Barcode checks for 'wrong kind' of swimsuit at world championships
Swimmers taking part in the World Championships in Rome next month will have to submit to a special “barcode” test as part of a crackdown on performance-enhancing suits.
All suits will have to conform to a list of costumes the international swimming federation approved two weeks ago.
Competitors’ suits will be tested for buoyancy and then tagged with a unique code. Before the race starts an official will check the competitors’ suits with a digital scanner, which will confirm whether the wearers are wearing the suits that they said they would. Anyone who swaps or shares their suit could be disqualified.
The “traceability, transparency and respect” process will add about 20 minutes on to an already lengthy check-in regime and could cost several hundred thousand dollars to organise.
The checks are part of a phased plan to rid swimming of suits that were introduced to the sport only a year ago but are deemed to enhance performance beyond the natural capacity of swimmers. Some of the suits can make the wearer swim faster, by improving the body’s angle of buoyancy in water. Many top competitors wear Speedo LZR suit, which was developed by Nasa.
Many fear that it could take years for some current records to be broken if “fast fabrics” are banned.
Nick Thierry, who has collated the official world rankings for swimming for 30 years , said: “We saw 60 or more national records fall in several countries inside six weeks this year. We’re seeing things that would have taken ten years to achieve in the past.”
Those caught wearing the “wrong” suit in Rome will be given 20 minutes to switch to an approved suit. That may prove a problem as many swimmers say that it takes them up to 40 minutes to squeeze into the LZR. Swimmers are essentially wedging themselves into a suits that are several sizes too small in order to maximise the benefits of compression on muscles: the less human tissue oscillates under pressure, the less fatigued it becomes.
Beyond the suit checks, the federation said that it would be “watchful” of creams and sprays that can increase buoyancy. A top race suit cost less than £100 in 2007. Now swimmers expect to pay between £350 and £600 for a suit that, in some cases, has a very short shelf life of just several races. One Australian junior recently got through £3,500 worth of suits at one competition alone. source
All suits will have to conform to a list of costumes the international swimming federation approved two weeks ago.
Competitors’ suits will be tested for buoyancy and then tagged with a unique code. Before the race starts an official will check the competitors’ suits with a digital scanner, which will confirm whether the wearers are wearing the suits that they said they would. Anyone who swaps or shares their suit could be disqualified.
The “traceability, transparency and respect” process will add about 20 minutes on to an already lengthy check-in regime and could cost several hundred thousand dollars to organise.
The checks are part of a phased plan to rid swimming of suits that were introduced to the sport only a year ago but are deemed to enhance performance beyond the natural capacity of swimmers. Some of the suits can make the wearer swim faster, by improving the body’s angle of buoyancy in water. Many top competitors wear Speedo LZR suit, which was developed by Nasa.
Many fear that it could take years for some current records to be broken if “fast fabrics” are banned.
Nick Thierry, who has collated the official world rankings for swimming for 30 years , said: “We saw 60 or more national records fall in several countries inside six weeks this year. We’re seeing things that would have taken ten years to achieve in the past.”
Those caught wearing the “wrong” suit in Rome will be given 20 minutes to switch to an approved suit. That may prove a problem as many swimmers say that it takes them up to 40 minutes to squeeze into the LZR. Swimmers are essentially wedging themselves into a suits that are several sizes too small in order to maximise the benefits of compression on muscles: the less human tissue oscillates under pressure, the less fatigued it becomes.
Beyond the suit checks, the federation said that it would be “watchful” of creams and sprays that can increase buoyancy. A top race suit cost less than £100 in 2007. Now swimmers expect to pay between £350 and £600 for a suit that, in some cases, has a very short shelf life of just several races. One Australian junior recently got through £3,500 worth of suits at one competition alone. source