More swimming records set as doubt rises

Spectators stand up, cheering up as US swimmer Aaron Peirsol dashes towards the wall of the pool at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing Tuesday morning.

The 25-year-old clocked in 52.54 seconds in the men's 100m backstroke, renewing the previous world record of 52.89 seconds set by himself in the American Olympic trials in July.

Minutes earlier, in the same pool, Peirsol's teammate Michael Phelps snatched the 200-meter freestyle gold, his third gold and also a new world record at the Summer Games.

It's just the start, of a rush for medals, and world records, too. On Tuesday morning alone, three records were renewed in the Water Cube, near the National Stadium in northern Beijing. By the end of Monday, eight swimming world records had been rewritten, although the pool competition has been staged for only three days.

The increase of the speed of swimmers in the pool, according to experts, may be undoubtedly attributed to training improvement, pool design and swimsuit technology.

Of the 37 world records set in recent weeks, 35 have been set by swimmers wearing the Speedo LZR, the so-called space age swimsuit which has laser-bonded seams to reduce drag and aid buoyancy in the water.

Mentioning the merits of the new swimsuit, the technical director of the French swimming federation Claude Fauquet said: "When technology is used in a sport, it is important to be in control of the way it is being developed and where it might lead us."

Critics suspect that the suit aids buoyancy in the water, in violation of performance-enhancing rules set by the international swimming federation, known as FINA.

Alberto Castagnetti, the Italian national swim coach whose team wears a rival brand, has equated the Racer with "technological doping." Some say the suit can boost performance as much as 2 percent, the New York Times reported on Monday.

Critics point to more unduly aid of the technology that might overshadow athletes' sports performance. Some criticizes that technology would also devalue the medals.

But sophisticated pool design of the National Aquatics Center, the Water Cube, has also helped to dissipate wave action, experts say. The pool is three meters deep, compared with two meters for many racing pools in the world.