Japanese denied 'high-tech doping' Speedos

Shiori Ogawa rose from obscurity in March by setting a Japanese junior high school swimming record in the women's 800-meter freestyle. But much of the attention was focused on her outfit.

Ogawa was wearing a high-tech swimsuit developed by British sportswear maker Speedo International Ltd. The success of international competitors using Speedo outfits has been so astounding that Speedo's rivals are calling the swimwear "high-tech doping."

Whether the swimsuit gives an unfair advantage is open for debate. But swimmers on Japan's Olympic team will not get the chance to find out first-hand. They are under contract to wear swimsuits produced by three domestic makers.

"There is still time until the Beijing Olympic Games, and we hope that Japanese makers can develop more competitive swimsuits," said Koji Ueno, the Japan Swimming Federation's director of competitive swimming.

But Asics Corp., Descente Ltd. and Mizuno Corp., the official suppliers of the Japanese Olympic swim team, have their work cut out for them before the Beijing Olympics open in August.

Speedo's swimsuits can be described as "space age." They were co-developed with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and others.

The mechanism of swimsuits is a carefully guarded corporate secret, and with good reason.

Of 37 world swimming records set so far this year, 35 were by swimmers wearing the Speedo swimsuits.

The buzz over the Speedo suits spread around the world in February, when Speedo-wearing Australian Eamon Sullivan set a record in the men's 50-meter freestyle, shaving 0.08 second off the previous record of 21.64 seconds set by Russian Alexander Popov in 2000.

The following month, Sullivan shattered his own mark in the event in a time of 21.28 seconds.

"It is simply incredible that a record was renewed by nearly 0.40 second for a 50-meter event," said a Japanese swimmer.

According to Speedo, the new swimwear reduces water resistance by 10 percent from its 2004 models by eliminating seams.

The company, founded as an underwear maker by a Scottish immigrant to Australia in 1914, started producing Speedo brand swimwear in 1928.

The success of Speedo-clad Olympic swimmers allowed the company, now headquartered in Britain, to expand globally through tie-ups with local manufacturers.

Industry insiders, however, suspect the new swimsuit may provide a level of buoyancy to swimmers that goes against regulations of the International Swimming Federation (FINA).

In April, FINA held a meeting with representatives of swimsuit makers, including Speedo, to discuss whether the Speedo swimsuits should be allowed in the pool.

After the meeting, FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu said there was no scientific evidence to suspect that the suit had a buoyancy mechanism to aid swimmers, and he reaffirmed FINA's earlier authorization of the Speedo swimwear.

FINA bans items that may increase speed, buoyancy and stamina of the swimmers.

But theoretically, swimwear of any kind has buoyancy functions. And FINA's rules contain no written numeric standard for permissible buoyancy levels.

Swimwear makers have engaged in fierce technological competition since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

During the Sydney Games, competitors wearing swimsuits modeled on shark skin co-developed by Speedo and Mizuno won 31 gold medals, or 60 percent of the gold medals up for grabs in aquatic competitions.

The shark-skin suits were said to create tiny whirls on their surfaces that offset larger whirls that increase water resistance.

Australian Ian Thorpe, who shot to stardom in the Sydney Games, also created a stir by wearing a black swimsuit that covered his body from the wrists to the ankles.

The Thorpedo's success led to what has now become a common belief that swimsuits covering a larger portion of the body allow swimmers to reduce more resistance.

For this year's swimming competitions, Asics and Descente developed swimwear that helps maintain the athlete's streamlined body shape to minimize water resistance.

Mizuno created swimwear modeled on marlins, said to be the fastest fish. The suit uses materials that gel on its surface to reduce friction from the water.

But these Japanese high-tech suits have not produced the results seen in the Speedo outfit.

Japanese Olympic swimmers, in fact, will have to wear suits produced by Asics, Descente or Mizuno until the 2012 Summer Games in London under a contract between the Japan Swimming Federation and the three companies.

Since the tie-up between Mizuno and Speedo ended last year, Japanese makers have faced growing demands from top swimmers to develop original technology.

But Japanese swimwear designers say they have already run out of technological ideas.(IHT/Asahi: May 5,2008)