via www.sfgate.com (AP Sports): Pool powers Australia and the United States say they oppose further changes in swimsuit rules, amid speculation that governing body FINA could make another switch in 2013.
GMM: I'm on the wrong side of this issue. I'm in favor of bringing back the bodysuits, as most swimwear brands and FINA are...though they may not outwardly and passionately admit it. Doing so touches-off harsh criticisms, and, sometimes, hate.
COACHES, STAR SWIMMERS and many of my close personal friends don't want the bodysuits brought back. They call them "cheat suits" because they compress your core and make you buoyant in the water. In world-class competition bodysuits close the gap between the fastest and the slowest. Bodysuits even shorten races. How? Swimmers who could not finish strong, the last 15 meters of a 100 or 200 meter race, can in a bodysuits. The added technology keeps swimmers--who are not as talented or well-conditioned--from dying at the end.
I'M SYMPATHETIC to coaches and star swimmers. I understand their fear of the technology. I understand that it stems from their anger and frustration when a swimmer who has NOT done the work (the day-in and day-out grind) hops in wearing a hi-tech bodysuit and hangs with the best.
HOWEVER, BODYSUITS COST MORE PER UNIT. Swimwear brands made more money. Swimwear brands could also put their logos, front and center, on the swimmers' chests. The added revenue resulted in larger contracts for swimmers and more contracts for swimmers who were not among the top in the world. You could be a developing star, a young kid on the cusp of greatness...but not quite their yet. You could be out of the medal hunt, a swimmer who would be a medalist at the next Olympics, five or 6 years away, and the swimwear brand would sign you on. That added revenue, because of the bodysuits, created added support for the next generation of Lochtes, Coughlins, maybe even the next Michael Phelps (and we have athletes rising in the ranks now showing that level of talent).
MANY FANS, OFTEN FEMALE, HATE THE BODYSUITS. They say guys look ridiculous in them. The suits coverup their bodies--the famous swimmer's body--infamously rumored to be a big reason why millions of women watch the Olympics (though I've never seen any hard data supporting this claim). I can't help you there or argue the point, butI did think the crazy-colored spacesuits we saw at the 2009 World Championships were entertaining.
BOTTOM-LINE: I doubt the bodysuits will be brought back in 2013. There's too much political will blocking it. BUT if it did happen, I would smile, because I know the brands would flood the market with money and advertising. That last point, advertising, is a huge one. SPEEDO, along with Michael Phelps, made bodysuits a story in 2008, the story. People, who had never watched one lap of competition, knew about the crazy-looking suits, mythically engineered by NASA. Speedo did an exceptional job marketing their product, and millions upon millions of new fans were introduced to the sport.
Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and partner at Gold Medal Media.
This is not a good Step i will also oppose this change!
Posted by: pakai swimsuit | September 07, 2011 at 04:44 AM