The 30.05 world record set by Yulia Efimova over 50m breaststroke at Russian nationals in Moscow last week was established in an arena X-Glide, the suit that is yet to be approved for use by FINA and was worn by Alain Bernard on his way to a 46.94 world record in the 100m freestyle at French nationals two weeks ago.

Second to Efimova was Valentina Artemyeva, on 30.17 and also inside Australian Jade Edminstone's previous global mark. No idea what Artemyeva was wearing at this stage.

Efimova's 50m sprint becomes the latest swim to join a list of performances that FINA will need to take a view on: under the rules of the international federation, no performance can be recognised unless a suit has been approved by FINA. The X-Glide from arena contains nothing that a number of approved suits contain in terms of non-permeable materials and factors that enhance performance. However, the suit was submitted to FINA for the March 31 deadline of the new independent testing process at the heart of an evolving situation on what can and cannot be worn in the future. 

FINA has one regime in mind for this summer and the World Championships in Rome, and another for a January 1, 2010 deadline, by which time rules on suit will be more stringent. The questions of what limit is needed to cut out buoyancy and what is acceptable in terms of the amount of non-permeable material in suits have yet to finalised. 

While the X-Glide has not yet had the nod, courtesy of the drawn-out process of independent testing essential if FINA are to get it right on suits, it is hard to see how all world records set in the LZR and Jaked and various other suits could stand if one in an X-Glide that has no more to it than a whole list of specifications contained in other garments could not. In this season of anarchy on suits, FINA may well give a retrospective nod to the efforts of Bernard and Efimova before any serious clampdown on performance-enhancing devices sets in.

Efimova, meanwhile, proved that she is a force to be reckoned with in whatever suit she wears: over 100m, she set a European record of 1.05.80 in the Arena R-evolution that she wore at the Beijing Olympic Games and in the 200m she wore a suit from the Arc, according to observers in Moscow, with the aim of seeing what difference a suit can make. In the Arc, she set a Russian record of 2.23.62. If in Rome she gets to wear the X-Glide, watch that time tumble.

All the Russian national results are now to be found in the SwimNews World Rankings, updated as the swimming world changes pace. They include Andrey Grechin's new Russian records of 47.98 in the semi and 47.59 in the final if the 100m free, efforts that confined to history the 48.21 national standard of a legend who retired just five years ago, Alex Popov. Grechin, 22, had a best time of 48.50 last year, while Popov's former world record is 22nd best ever among performers and 76th best performance. At 21, Popov's best was 49.02, a year later a 48.93. His 48.21 came a year later and remained his best during the most illustrious sprint freestyle career in history. I have seen it written elsewhere that sprinters of "his era" were built more slightly than the likes of Fred Bousquet and did less specific work. That was obviously written by someone who has never stood next to Popov, not seen the regime that he toiled with for many a long year with coach Gennadi Touretski, yesteday a man with views awaited like the rain now perceived by the ignorant "live-in-my-day-alone" observers who paint the Popov years in pygmy colours.

Meanwhile, Jason Lezak, the US sprinter who crashed past Bernard at the Olympics with a blistering 46.02 100m free relay split (0.6 better than anyone else in history to date) that kept France at bay and Michael Phelps on course for eight gold medals, has hit out at the influence of suits on performance. Lezak said of Fred Bousquet's 20.94 world record in the 50m free at French nationals: "It's absolutely ridiculous. Popov's record of 21.64 took 10 years to [crack] and, all of a sudden, a gut goes 0.7sec faster. That makes no sense, its not good for our sport. That suit (Jaked) should not have been approved."

Nor, of course, should the LZR that helped shoot Lezak and his talent, hard work and guts to a 46-point split. Good for Lezak for airing his views.