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Mood For 'FINA Regime Change' In The Air

Jun 23, 2009  - Craig Lord

FINA has sold swimming down the drain for the sake of appeasing Jaked, the Italian federation, host to the 13th (unlucky for some more than ever now) World Shampionships (yes, I meant to spell it with an 's'): that is the conclusion of the  French media and indeed the media far and wide. 

The director of FINA, Cornel Marculescu, said yesterday that he hoped not to much would be spoke of suits in Rome and that the athletes would be the most important thing. His is a forlorn hope. It takes half an hour or so to trawl through a sizeable chunk of world media coverage of the news and reaction to what will be the ruination of the Rome event. There can be no question that the overall interpretation is this:

  • FINA heads must roll for a decision that plunges the world championships into crisis
  • FINA says one thing, talks of finding the "science" but, after spending too much time and money to achieve nothing, discovers not a single piece of evidence that gets close to what labs and sports science experts and coaches around the world know to be a fact: the suits enhance performance to a hugely significant degree and all behave in different ways for different swimmers on different strokes and distances.

Fear is what drove FINA to take the decision it has taken. Fear of law suits from an Italian suit maker that walked through the pool door a little over a year ago and now holds a knife to FINA's throat because FINA approved a suit that it did not understand - prior to testing - in June 2008. Now, FINA has no intention of upsetting Rome or the Italian federation that has a contract with Jaked that it cannot or does not wish to break and whose head coach called the Speedo LZR Racer "technological doping" but now thinks it fine to place on its swimmers' skins double the amount of non-textile, non-permeable fabrics that boost performance well beyond the natural capacity of swimmers.

Rules are fine, as long as they suit "us", is the motto of swimming programmes at this stage in the sport's history, while for the motto of FINA look to the weak and weasel words of wounded president  Mustapha Larfaoui when he said "the scientists will make the decisions, we are not experts in fabrics and materials, we are not experts in...". In anything. And the scientists who are deciding, sir, are the scientists working against you and the interests of swimming.

Th scientists working on this are not those at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology but people engaged to prove that suits that your scientists said "trapped air" do no such thing. And meanwhile, the evidence that Prof Jan-Anders Manson does have to prove that the current generation of suits are flotation devices that aid speed, buoyancy and endurance sits unused in a cupboard this summer because FINA set the parameters of the "phased solution" designed to appease SOME suit makers before testing a single suit.

The opinions above are not mine (though I share them). They are a taste of attributed and unattributed quotes in papers in France, Australia, Italy, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and elsewhere this morning.

In France, the coach of Alain Bernard, Denis Auguin uses harsh words to explain why he feels that FINA has put poison in the pool, while Lionel Horter, head France coach describes FINA as a "band of idiots". Alain Bernard, whose 46.94sec world record will not count because he wore an X-Glide that does no more than many other suits in terms of enhancing performance, is a victim of FINA's inconsistency, says L'Equipe, given that other boosted performances in the Jaked01 will count.

As for the market, here is a taste of the business pages from Tokyo:

"Descente Ltd. (8114) shares roared upward Monday afternoon, rising as much as 36 yen on the day to hit 443 yen. At around 2:30 p.m., the sportswear maker said the swimsuit that Ryosuke Irie wore while clocking a world-record time in the 200 meter backstroke has been approved by the Internationale Swimming Federation (FINA). FINA refused to ratify the record after Irie's race, on grounds that the swimwear was not then approved."

And here's a taste of reaction this morning [so far], as told to The Times, London; SwimNews; L'Equipe; The Australian; international news agencies and other media outlets:

Denis Pursley, former US head coach: "This is a disaster of great magnitude for our sport. It  guarantees an unlevel playing field" at the world championships. It's just impossible for me to understand the thinking in this reversal of position at the eleventh hour. I'm assuming of that FINA did this because of legal challenges. But FINA are in violation of their own rules that say that suits have to be readily available to all competitors. There is no way in the world that all competitors across the world in such a short time will be able to get these suits."

This week, Britain and Germany are among nations that will stage trials for the world championships, while the USA will be last to select its team, in the first week of July. "This has a ripple effect. We're a couple of days out from trials [in Glasgow this week] and the rule change yet again," said Pursley. "There is no way that there can be equal access to all suits."

At pains to point out that, though head coach to GBR, his is not the official position of British Swimming, "British Swimming is in a no-win situation. It puts us in a difficult position with our sponsor [Speedo, which is also FINA's official suit partner in the race pool]. If we follow the ongoing flip-flop of FINA rules, the whole thing changes dramatically. If we don't follow it, we are open to challenge from swimmers who do have access to some of these suits now back on the list." 

Rome will be a mess ... it will be chaotic". 

Alain Bernard: "I would have preferred to race the final at worlds in the same conditions as in Beijing, where everyone wore the same suit."

On the world records: "This decision will have serious consequences for swimming and us swimmers. FINA's positions are contradictory and impossible to understand." The French Federation said it would appeal the decision.

Denis Auguin, coach to Bernard predicted that Michael Phelps would be in danger of missing selection at US trials because some US programmes would now have access to the Jaked, while others will not or would not want access to that brand because of Speedo contracts.

On the world records: "These are inconsistent decisions once again. Some times set with some swimsuits are approved while others set with equivalent suits are not."

"It is beyond comprehension. We will see swimmers going well beyond what they are capable of and rivaling the best in the world. It is a complete absurdity. World swimming is ... the athletes not the incompetents in the FINA office in Lausanne. A boycott is impossible...it only hurts the athletes. On the other hand perhaps it is time for such extreme measures to show those who govern the sport that swimmers are not pawns."

Christian Donzé, technical director for France, on world records: "This is pitiful. This is not the end of the story. We must now defend our athletes' best interests."

"We will equip our swimmers with the best materials." He suggested that that meant Jaked.

On FINA: "On one hand they ask us what we think of the idea of a return to textile ... and on the other they approve the 100% polyurethane Jaked. That makes no sense. We're lost in a blur of fanciful rule-making. They need a technical director for suits. They need to reflect in a very serious way."

L'Equipe: There is a dark cloud hanging over FINA. The paper runs a column of quotes under the sub-heads: "scowling" and "smiling":

Lionel Horter, France head coach: "What has become of our sport? What are the values and priorities of the people in charge? It is such a terrible mess. Protest at worlds? I will do all I can to ridicule FINA."

Jacco Verhaeren, Dutch head coach: "It's a nasty take of our sport. The first question that will be put to any winner in Rome will be 'what suit are you wearing' and the second one will be: 'did you win because of your suit". I am truly disturbed by this.

Helge Goedecke, Austria coach: "I thought what we saw in Beijing would not happen again. And now look... Why is FINA falling over? Everyone has the problem now to have to test suits. But how are you supposed to test them if you can't buy them. If I am not mistaken, that is not in the FIINA rules, is it? Everyone who is against those suits should get an injunction in court and ban the suits that don't comply. May be we will have a similar development to Formula 1 soon, where there will be competitors in suits against those in trunks. How ridiculous. Back to comparable competition, back to trunks."

Hugues Duboscq, Olympic medallist for France: I have a contract (adidas) that I will stick to. I am [skating] on ice. I will not wear a Jaked because I'd be too fast. The world championships are ruined ... that's not sport. It is [swimming] my passion, I'm not playing at it."

Bernard Moustie, Speedo rep: "If Michael Phelps gets pulverised by a second-wrung swimmer, that will be be a good slap for FINA."

Christos Paparrodopoulos, coach to Duboscq: "You'll put that suit on to reassure yourself or you will watch the finals in the stands. For me, you have to wear the fastest suit. I will not try to persuade Hugues of that. He will do as he wishes."

Nicolas Prealt, Arena rep: "We have seen opportunistic brands arrive in the sport with the sole purpose of making money off the back of swimmers. We've been here since 1973."

Francesco Fabbrica, head of Jaked: "We have been inundated with orders, particularly for the worlds [NB: why? the suits will be free of charge in Rome, FINA has declared]. "The important thing for the good of the sport is that these suits, which have been a little crimimalised, survive. They allow a technological benefit to the athlete". [NB: with such views, the technique-based sport of swimming is dead, the equipment-based sport is the woeful winner, the sswimmer the loser].

Malia Metella: "Yes, I have the suit [Jaked]. I cried when I heard that the suit was [rejected]. Yes, it's me the swimmer who does the job, not the suit." [NB: so, wear something else then and show us your true capacity, Malia].

Alan Thompson, Australia head coach : "I am extremely disappointed with the outcome''.

On Australians now having a choice of what they wear beyond Speedo: "If swimmers choose to do that, they will have a period of time to lodge that application."

Coach Grant Stoelwinder (who has tested the Jaked against other suits on his own swimmers) on the unlevel playing field awaiting his swimmers in Rome: "I know what the Jaked's capable of."

Forbes Carlile, Aussie coach and thorn in FINA's side: "If FINA executives, the Bureau the federations, most of the media and the coaches had bitten the bullet by the end of 2008 and forgotten their's and the manufacturer's financial concerns, all this could have been avoided by FINA. It could have been avoided by declaring adherence to the spirit of Rule SW 10.7 - which FINA must now do. The 2009 World Swimming Championships should be declared abandoned. By  failing to speak up there are many in swimming  who should hang their heads in shame over this disaster, which they have aided and abetted."

John Leonard, head of ASCA and FINA coaches commission member, in a letter to ASCA members: "Suffice it to say to you, the decision of the [FINA] Executive does not follow the decisions of the Suit Commission in any way. I will express myself (after some questions) in Rome, face to face with the Executive."

And there will be plenty more or that to come and more still when the circus rolls into Rome next month.