Published: Friday, December 11, 2009
Prep swimmers get early jump on ban
High-tech swimsuits no longer allowed in high school meets
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Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald
Garren Riechel of Snohomish set a state record last season in the 100 breastrstroke, fisnihing in a time of 54.59 seconds. Riechel set the mark wearing a full-body swimsuit.
It took Major League Baseball decades to finally rein in performance-enhancing drug use among its athletes. Things happen much faster in swimming.
Swimming's governing body, FINA, last summer announced a decision to ban the use of high-tech, full-body swimsuits such as the Speedo LZR racer and the Arena X-Glide. The suits were responsible for drastic improvements in times and a stampede of world records. The new rule goes info effect for professionals Jan. 1 — but the National Federation of State High School Associations board made the ban effective soon after FINA's announcement in July. As a result, local swimmers must revert to the traditional jammers (shorts that extend from the hip to just above the knee) or briefs this season.
The high-tech suits were introduced in 2008 and feature neoprene coating and normally a thin layer of polyurethane or bio rubber to give the swimmer added buoyancy. The suits sell for a couple hundred dollars.
“They're supposed to make you float better,” said Archbishop Murphy sophomore Philip Walczak, a 6-foot-1, 203-pounder who placed third in last year's 500-yard freestyle at the Class 2A state meet. “For me it would've been good to keep me flat (in the water).”
Walczak didn't wear a body suit, although he did order drag-reducing leg skins that, for some reason, never showed up in the mail.
“If you're in the right mindset, you can swim well in any suit,” said Walczak, who added that he raced in a jammer that cost $30-$40. “It's up to the swimmer, not the suit.”
Cascade head coach Eric Smith likens the use of body suits to “triathletes who put on a wet suit to swim in a lake or ocean ... it makes you a little more bouyant.
“I think in the long run (the rule change) is a good thing.”
The 2009 state Class 4A boys state swimming and diving meet saw just two records fall. Former Richland swimmer Cody Roberts wore leg skins and set a state record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.81 seconds, besting Ugur Taner's 17-year-old mark. Roberts initially signed with the University of Washington's men's swim team before the program was cut because of budgetary constraints. He's now a contributing member of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas swim team.
Garren Riechel of Snohomish set the other mark in the Class 4A meet. Riechel, a Stanford University recruit, established a state record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.59. Riechel, now a senior for the Panthers, wore a high-tech body suit during competitions and now must go back to a traditional suit.
“It was kind of a surprise to me,” Riechel said of the ban. “... I'm looking forward to see how many people get over the suits and swim on their talent alone. I can swim fine in a jammer.”
Most Wesco swimmers are unaffected by the short-lived body suit craze. The main culprit — price.
“The cost of a suit like that, really, it's pretty prohibitive,” Marysville-Pilchuck head coach Scott Knowles said. “I think it (the rule change) evens the playing field, it really comes down to swimming, conditioning and speed.”
Mike McCloskey, the head coach at Class 2A Archbishop Murphy, said its possible the suits were even less prevalent at the lower classifications. “I think this keeps the playing field level,” he said.
Walczak sees the ban as a positive development,
“I don't think most kids knew the effect they (the suits) would have on their swimming.” he said. “It (is too bad) for anyone who spent the money on them.”
Club teams are still permitted to wear the suits until the Jan. 1 deadline. After that it's a choice between jammers and briefs and the reliance on talent, not technology.
Swimming's governing body, FINA, last summer announced a decision to ban the use of high-tech, full-body swimsuits such as the Speedo LZR racer and the Arena X-Glide. The suits were responsible for drastic improvements in times and a stampede of world records. The new rule goes info effect for professionals Jan. 1 — but the National Federation of State High School Associations board made the ban effective soon after FINA's announcement in July. As a result, local swimmers must revert to the traditional jammers (shorts that extend from the hip to just above the knee) or briefs this season.
The high-tech suits were introduced in 2008 and feature neoprene coating and normally a thin layer of polyurethane or bio rubber to give the swimmer added buoyancy. The suits sell for a couple hundred dollars.
“They're supposed to make you float better,” said Archbishop Murphy sophomore Philip Walczak, a 6-foot-1, 203-pounder who placed third in last year's 500-yard freestyle at the Class 2A state meet. “For me it would've been good to keep me flat (in the water).”
Walczak didn't wear a body suit, although he did order drag-reducing leg skins that, for some reason, never showed up in the mail.
“If you're in the right mindset, you can swim well in any suit,” said Walczak, who added that he raced in a jammer that cost $30-$40. “It's up to the swimmer, not the suit.”
Cascade head coach Eric Smith likens the use of body suits to “triathletes who put on a wet suit to swim in a lake or ocean ... it makes you a little more bouyant.
“I think in the long run (the rule change) is a good thing.”
The 2009 state Class 4A boys state swimming and diving meet saw just two records fall. Former Richland swimmer Cody Roberts wore leg skins and set a state record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.81 seconds, besting Ugur Taner's 17-year-old mark. Roberts initially signed with the University of Washington's men's swim team before the program was cut because of budgetary constraints. He's now a contributing member of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas swim team.
Garren Riechel of Snohomish set the other mark in the Class 4A meet. Riechel, a Stanford University recruit, established a state record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.59. Riechel, now a senior for the Panthers, wore a high-tech body suit during competitions and now must go back to a traditional suit.
“It was kind of a surprise to me,” Riechel said of the ban. “... I'm looking forward to see how many people get over the suits and swim on their talent alone. I can swim fine in a jammer.”
Most Wesco swimmers are unaffected by the short-lived body suit craze. The main culprit — price.
“The cost of a suit like that, really, it's pretty prohibitive,” Marysville-Pilchuck head coach Scott Knowles said. “I think it (the rule change) evens the playing field, it really comes down to swimming, conditioning and speed.”
Mike McCloskey, the head coach at Class 2A Archbishop Murphy, said its possible the suits were even less prevalent at the lower classifications. “I think this keeps the playing field level,” he said.
Walczak sees the ban as a positive development,
“I don't think most kids knew the effect they (the suits) would have on their swimming.” he said. “It (is too bad) for anyone who spent the money on them.”
Club teams are still permitted to wear the suits until the Jan. 1 deadline. After that it's a choice between jammers and briefs and the reliance on talent, not technology.
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