In another example of the mayhem and woe being caused by suit wars, Michael Bohl, coach to triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice, talks to AAP today of the pain of trialling different suits and said that FINA's staged ruling was "very problematic".
Before leaving for pre-Rome camp with the Australian team on July 14, Rice will watch events at the US trials, which will throw a few more brands into the fire, and then try out as many suits as she and her management company International Quarterback can get hold of before racing starts in Rome on July 26.
The double Olympic medley champion has tried out a few fast suits beyond the LZR she wore last summer, such as arena's X-Glide, but has yet to try out the adidas Hydrofoil and other suits with names that suggest so-called "technology" in suits belongs to the space age instead of just admitting that all these devices aid speed, buoyancy and endurance to one significant degree or another.
Bohl said he and Rice were also interested to see the performances of swimmers trialling the "Rocket" suits at US trials.
"We'll have a look at what the American swimmers are doing," Bohl said. "They've got a new suit they're calling the Rocket suit. The Jaked and the Arena will be two up the top of the list (to trial) and we'll look at the US trials and if the Rocket suits perform then it will 'rocket' up the list."
Let's remind ourselves about where the people at Rocket stand on the importance of the swimmer's natural capacity when it comes to sporting performance:
In a note to FINA, Marcin Sochacki, CEO, Rocket Science Sports, wrote back in the winter: "If the purists of this sport really want this to be man to man, then everyone should be on the exact same sleep schedule, nutrition plan/products and be set up to compete against others with the exact same hand size, lung capacity, arm and leg length including hight etc. Even then, someone is still going to have some sort of advantage however slight it might be. Where will the line be drawn in that direction?"
Comparing Grant Hackett's lungs to a swim suit sort of tells us that Mr Rocket missed the point. But hey, when you're making money in a market, who cares?!
The Rocket was put through its paces in a German triathlon website, and this is what they found:
- In normal trunks: average 16 to 17 strokes per 25m freestyle
- With Rocket's Speedsuit (shorts and arms): 14 to 15 strokes
- With Rocket's Skin Speedsuit: 13 to 14 strokes
- With Neoprene suit: 11.5 to 13 strokes.
We will soon see if swimmers have chosen this suit and what effect it has on their progress in the pool.
Bohl told AAP: "It's going to be a pain. At this (world titles) people will be wearing all different suits and questions will be asked whether someone would have won a race if they wore a different suit. It's very problematic."
The new adidas suits are expected to be trialled by a host of Australians at training camp in Manchester before the team flies into Rome.
Bohl indicated the level of distraction caused by the suits crisis when he said: "There's so many different ones she's looking at but we're just trying to keep her focussed with training at the moment. The suit issue is a side issue but it's an important one ... There's about 40 or 50 suits around, it's just coming up with the suit which she feels most comfortable with. It's a decision we're not taking lightly."
