Celebrate the athletes not the suit, we are told. An understandable sentiment, one that almost to a man and woman the sport would love to follow - but then Filippo Magnini tells us the he will be breaking his contract with Arena to wear the Speedo LZR Racer unless the Italian suit maker comes up with a product that can enhance his performance in the same way. His sentiment's echo round the MEN Arena here in Manchester among those nervous in their second skin.

And then there's Mark Schubert, the USA head coach who has told it like it is - the suit makes you 2% faster - and has now fuelled the fire by confirming his belief that every swimming world record may tumble at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

And now we have Mizuno joining the claims race and soon the world-record list perhaps. The company refused to say how many years of research went into developing its secret weapon, following extensive studies done on marlin, which can reach speeds of 100km an hour.

'It's fair to say we spent a long time studying marlin,' Mizuno's Tadashi Matsuda told reporters. 'Kitajima has been testing the suit since November. It gives him a similar cutting edge in the water.'

It better had - Brendan Hansen will be in the LZR. 'I wouldn't be surprised to see nearly every world record broken at the Games, hopefully, the US will see a high percentage of those,' said Schubert. 'In our sport, we really have great and talented personalities. That, combined with the new technology, leaves a strong possibility that every world record will be wiped out.'

Is it time for a moratorium on new suits? Will Speedo rivals ask for the LZR to be put on a peg until independent testers can verify its properties and advantages so that a new border can be set on technology? And if so, will rivals be able to 'copy' the technology to catch up? Speedo has 13 paternts on its suit. Will it sue anyone who follows?

Since February 16, 19 long-course and six short-course records have fallen, 18 of the l/c standards and four of the s/c standards felled by swimmers in the LZR. Speedo says the suit reduces drag, helps stabilise body position and minimises muscle oscillation and skin vibration. Experts in the field of biomimetics, the science of applying designs from nature to solve problems in engineering, materials science, medicine, and other fields, believe it may be doing more than just that. The high compression factor is affecting tissue response, sensory perception even chemical response in the body, it has been said.

Rivals want it banned: Arena, adidas and Diana have joined forces in a new letter to FINA calling for answers. Will ther be action against the Speedo suit, or can they all follow suit and issue model II of their own newly released numbers in time for the Games, complete with neoprene and other properties that they have now had time to test for in Tyr Tracer Light and Speedo suits. Arena took out full-page adverts outlining its complaints to FINA in the British national press today.

Arena has asked for a 'regulator' to be appointed to 'scrutinise and reaffirm the effectiveness of [FINA] policies.

'The current empirical data, as well as independent and qualified opinions that have been reported by the media around the world, indicate that swimming competitions may be altered as a result of apparel materials used by some of the athletes,' says Arena CEO Christiano Portas. 'As a consequence, a reliable and transparent analysis of these materials, as well as a careful assessment of approval procedures, is urgent.'

FINA Rule SW 10.7 states: 'No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition'.

Did bodysuits already do that? Very likely. There can be no question that the LZR does indeed increase speed - the number of best times (not only record swims) within a hand of 2% improvement cannot possibly be a coincidence. Endurance? Yes, looking at the way swimmers are pounding and streamlining off walls and holding stroke and stability to what used to be a more bitter end, I think its fair to say that endurance has been improved by the suit too.

'I would never want to say it was just the suit, because it's not,' said Schubert. 'It takes the person in the suit to break the record but this new suit is that much better than anything seen before.' He has advised Americans to wear the LZR or weep. 'I would strongly advise them to wear the suit at trials, or they may end up at home watching on [television].'

One of his potential charges in Beijing, supermom Dara Torres, 41, says the suit helps her to move through the water 'like a knife through butter'. PBs coming up at the age of 42. A Speedo spokeswoman, Torres will doubtless be delighted to credit much to the wonder of what she's wearing. She's not alone. We haven't caught a glimpse of the Mizuno suit here yet but Kosuke Kitajima (JPN), over in Tokyo getting ready for Olympic trials, says: 'It's an odd sensation. When I pull on a swimsuit I want it to make me feel stronger. It's light and easy to swim in. It does reduce drag and it feels like it gives you a little push.' Speed and endurance gained, at least.