FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — American swimmers will have to wait until Sydney to make their fashion statement.
USA Swimming voted Thursday to prohibit bodysuits from being worn at the Olympic trials in Indianapolis. Officials were concerned there wouldn't be enough high-tech attire to go around at the Aug. 9-16 competition, expected to attract more than 1,300 swimmers.
"If everyone had a fair opportunity to wear the suits, then it would have been OK," said Lenny Krayzelburg, world record-holder in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. "But if some of us got an advantage over the other swimmers, then I don't think it's fair. The fair way to make the Olympic team is everyone racing on even ground."
The new-wave suits, which has revolutionized the sport in recent months, will only be banned for the trials. The sport's international governing body has approved the attire for the Sydney Games in September — and many of the Americans plan to wear them.
Richard Quick, coach of the women's Olympic team and one of the bodysuit's strongest supporters, begrudgingly accepted the decision.
"In the interest of fairness, it was probably a good idea," he said. "I was hoping that our Olympic team would get to try it out at the trials. But we will wear it at the Olympic Games, and I think we will have people swimming their lifetime bests."
Manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand as world records keep falling this year — many to swimmers wearing some form of bodysuit. The board of USA Swimming voted 16-3 to ban the suit at the trials.
"The board had a real concern that the suit would not be readily available to all trials swimmers in a reasonable amount of time prior to the event," executive director Chuck Wielgus said.
The American governing body asked four leading suit manufacturers — Speedo, adidas, Nike and Tyr — to make their high-tech suits available to all swimmers by June 14, giving them plenty of time to get comfortable in the new attire before the trials.
But adidas was the only one that met the deadline, forcing USA Swimming to reconsider its position.
Speedo says its research shows the "Fastskin" fabric provides a 3 percent reduction in drag — significant in a sport where races are decided by hundredths of a second. The suits were designed by marine biologists with a textured pattern that they say mimics the effect of sharkskin in water.
"They are fast," Quick said.
Australians Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill wore bodysuits as they set world records at the Australian Olympic trials last month. Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands wore one while setting three world marks the past two weeks. American Tom Malchow was covered when he broke the record for the 200-meter butterfly at Charlotte, N.C., last weekend.
"I don't know if the suit makes a difference or not, but I feel faster in it," Malchow said. "Swimming is very much a mental sport, so you do what you have to do to feel better. Whether it is wearing designer goggles or a pink bathing cap with flowers on it, if you feel better with them you will use them."
Obviously, Speedo wanted to put its product on display at the high-profile trials. The company issued a statement saying it was "disappointed with the decision."
"We will continue to work toward our goal of providing all Olympic hopefuls with the opportunity to practice and compete in the bodysuit," said Speedo vice president Stu Isaac, a project manager for Fastskin.
The ruling by USA Swimming raised another issue: Which bodysuits are banned from the trials?
There are different styles, the most prominent being the suit that stretches from the neck to the ankles and also covers the arms. But some swimmers are wearing less, such as a suit that covers the torso and stops above the knees.
"In the coming days we hope to get a clarification on what 'new body suit' means," said Craig Brommers, Speedo's director of sports marketing. "They have disallowed the bodysuit, but we have a myriad of other silhouettes for the suit. Now, the question is whether we can make Speedo Fastskin suits in those other silhouettes."
USA Swimming spokesman Charlie Snyder said a committee would set guidelines next week. Wielgus has indicated that some form of the bodysuit would likely be allowed at the trials.
"We have to define it exactly," he said. "I think they will allow suits that go just above the knees and cover the upper torso, but leave the arms uncovered."
Dick Jochums, who coaches some of the top distance swimmers in the country, said Thursday's decision puts the focus at the trials back on competition rather than technology.
"Good for U.S. swimming!" he said. "We were sending the wrong message to our young swimmers."