Swimming: Changes suit Adlington

Adlington: upbeat for 2010

I think everybody is looking forward to not going through the pain of putting the suit on, I think that is going to be a good thing not spending 40 minutes trying to get in it.

Rebecca Adlington
Quotes of the week

Double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington is looking forward to the new year when technologically enhanced swimsuits will be consigned to history.

More than 230 world records have been set since the introduction of the Speedo LZR in February 2008 with the likes of Jaked and Arena taking technology further this year with the 100 percent polyurethane suits.

Times tumbled dramatically with 43 world records going at the World Championships in Rome in the summer forcing FINA, the world governing body, into ruling on the issue.

From January 1 2010 the suits will be textile only with far less coverage of the body and Adlington will be one of many who will welcome the change when swimmers will compete like for like.

Pain

"A lot of people wore the suits because they're sponsored by them or because they wanted to make finals," said the 20-year-old from Mansfield.

"It's not like the swimmers chose this, they've done nothing wrong.

"I think everybody is looking forward to not going through the pain of putting the suit on, I think that is going to be a good thing not spending 40 minutes trying to get in it.

"It is good from a swimming point of view to just get back down to that - I think everybody is looking forward to it."

The Nova Centurion swimmer was adamant in the build-up to the this year's world championships she would stick with the LZR, which she donned en-route to her triumph in the 400 metres and 800m freestyle in Beijing.

In Rome, she claimed bronze in the 400m freestyle and 4x200m relay before coming fourth in the 800m.

Focused

Adlington claims she was not affected by what others chose to wear but instead wanted to be able to compare her times and thus her progression in the same suit.

"I didn't really think about it too much to be honest because I can't ever control what another swimmer does and what they are wearing or what they are doing," she added.

"You've just got to concentrate on yourself and I think you learn that in a sport anyway.

"And I wanted to compare the times - everyone is welcome to wear whatever they want to wear. I wasn't like 'oh my gosh, she's wearing that'. It wasn't a case of that at all."