Sydney (DPA) Double Olympic gold medallist Kieren Perkins says that the new space-age bodysuits, helping swimmers rewrite records around the world, were creating inequality in the pool.
Twelve of 13 world records broken have been by swimmers wearing the Speedo LZR Racer.
“Swimming has always been fairly pure, in the sense that it was one human being against another, but when you create a situation where some people have a technological superiority through equipment against others, I think that goes against a little bit of what makes our sport wonderful,” Perkins said.
Perkins, who won two Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the 1,500-metre freestyle, and a silver medal in 2000 games, said his concerns were not just about swimmers at the Olympic level.
“It’s when you start turning up to school carnivals and some kids wear bodysuits and some kids aren’t.”