Jacco Joins LZR Racer Debate
2008-03-23
Craig Lord
Jacco Verhaeren, coach to Pieter van den Hoogenband, Marleen Veldhuis and company here in Eindhoven, has joined the chorus of voices urging FINA to do more testing on the Speedo LZR Racer in the interests of fair sport

Jacco Verhaeren, coach to Pieter van den Hoogenband, Marleen Veldhuis and company here in Eindhoven, has joined the chorus of voices urging FINA to do more testing on the Speedo LZR Racer in the interests of fair sport.

Asked about the run of world records set in the suit in the past six weeks, Verhaeren said that the world rightly tests for doping in sport but that the tests on suit materials that were clearly having an effect on performance did not appear to go far enough. In Eindhoven, Verhaeren's swimmers have seen both sides of the coin: the 4x100m women's freestyle quartet set a world record in the suit, while Hoogie lost his 100m free world record to LZR-wearing Alain Bernard.

FINA maintain that the suit that it approved is legal but the international federation will meet Speedo representatives in Manchester at the World Short-Course Championships in mid April to discuss the properties of the suit and the thickness of the LZR material after hearing from parties who are unhappy with what has unfolded in the water in the past few weeks, not in terms of the thrill of watching world records but in terms of whether any advantage gained by the suit is creating a disadvantaged generation.

Alain Bernard's 50m world record of 21.50sec was the 11th world record to be set since February 16. All of those new standards have one thing in common: the record-breaker was wearing the Speedo LZR Racer suit. One leading coach to a world champion who does not have access to the suit because of a contractual deal with a rival suit maker, said: 'There can be no question that this suit is dividing the world into the haves and the have nots, both in terms of it not being available to those who cannot wear it because of contracts and those who can't afford it. It's $700 or $800 a shot. There is not a single swimmer who comes out of the water without saying 'wow, I never felt like that before'.'

Claude Fauquet, technical director of French swimming was among the first here in Eindhoven to call for further investigation and debate into the suit. His team is contracted to Tyr, though French swimmers, like British swimmers and others in Europe, are allowed to wear the suit of their choice in competition.

'I think it deserves a real debate. It's even worth being analysed by a ethical committee. We have not considered the consequences that it could have in the future,' said Fauquet. 'This is no coincidence what we're seeing.'

Many love the suit and love the speed that it is contributing but the cost of the garment to those not sponsored by Speedo and the fact that the suit is not available to the wider world as yet is stirring resentment among those who will have to race at various national Olympic trials over the coming weeks against swimmers wearing the suit when they are clothed in a different material. If you happen to be fourth best in a nation that has had access to the suit for national-team members but no-one beyond that elite crew, you may well be facing trials in equipment that is now widely seen as inferior. Regardless of the physical benefits that may or may not be a real feature of the suit, the psychological damage to those who cannot wear the suit may be a decisive force in their sporting fate.

SwimNews has received myriad e-mails from around the world questioning whether the suit is responsible for creating two classes of swimmer. Most feel that the sport is heading into dangerous waters. This issue will run and run.