racer will remain legal.
Craig Stevens was the only prominent Australian swimmer who did not wear the Speedo suit at the Olympic trials last month, choosing not to use it because he could not get one to fit him properly at the time.
Stevens said he would choose a suit for the Olympics based on the best fit.
He said the only difference he had noticed with the LZR Racer was that it felt far more streamlined under water.
"In the streamlines, you feel like you are cutting through the water, but I don't think there are any buoyancy issues," Stevens said.
But Stevens called on Speedo to provide custom-fitted suits to all Olympic swimmers, not just those it personally sponsored.
"They should do the alterations for everyone," he said.
Under FINA rules, every competition swimmer must have access to the new swimsuits. The suits were banned at the recent Canadian Olympic trials and the US college championships because they were not yet generally available.