British Olympic swimmer Mark Foster believes his sport is in danger of losing its identity through the new, faster suits which leave athletes ‘looking like sharks’ as they chase quicker times ahead of the Beijing Games.
The likes of Australian Eamon Sullivan and Alain Bernard of France are two of several swimmers who have been breaking world records following the launch of the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit.
The suit has special panels of water-repellent plastic and ultrasonic welding, so there are no seams, which reduce drag on the body.
FINA, swimming's international governing organisation, have ruled the controversial costumes will not be banned from the Games this summer, and other manufacturers have since followed suit by bringing out their own versions.
Foster, though, feels with the use of such science, the sport is losing some of its core appeal.
‘These new suits are giving people something like a two percent advantage, which over my distance is half a second, half a body length. That is a huge difference,’ he said.
‘When you look at it as a purist, I would like to see people back in swimming trunks, but that is not happening because technology is taking over and every manufacturer is making these new suits.
‘I don't want it to get to a point, like in Formula One, where the person with the best design in their suit is going to win the race rather than it being the best swimmer.
‘I would rather we went back to swimming trunks for blokes and bikinis for women, which lets face it made the sport more attractive anyway. Now we all look like sharks or whales.
‘But I guess it is like anything nowadays - you have to either grasp technology or get left behind.’
