This week’s expected tsunami of global swimming marks at the Rome world championships will be the last hurrah for the high-tech bodysuits that have made a shambles of the record books for the past year and a half. After throwing up its hands and allowing competitors to wear virtually anything they pleased, the international federation (FINA) last week suddenly banned any design that isn’t made of a “textile’’ and limited the length to between waist and knees for men and shoulders and knees for women starting next year.
That means the world records set this week - 11 and counting after just two days with six more to go - could stand for years. Five were set yesterday, by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom in the women’s 100-meter butterfly (56.06), Russia’s Anastasia Zueva in the 100 backstroke (58.48), Australia’s Brenton Rickard in the men’s 100 breaststroke (58.58), and Americans Rebecca Soni in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.84 in the semis) and Ariana Kukors in the 200 individual medley (2:06.15). Kukors, who only swam the event because teammate Elizabeth Pelton scratched after the US trials, already had shattered in the semis the mark Australia’s Stephanie Rice set in Beijing last year. “Nobody expected anything from me in this event,’’ acknowledged Kukors, who was wearing a Jaked suit.
Two marks that had stood for a chlorinated eternity - Ian Thorpe’s 3:40.08 in the men’s 400 free (2002) and Inge de Bruijn’s 56.61 in the women’s 100 fly (2000) - were taken down by Germany’s Paul Biedermann and by the 15-year-old Sjostrom, who pronounced her performance “awesome and completely crazy.’’ That’s what swimming insiders are saying about what the synthetic suits have done to their sport. “The world championships are a laughingstock to the world of swimming,’’ declared Australian legend Dawn Fraser, who won gold medals at three Games.
Michael Phelps, who won his eight Olympic golds in a Speedo LZR Racer, has refused to talk about suits. But he might change his mind if Biedermann, who was more than three seconds behind him in Beijing, beats him in today’s 200 freestyle, where Phelps set the world mark in Beijing but only qualified third for the Rome final.
The biggest shocker of the world meet so far has been Aaron Peirsol’s failure to make the final of the 100 backstroke, the event he has owned at the last two Olympics and last three world championships. “I thought I was going fast,’’ said Peirsol, who’d set a world record of 51.94 at this month’s trials but swam 53.22 yesterday. “I completely misjudged my race.’’ Korea’s Park Tae Hwan, who won the 400 free in Beijing, didn’t even make it out of the heats.
Terrific showing by the US divers, who won four silver medals at the world championships after getting blanked at Olympus. Troy Dumais was second in both the men’s 3-meter springboard and 3-meter synchro (with Kristian Ipsen), and David Boudia and Thomas Finchum were second in 10-meter synchro, as were Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu in the women’s 10-meter. As expected, the Chinese won seven of the 10 events, but there were two big surprises. Paola Espinosa won the women’s platform title for Mexico’s first gold medal in any aquatic discipline and 15-year-old Tom Daley of Great Britain won gold in men’s platform. “Tom, can I give you a cuddle?’’ his father asked at the medalists’ news conference.
Historic finish by the US men, who won silver and bronze with 18-year-old Andrew Gemmell and Fran Crippen in the 10-kilometer race at the world open swim championships at the ancient Roman port of Ostia. Gemmell came from the back of the pack after the final buoy and Crippen survived an appeal by the Italians to claim his medal the next day. Germany’s Thomas Lurz, 29, won both the 5K and 10K races to run his global career total to 12 medals, half of them gold. Eva Fabian, a 15-year-old from Keene, N.H., finished 10th in the women’s 25K.
The next two world aquatics championships will be the 2011 event in Shanghai, with Dubai in the United Arab Emirates hosting in 2013.
Olympic marathon medalists Catherine Ndereba and Deena Kastor and event world record-holder Lornah Kiplagat will race each other for only the fourth time when they convene for the New York City half-marathon next month. The trio, who’ve collected a combined three Olympic and 12 world championship medals, 11 World Marathon Majors titles and eight global marks, last met three years ago at the New York City marathon. Kara Goucher, meanwhile, will be tuning up for next month’s world marathon championships in Berlin by competing in Sunday’s Rock ‘n’ Roll half-marathon in Chicago. The Windy City is lining up a top-grade field for its October marathon. Kastor, back in form after breaking her right foot at the Olympics, will take on defending champion Lidiya Grigoryeva in the women’s race, which Kastor won in 2005. Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru takes on the last two men’s titlists in Kenyan countrymen Evans Cheruiyot and Patrick Ivuti. Ryan Hall, the top US male, will race in New York.
John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com; material from Olympic committees, international and domestic sports federations, personal interviews, and wire services was used in this report. 
