Bodies and suits
Craig Lord studies the secret of the 19 long course WRs and 22 short course WRs this year.
The curtain closed on the European Championships in Eindhoven and, two weeks later, the World Short-course Championships in Manchester at the end of a sensational six-week period that saw the tumbling of 19 World longcourse records and 22 World short-course records.
This has been the most extraordinary pre-Olympic season in history (yes, the stats confirm it ? and how!).
The sport has now entered an era in which we must refer to pre-February 2008 and post-February 2008 times, such has been the impact of performance-enhancing bodysuits that have changed the nature of swimming. The bulk of the new standards have been set in Speedo, while other brands have now been given the green light to catch up with the competition in the use of ?hightech fabrics? that are not really fabrics at all in the traditional sense of the word.
Craig Lord reveals what could be behind the curtains.
