{"id":308440,"date":"2018-05-10T18:30:38","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T01:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=308440"},"modified":"2018-05-10T12:20:58","modified_gmt":"2018-05-10T19:20:58","slug":"can-world-records-supersede-the-super-suit-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/can-world-records-supersede-the-super-suit-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Can World Records Supersede the Super-Suit Era?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Giulia Filocca, Swimming World College Intern.
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Super-Suit Era<\/h3>\n

Crafted to enhance hydrodynamic performance, the sleek “rubber suit” truly revolutionized the sport of swimming as we know it: a cumulative total of 74 world records had been shattered after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while 43 were obliterated at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. Speedo proceeded to flaunt that 98% of the medals awarded at the Water Cube were won with the LZR, a variant that took a sheer four years and 55,000 man-hours to produce.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, <\/span>The<\/span><\/i> Independent<\/span><\/i> proclaimed that swimmers would find it near “impossible” to break world records following the ban on high-tech suits. \u201cWe\u2019ve lost all the history of the sport,\u201d lamented <\/span>Bob Bowman<\/b>, who feared the loss of thrill in the future of swimming. <\/span><\/p>\n

Austrian Backstroker <\/span>Markus Rogan<\/b> shrewdly added, \u201cIt\u2019s like deciding to play soccer one year with a rugby ball, then switching to a soccer ball.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"2008-beijing-men's-relay\"

Photo Courtesy: Wally Skalij<\/p><\/div>\n

The Post-Ban Era<\/h3>\n

Back in 2009, Fina\u2019s unanimous decision to prohibit the polyurethane suits was thought to create an \u2018insurmountable rift\u2019 in the performance of elite athletes. Truth exists in this assertion, as 70% of men\u2019s LCM world records originate from the heydays of the super-suit era. <\/span><\/p>\n

Should we have stricken such unjust marks and started from ground zero? Will the existing records ever surrender to the men unaided by corset-like fabrics?<\/span><\/p>\n

This never-ending suit saga aside, few world records have proven to be as untouchable as the men\u2019s 200 freestyle, the women\u2019s 200 butterfly and the women\u2019s 800 freestyle. Set both during and after the high-tech era, these mind-boggling times will presumably persist for multiple generations to come.\u00a0Exactly how startling is each record compared to all other top-times achieved in the event?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Women’s 200m Fly: <\/b>2:01.81<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"women-200-fly-world-record-progression\"<\/p>\n

Nothing screams “outlier” more than <\/span>Liu Zige<\/b>\u2019s 200m fly, a truly mind-blowing record that fell at the least anticipated of times. Zige prevailed over the field at the 2009 11th National Games of China, edging out the competition with a front-halved 58.08\/63.73 race. <\/span><\/p>\n

Only Australian <\/span>Jessica Schipper<\/b> has come remotely close to contending this mark, posting a time 1.60 seconds slower than her Chinese rival in 2009. To place this swim into perspective, Zige\u2019s 2:01.81 swim is only marginally slower than the 2:01.87 world record set by the legendary <\/span>Mark Spitz<\/b> in 1972. <\/span><\/p>\n

Her 200 butterfly time is also a mere 10.31 seconds shy of legendary <\/span>Michael Phelps<\/b>\u2019 male world record, a relative difference that stands at 12.70 seconds for the 200 backstroke and 12.20 seconds for the 200 breaststroke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mireia Belmonte<\/b> proved that the 200 butterfly is a different ball-game at the SCM level, clocking a time of 1:59.61 at the 2014 World Championships to shatter Zige\u2019s former mark of 2:00.70. <\/span><\/p>\n

Paradoxically, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Belmonte has never dipped under the 2:04.00 barrier in a LCM setting. In fact, Zige herself was never able to replicate her record-breaking swim following the textile ban: her fastest held at 2:04.40 in 2010. Does this not prove the sheer incontestability of Zige\u2019s record, plausibly the most unattainable one in the books?<\/span><\/p>\n