{"id":409216,"date":"2019-12-31T08:04:36","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T15:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=409216"},"modified":"2019-12-31T12:20:42","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T19:20:42","slug":"decade-in-the-mirror-10-remains-of-the-day-when-shiny-suits-ruled-the-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/decade-in-the-mirror-10-remains-of-the-day-when-shiny-suits-ruled-the-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"Decade In The Mirror: 10 Remains Of The Day When Shiny Suits Ruled The Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"

They’d had their day a decade ago: the shiny suits<\/strong>\u00a0– which transformed swimming into a surfers’ paradise at the expense of swimmers relying on swimming to have their swims recognised for what they were – breathed their last this day 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

The moment coach Bob Bowman<\/strong> declared in Rome that his charge – Michael Phelps<\/strong> – would not be appearing at FINA events until a date was set to end the scam, the countdown began. We were still to endure a\u00a0World Championships that would to deliver a farcical 42 global long-course standards in eight days. Even so, the decision had been taken, the date set.<\/p>\n

The sinking of shiny suits arrived with the banning of them from January 1, 2010. The suits were made of polyurethane and other non-textile materials that treated the nuances and art of swimming skill like water off a ducks back. Much has since been made of the fact that the sport and its speed has moved the clock on.<\/p>\n

Indeed it has. However, the bump in the road was a Himalayan like and it is likely to take another decade before the percentages of standard progress from the helm through the deep ranks of the sport return to expected “norms”.<\/p>\n

Here are some numbers to chew over 10 years on:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Nine Shiny Suit World Records Survived The Decade:<\/h2>\n
\"BEIJING

Aaron Peirsol – Photo Courtesy: Jed Jacobsohn<\/p><\/div>\n

Men<\/strong><\/p>\n