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Alea Jaked Est! The Die Is Cast
Apr 27, 2009 - Craig Lord
Finally, after five days of speedy suit-boosted action in Montpellier, the Latin joke that arrived in my e-mail box from a French coach on the eve of racing made the main headline in L'Equipe: Alea Jaked Est! (Bravo Fred!)
It is perfect for the Eternal City and Rome racing to come in July at world titles. Jacta Alea Est! The die is cast, said Caesar [not Cielo, the other one]. We hope not, in terms of Rome. That will be down to FINA and the results of Independent testing which will show us the worth of the tests.
I still hear: there is no scientific evidence that suits etc etc ... There is a tidal wave of numbers - that's science, like Pi etc, definitely science, truly, truly overwhelming evidence - not to mention the scientific evidence that suit makers collected for themselves and the scientific evidence now held in abundance by labs around the world that are waiting to spring on FINA with a very hefty force indeed if the independent tests say "no evidence". So, if there is anyone in FINA still doubting that evidence exists and that what happened at the French nationals was all hard work and smartness and on and on - think again, you are WRONG. Just as you were on doping. It will come back to haunt you, make no mistake. If the 2008 generation of suits - from LZR in 2008 guise onwards - are left in the water (whether that takes until 2010 or not), we will know that independent testing was a sham. There is, I am happy to note, reason to believe that it will not be a sham and that 2010 will bring excellent news. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the dish is yet to leave the heat - and suit makers are very much involved in saying what goes and what does not, at this stage.
As for France, the die is indeed cast. See the team list below, as L'Equipe reported it this morning: by suit as a priority.
Jumpin' Jaked Flash by Mick Jaked was also among suggestions from French coaches, swimmers and former internationals to reach my inbox. Humour is often the much-needed manifestation of true feelings of gut-wrenching sadness. Here's a few things said in Montpellier, summing up the mood (as told to L'Equipe):
"I am sickened - it is no longer the worth of the swimmer that makes the difference" - Christos Paparrodopoulos, coach to Duboscq
"I have the impression that we have gone back 10-15 years, when people demanded to know [after every swim] whether there were doping controls in place" - Franck Esposito, former 'fly ace and director of Antibes, home to Bernard and coach denis Auguin
"These championships were like the Way of the Cross [a hard a tortuous path]. I took the blows as they came ... This is not sport. On every side, I see fish going past me." - Duboscq, Olympic medallist
"Do I sleep well at night? Not necessarily. But these were great championships and I don't feel like I have my head in the sand. I have no mea culpa to make. At the same time, I hear no positive talk. Apart from my own. Nothing shocks me. I'm reassured." - Francis Luyce, politician with an eye on his position in FINA. These were not great championships Francis - they were a very sad reflection of the fact that swimming is steeped in a crisis, that your swimmers and coaches are torn, that your head coach, Lionel Horter spent the worst days of his career in Montpellier. Those things should surely move you.
"I was the first on the French team to wear the Jaked. I wore it in Rijeka. I wasn't prepared. I had my head up my arse, and I looked like Casimir [a French children's cartoon character that looks like an orange dinosaur] in my orange suit, but I did my best times. There is no question that the suit helps. I'll laugh at whoever says not." - Pierre Roger, 200m back record holder on 1:56 in semis and, after his suit popped and he was forced to wear something else in the final, on 2:01.
"Another sport has taken shape with individuals racing in boats. It is the negation of talent and strategies of preparation [coaching]." - Fabrice Pellerin, coach to Camille Muffat and Clement Lefert.
"Let me savour my first French championships as director of performance. The key thing is performance," - Christian Donze, trying desperately not to look at the fact that he cannot possibly measure performance under the circumstances, trying not to look at the fact that his two world-record-swimmer coaches believe there are swimmers on the France team for Rome who would surely not have made the grade without their suit.
The French sports paper carries a word or two from Brett Hawke, Australian coach and former international at Auburn in the States. There is mention in the report of planning, training, technique, background and things that would be meaningful and interesting in other context. In the context of suits they are meaningless because they are unquantifiable. I have no idea how much was Fred (now a second faster than he was a little over a year ago on a 50m free after a long career) and how much was the suit. If the suit gives half a second (and there are plenty of numbers to suggest that we are looking at .3 to .6 per 50m depending on swimmer, stroke, distance, etc) then Fred is a 21.5 man. Great, 0.1 better than Popov. Terrific. Not supersonic. Not off-the-chart historic. Just as I have have no idea how much Fred was helped, neither does Hawke nor Christian Donze, we assume. And if they do, they might care to mention it. Lionel Horter suggests that the sport is lost, the temple in danger of burning to the ground. He is right.
The French media has reflected that all week long, though it is not hard to see how and understand why some are torn when it comes to having to report on swimmers who, in Horter's words, have been in the midst of an earthquake that has opened up a fault line beneath their feet. Agence France Presse has pumped out a vast amount of material over the past five days and has mentioned suits many times, we note. Nonetheless, in the last take, an interview with Fred Bousquet after that 20.94 stunner, there is not a single mention of the suit that gave rise to the first sub 21sec swim. And yes, that time was indeed down to the suit. And if anyone wants to argue with that, let Fred step up in briefs for the Rome final, brimming with the confidence of Alex Popov and the defiance of Gary Hall Jr.
No suit question put to Bousquet in the AFP interview, it seems, unless, of course, the swimmer said "no suit questions". Maybe they just got tired of the word suit. We all are. But whatever the reason, a poor show that reminded me of the reporter who came back to his office and said: nothing to report, the meeting was cancelled. Right, says the Ed. What happened? Reporter: the Town Hall burned down. Right, says Ed, an early bath for you tonight, then, my lad. (In fact, don't bother coming back tomorrow).
The need to tell the world what was worn by whom when in swimming (no, it did not come to that because of the media, it came to that the moment the LZR was let loose and suit wars became inevitable, it came about because of suits and poor guardianship of the sport) had reached mainstream media in various parts of the world. L'Equipe goes a stroke further by listing the France team for Rome this morning according to which suits were worn. That is important not only to know where performances sit in an historic context but because some of those suits may well be gone by Rome, in which case the form guide will shift yet again.
Men:
Women:
