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No wonder GB never wins many medals

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    No wonder GB never wins many medals

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oth...-swimsuit.html

    Rebecca Adlington boycotts go-faster swimsuit
    Rebecca Adlington, the Olympic champion, has refused to wear a new performance-enhancing costume, claiming it is 'technological doping’ and against her principles.

    Adlington, 20, from Mansfield, Notts, won two gold medals at last summer's Beijing Olympics and is one of Britain's great hopes for the London 2012 Games.

    But her chances of adding to her honours tally at this week’s world championships hang in the balance after her refusal to wear a new, performance-enhancing swimsuit on a point of principle.

    She has chosen to stick with the Speedo outfit that brought her Olympic glory in the 400m and 800m freestyle. She claims that the new costumes are a form of “technological doping”. “I would never in a million years take a drug to help me, so why would I wear a suit just to improve my performance?” she said. “It’s just not who I am.”

    The new costumes work like wetsuits to compress muscle and add extra buoyancy in the water — by trapping air, critics allege, which is against the rules. The manufacturers, which include adidas and Jaked, deny that they have broken any rules. Fina, the sport’s world governing body, dropped its ban on the swimwear last month after threats of legal action.

    The suits, which can take as long as 40 minutes to put on, are made from 100 per cent polyurethane, an impermeable material that reduces drag in the water and gives swimmers more forward propulsion. Adlington wears a Speedo LZR made partly with permeable textiles.

    The controversy could overshadow the championships, which begin next Sunday. Critics believe they will now become a farcical procession of world records. Already, swimmers wearing the suits have seen astonishing improvements in performance. In April, Frederick Bosquet, a Frenchman wearing the polyurethane Jaked 01 suit, took 0.34 seconds off the men’s 50 metres freestyle world record. Previously he had never even made an Olympic final.

    Last month, Germany’s Britta Steffen broke the world record in the 100m freestyle in the new *adidas Hydrofoil suit. “This suit is of a different world,” she said afterwards. “It felt like a speedboat in water and never in my life would I have believed that a human could glide like that.”

    Last year there was controversy in Beijing when, out of 25 world records set in the pool, 23 were recorded by swimmers wearing the newly-introduced LZR suits.

    Jo Jackson, Adlington’s friend and GB team-mate, will be wearing the adidas Hydrofoil in Rome when the pair go head to head in the 400m and 800m freestyle, while Federica Pellegrini, the Italian 400m world record holder, will wear the Jaked 01.

    But Adlington said she would be sticking to her principles, even if that meant sacrificing her chances of victory.

    “I got into swimming for the love of swimming and I work as hard as I do because I feel I can achieve things, but I don’t want to stand up there on a box and improve just from wearing a suit,” she said.

    “I want to improve because of my ability as a swimmer.

    “I am aware that everyone else I’ll be racing against will be in one of these new suits, including Jo. I know I will be at a massive disadvantage and I know some people will criticise me for that. But if it means that I’m going to come last wearing an LZR and I’ve done a personal best, then fair enough.”

    She said she was not criticising other competitors. “It’s their decision, but I’ve chosen not to wear it and that is just down to my own morals. I think it’s going to be difficult, but at the end of the day I’ve not compromised my beliefs in any way and that makes me feel better as a person.”

    Michael Scott, the performance director of British Swimming, said many of the nation’s swimmers were confused about what suit to wear this week and called on Fina to clarify the situation.

    “Swimming has become technologically driven, and this needs to change,” he said. “The swimmer who has trained the hardest and is the most talented may not become world champion because of the swimsuit issue.”

    Mark Schubert, the head coach of US Swimming, believes the suits will eventually make world records irrelevant, while Claude Fauquet, his French counterpart, suggested that the issue be debated “by an ethical committee”.

    =============================

    Muppet. If you cant wear suit for herself she should wear it for the good of GB.

    #2
    "Principles" ?

    Sounds like she's getting her excuses in early.

    Next she'll be whinging about not swimming on Sundays. Tchoh.

    Comment


      #3
      It's all Bread and Circuses though, isn't it? It really doesn't make a difference to me whether the UK "wins" 1 gold medal or 10. Having said that, I hope I'm around to see how competent we are at hosting the London Olympics
      Speaking gibberish on internet talkboards since last Michaelmas. Plus here on Twitter

      Comment


        #4
        Stupid cow.
        Use the technology available.
        Her speedo suit was "hi tec" once. Maybe she should turn up in a victorian knitted one piece if she feels so strongly.
        I bet she uses the tech for training and diet. I bet she shaves down to get that smooth flow (back in 5).
        I am not qualified to give the above advice!

        The original point and click interface by
        Smith and Wesson.

        Step back, have a think and adjust my own own attitude from time to time

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by The Lone Gunman View Post
          Stupid cow.
          Use the technology available.
          Her speedo suit was "hi tec" once. Maybe she should turn up in a victorian knitted one piece if she feels so strongly.
          I bet she uses the tech for training and diet. I bet she shaves down to get that smooth flow (back in 5).
          Why not ask the resident cuk expert?

          Comment

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