Record-Setting Bodysuits Banned In Major Swimming Competitions

It looks like swimmers will have to go back to good old fashioned performance-enhancing drugs after FINA’s announcement that record-setting bodysuits will be banned from competition starting in 2010.

A U.S. proposal to limit the amount of swimsuit coverage – between the waist and knees for males, not beyond the shoulders or below the knees for females – was overwhelmingly passed by the FINA congress, meeting in Rome during the world championships.

The new rule also says suits shall only be made from “textiles,” but that term has yet to be defined.

It’s about time—I mean, this seemed like such an easy fix. The only problem is that the 108 world records set last year, the 30 set so far this year and whatever records are set between now and 2010 will be allowed to stand. That means swimmers competing in world championship events and the Olympics beyond the start of the ban will have to measure themselves against records set with a major technological edge. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if those records get marked with a big, fat asterisk somewhere down the line. [SF Gate / Image via NASA]