Suits are the main topic at worlds

Swimming

ROME (AP) — The swimming world championships open today and workers at the Foro Italico are still hammering away frantically and laying down fresh paint in a last-minute rush to get the facility ready for the likes of Michael Phelps and Chinese diver Guo Jingjing.

“You have to know what country you’re dealing with. This is Italy,” said Cornel Marculescu, executive director of swimming’s world governing body FINA. “But everything will be OK in the end.”

The first medals of the competition will be handed out in men’s 1-meter springboard diving today, with the opening ceremony Saturday. The swim events begin July 26, and space-age suits will again be a hot topic.

FINA has come under criticism for its failure to regulate the rapid advances in swimsuit technology that led to 108 world records last year and nearly 30 so far this year.

Some suits are suspected of creating “air trapping” effects that artificially enhance speed. Last month, FINA approved 202 suits and rejected 10 others. The decision to approve modified versions of suits that were initially rejected disappointed the United States and Australia — the sport’s two most powerful nations.

“We will have 11 manufacturers providing swimsuits free of charge,” Marculescu told The Associated Press. “It’s up to the swimmers to choose which suit they want. The important thing is that there is equal conditions and availability. All of the swimsuits will have a FINA label attached to them to show they are approved.”

California manufacturer TYR has turned to a French court to determine why some similar suits from other companies were approved by FINA and TYR’s were not.

Swimmers go through two rooms before they enter the pool deck for races, the first call room and the final call room, or ready room. In Rome, athletes will have to report to the first room 20 minutes before their races to have their suits checked.

The Foro Italico is a sprawling multi-sport complex built under the orders of Benito Mussolini in the 1930s. Swimming and diving will be held in permanent pools that were also used for the 1960 Olympics and 1994 worlds. Two temporary pools have been set up for water polo and synchro, while open water swimming will be held in the nearby seaside at Ostia.

At the last worlds in Melbourne, Australia, two years ago, the United States led with 21 golds and 40 medals overall.

“It’ll be a real challenge to be close to our medal count from 2007,” said Mark Schubert, head coach and general manager of the U.S. national team. “This is more of a building year for us.”