Swimsuit Competition At The World Championships

Because of the technical swimsuit controversy in pool swimming, we thought it would be interesting to see what technical swimsuits were worn by the open water swimmers at the 2009 World Swimming Championships.

We noted the swimsuits of all the swimmers in the 5K and 10K races.

Before the start of each race, the swimmers walked approximately 100 meters from the call room to the water's edge.

This gave us plenty of time to correctly identify and count the swimsuits worn by the open water swimmers. If there was any doubt as to what manufacturer made a swimsuit, we did not count in any manufacturer's total. The results of two races are listed below:

The participants in the women's 5K race wore the following:

16 swimmers wore blueseventy
16 swimmers wore Arena
8 swimmers wore Speedo
2 swimmers wore swimsuits that could not be identified
1 swimmer wore TYR
1 swimmer wore Diana

The participants in the men's 10K race wore the following:

16 swimmers wore blueseventy
9 swimmers wore Speedo
9 swimmers wore swimsuits that could not be identified
6 swimmers wore Arena
5 swimmers wore TYR
2 swimmers wore Jaked
1 swimmer wore Adidas

Newly Approved FINA Swimsuit List

Under the interim regulations of the Dubai Charter, FINA announced today its approval of dozens of additional swimsuit models from 20 different manufacturers. The announcement will lead to follow-up announcements by national governing bodies and some quick decisions by swimmers worldwide.

The manufacturers included Adidas, Arena, Asics, blueseventy, Descente, Diana Sport, Essenuoto, Footmark, Jaked, Kiwami, Leonian, Mizuno, Mosconi, Okeo, Orca, Aquazone, Speedo, Sports Hig, TYR and Yamamotohokosyo.

The full FINA approved swimsuit list can be seen here.

Dozens of technical swimsuits were resubmitted - with modifications - to FINA and its Swimsuit Commission after the first group of swimsuits were approved in May. According to FINA, in some cases, the manufacturers submitted explanations why the construction or material of their swimsuits does not create air trapping effects.

FINA determined that evidence of 'in use' air trapping effect is complex, requiring additional time and resources to create and implement comprehensive control mechanisms and objective test procedures to review the air trapping effects.

The approved swimsuits for the FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome from July 17th to August 2nd must be labelled and will be checked in Rome prior to competition. The rules regarding shape, use of only one swimsuit and no taping will be strictly applied and controlled in the call room before all pool swimming and open water swimming events.

We only wonder what swimsuits - and training equipment - the next generation of swimmers and coaches will employ in their pursuit of swimming better.

Pulling Double-Duty in the Pool and Open Water

On the day that Olympic champion Alain Bernard set a 100-meter freestyle world record of 46.94 seconds in a new Jaked swimsuit, Chloe Sutton, America's 5K and 10K swim hopeful, showed off her new blazing speed in a traditional (i.e., non-buoyant) swimsuit at the Speedo Challenge in Irvine, California.

Chloe was interviewed by Dan Albano of the Orange County Register about her come-from-behind victory in the 200-meter freestyle final.


Rallying from third place over the last 50 meters, Chloe won in 2:00.89 which will put her in good stead against long-time undefeated world open water swimming champion Larisa Ilchenko who is renowned for her closing kick (shown on left in Beijing).



But, unlike Larisa, Chloe may be pulling double-duty in Rome like David Davies, Cassandra Patten and Keri-Anne Payne (shown on left) did in Beijing: competing in both the pool and 10K in Rome.

"I've just been dropping time like crazy," said Chloe to Dan.

"I'm really excited about putting on a fast suit eventually. I've just discovered a whole new way to train," she said. "My entire body-shape has completely changed from being a dumpy little girl. I feel so muscular and strong. I'm just so excited to see what I can do this summer."

Photo of Chloe Sutton shown in consultation with Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas by Colin A. Gift.