The Pros And Cons Of The Swimsuit Ban

“The best American swimmers have not slowed” said Missy Franklin, a swimmer on the USA women’s swim team. This quote was taken after the trials of 2012. The first Olympic unified swim meet since the swimsuit ban in 2010. This ban ended the use of full body polyurethane and many other synthetic swimsuits. I also believe that the swimsuit ban was good for the sport and that the swimmers will just have to push past their believed limits to beat the records made in the polyurethane era. One of my reasons to support the swimsuit ban is because, even though the high tech suits assist the swimmer in a higher quality performance, and High tech suits have a negative effect on the sport because they threaten the integrity of the sport. My secondary argument

In the infamous “plastic games”, the World Aquatics Championship of 2009 in Rome, forty-three world records were broke wearing polyurethane swimsuits. The last time they would ever be allowed in the sport. Phelps boycotted the suits and didn’t win any freestyle event. Paul Biederman, who broke the 400 meter freestyle record and beat Phelps in the 200 freestyle said “Yes, the suit makes me faster but what could I do? FINA allowed it… I hope there is a time where I can beat Michael Phelps without the suit.” Many swimmers made records in the 23 month span of the polyurethane era. Two-hundred and fifty-five world records were broken. One record that was shattered and surpassed by many was the one-hundred meter freestyle short course record held by Alexander Popov. He held the record for more than a decade but after the ban of the suits in 2009, he wasn’t even among the top hundred fastest swimmers anymore. The suits degraded the values of hard work, superb conditioning, and technical mastery. This rendered the great performances of the past that stood for so long meaningless and with records lasting weeks or days it was threatening to turn the sport into a laughing stock. Coach Troy said “the record flurry was fake. This is real.” In the polyurethane era forty six world records still stand from 2008-2009 and only one world record stands from before this infamous era of swimming. Forty one records have been set since this era and yes the number of current records may be close but the athleticism is different, to beat the records of the polyurethane era is almost super human and exciting to see to all swim