A delay on the introduction of the ban on the swimsuits which have brought a glut of world records in recent years may keep US star Michael Phelps out of the pool until then.
“The sport is in shambles right now and they better do something or they’re going to lose their guy who fills these seats,” Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman told the BBC. “It has to be implemented immediately.”
Retuers reports that FINA suggested last week that the ban would come in January, but yesterday announced it would be May before the sport would return to suits made of textile fabric and with a smaller size and shape.
“The shape – for men it shall not extend above the naval or below the knee. For women it shall not extend above the neck, beyond the shoulders or below the knee,” said FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu.
Marculescu also said that world records set with the new-generation suits could be revised if they proved unbeatable, reversing another of FINA’s positions last week, when it was suggested the records would stand.
