By Hideki Mochizuki, Swimming World Japanese correspondent
TOKYO, Japan, May 21. ACCORDING to several Japanese media reports today regarding the Japanese records recently set in the speedsuits, the Japanese Swimming Federation plans to ratify all of the national records set in all suits so far this year – including Ryosuke Irie's world record in the men's 200 backstroke – regardless of FINA's final decision.
"Even if Irie's world record would not be ratified by FINA, the Japanese Federation will not omit it from the Japanese record book," Japanese Swimming Federation Executive Director Masafumi Izumi said. "The position of the Japanese Federation is different from FINA. Although there are discrepancies, and we are in confusion. The Japanese Federation will have to distinguish FINA's standard and our own standard in the ratification process."
Depending on what FINA does, this could lead to an interesting occasion where a national record is faster than the world record on the books.
The Japanese Federation also plans to ratify all the records set at the Japanese Nationals held April 16-19 in Hamamatsu, Japan. There were 22 national records established, but most of the records were done in suits that have either been banned or are on the list of the 136 that still require modification.
This decision could also impact the world rankings with top times like Yuta Suenaga's men's 200 breast (2:08.77), Junya Koga's men's 100 back (52.87) and Aya Terakawa's women's 100 back (59.67) all highly ranked.
Unilaterally ratifying all of the Japanese records without discussion or global alignment could cause some serious internal confusion within Japan.
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May 20, 2009 This makes no sense at all. Submitted by: paddles
May 20, 2009 That is complete ignorance if you ask me. Your own athlete sets a WR, its going to be taken away because the suit wasn't legal, but the country says hey its ok you can wear an illegal suit. It may not count as a WR if you break it, but the Japanese record still stands. Completely ridiculous. Submitted by: WUswimmer
May 20, 2009 I am in complete agreement, WU. When I first read it, I was like..."What??????? Are you kidding?????" I think that the Japanese Federation doesn't want to let go of Ryosuke's performance rather than waiting for him to do the same or better in Rome. Submitted by: paddles
May 20, 2009 The italians said that they will allow the "jaked" and "X-glide" type suits as long as the situation is not clear, in spite of not being on the list !.
The french federation is now forbidding the use of the suits not on the list, as a precautionnary measure , waiting for more information; but the french national technical director said that he is not too happy, that they had begged FINA for guidance before the national championships, and that in absence of a list , they conducted a minimum of testing just before the championships ( thickness) , but that they didn't have the means to test for such vague notions as "air trapping". In any case they won't go back on the results at the french national championships : the list of qualified swimmers to the World Championships stands as is. He also mentions the fact that they could look at the legal aspect of having the 2 World Records accepted as French National Records if they are not accepted by FINA.
Yes it could well be that for a while some National Records could be better than the World Records ( That would be temporary , as it is likely that all these records will be reached again faster than we think... ) Submitted by: flamin
May 20, 2009 Implementation of the new FINA rules is not that easy. Just think, how are you going to implement the verification of the suits for every level of competition?
Are the officials supposed to recognize hundreds of suits just by sight, without some kind of label ?
USA swimming is pondering how the officials are going to do it and the official word is:
"USA Swimming has not yet taken any action with respect to the published list of approved suits and will not do so until after the Rules & Regulations Committee meeting scheduled for May 29-30. Following that meeting, a formal announcement will be made regarding how the approved list will affect USA Swimming and its rules & regulations." Submitted by: flamin
May 20, 2009 Good for them! Someone needs to take a stand against this nonsense. Submitted by: fluidg
May 20, 2009 Wow, do the JSF really need to cause any more confusion than there already is? They even admit they're in confusion yet they are going to do this stupid thing. Submitted by: philipmj24
May 20, 2009 The Japanese are not stupid. Their actions are justified and they are acting out of conviction. FINA's ruling is a mess and the only way to clean it up is to take a stand and force some integrity into the suit approval process. The way the Japanese worded their announcement, they are saying that FINA is in a state of confusion, not them. They seem prepared to articulate their own suit criteria in precise terms and they are asking FINA to do the same. Submitted by: fluidg
May 20, 2009 I didn't call the Japanese stupid. From what I read, they said, "...we are in confusion." If they meant we as in Fina then my mistake. I just don't think that putting themselves above FINA is the answer. This will be settled eventually, all they need to do is be patient. Everyone does. Submitted by: Philipmj24
May 20, 2009 Can anyone honestly read the FINA requirements and think that those suits were going to pass the testing? If you have questions about the legality of something the sensible thing to do is stay safely inside the line not push it and hope for the best. If you aren't sure what a supplement contains you don't take it right?!? Submitted by: Coach Dude
May 20, 2009 Can anyone honestly read the FINA requirements and think that those suits were going to pass the testing? If you have questions about the legality of something the sensible thing to do is stay safely inside the line not push it and hope for the best. If you aren't sure what a supplement contains you don't take it right?!? Submitted by: Coach Dude
May 20, 2009 Exactly what I was about to bring up. Good comment Coach dude. You don't push the limits of any sport, and luckily since it is a suit a swimmer will not be banned, but the time will be taken away. The new suits that have been made are way out of control. I'm saying we go back to the old school aquablade speedo and see how people do with that. Submitted by: WUswimmer
May 21, 2009 WUswimmer,
How do you decide how far to roll back the clock on so-called fabric technology? Old-school? Totally arbitrary! If we're going backwards, lets just go all the way to the Stone Age and require swimmers to wear animal hides. Submitted by: fluidg
May 21, 2009 Kind of a joke, but apparently you took that in the wrong way. I really don't have a problem with the new suits, but when FINA finally does make a rule, so have to go with it. I'm sorry but it's pretty ridiculous when a country goes against FINA. I like the advancement in technology, but when it gets to the point that the suit actually has a negative drag coeffecient, that's when things get out of hand. Submitted by: WUswimmer
May 21, 2009 rabble rabble rabble Submitted by: ucswim
May 21, 2009 I don't have a problem with the suits either. The cost factor is a huge worry but the going faster part isn't as much of one. Yes we need some limits but we do need to set them in advance, as FINA laid out this spring finally. Regarding the old records versus new ones - is anyone going to argue that this is the biggest suit change ever. How about wool to silk. Does Johnny Weismuller get to claim that his records should stand forever because suits and strokes changed after he was done. Does anyone want to try to beat his record in the 100m Fr in a pool with no filtration, no lane lines, wool body suit, & head up Fr. I bet he would still be right there. All the changes over time add up. Popov & Evans will always be a stud because we know it took changes to break their records! Lets just find a way to control the costs so we don't drive folks out of the sport and limit younger kids from wearing them. Submitted by: Coach Dude
May 21, 2009 Hello!! FINA approved the Blue 70 in 2007 for use until the end of 2009. Question is why change their ruling with 6 months left? Smells fishy to me because most suits not on the list are suits that will out last(swims per suit)the Speedo LZR. Not to mention members on the FINA decision panel are Speedo backed teams. Hmmmmm.... Submitted by: NOLA
May 21, 2009 FluidG how is this action by the Japanese Federation going to "force some integrity into the suit approval process?"
What's going to happen is the Japanese will recognise Irie's swim as a national record and it will be ignored by everyone else. It has zero effect on FINA's approval process. Submitted by: ShortChange
May 21, 2009 I honestly cannot say I am surprised. Submitted by: SwimDER94
May 21, 2009 I don't have a problem with a record being upheld as long as it is in a suit that is "currently approved" or was approved but later declared illegal. However, it is my understanding that this suit was NEVER submitted for approval and that makes for unfairness. Submitted by: gk
May 21, 2009 With the Japanese and Italians defying the murky rules FINA has contrived, they are taking a position against poor decisions from a corrupt process being forced upon them. Haven't we had enough of that for a while? Submitted by: fluidg
May 22, 2009 I think it's time to stop with all this swimsuit issue! Why not going back in time and wearing briefs? why wearing long legs? is the water too cold?
In triathlon, for instance, wetsuits are only allowed if water temperature is below 20 degrees Celcius. My understanding is that water temperature in competition pools is around 27 C, no need for more than briefs!!! Submitted by: Max Argie
May 22, 2009 Coach Dude
The "cost factor"? What are you talking about? I know you didn't invent that idea, but it's just another example of how rhetoric can replace reality. The fact is that the polyurethane suits are BY FAR the most affordable and economical suits produced in the body suit era. These suits cost LESS than the previous generations of lycra suits like the Fastskin, which lose their effectiveness after only a couple of swims. Polyurethane is infinitely more durable than lycra, retaining its integrity indefinitely. Lycra starts breaking down as soon as it comes into contact with chlorine and becomes a useless wet sock after a few swims. The LEAST economical suit on the market is the LZR, which is why it needs FINA's protection. The LZR created all the hype with all sorts of performance claims, the very claims Speedo/FINA is using to disqualify its legitimate competitors. By whittling the choices down to the LZR or the LZR, Speedo/FINA is trying to force us to buy suits we don't want and can't afford. Submitted by: fluidg
May 22, 2009 The "cost factor"? What are you talking about? I know you didn't invent that idea, but it's just another example of how rhetoric can replace reality. The fact is that the polyurethane suits are BY FAR the most affordable and economical suits produced in the body suit era. These suits cost LESS than the previous generations of lycra suits like the Fastskin, which lose their effectiveness after only a couple of swims. Polyurethane is infinitely more durable than lycra, retaining its integrity indefinitely. Lycra starts breaking down as soon as it comes into contact with chlorine and becomes a useless wet sock after a few swims. The LEAST economical suit on the market is the LZR, which is why it needs FINA's protection. The LZR created all the hype with all sorts of performance claims, the very claims Speedo/FINA is using to disqualify its legitimate competitors. By whittling the choices down to the LZR or the LZR, Speedo/FINA is trying to force us to buy suits we don't want and can't afford.
Submitted by: fluidg
TOTALLY AGREE!!!!!!!! way to go fluidg!! Submitted by: nola
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