BROOKE'S LOOK AT ROMA 09 DAY FOUR
July 30: Australia's Grant Hackett today joined the list of swimming legends that have lost their world records at the FINA World Swimming Championships. BROOKE HANSON reports...
The war of the swimsuits swallowed up another swimming legend as six more world records were broken on day four in Rome.
China's Zhang Lin became the first Chinese man in the history of the World Swimming Championships to win a gold medal for his country as he smashed the world record previously held by Grant Hackett, set at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal.
Lin, who is coached by Dennis Cotterell, Hackett's former coach on the Gold Coast, stopped the clock at 7.32.12, six and a half second's ahead of Hackett's best of 7.38.65.
Lin and his Jaked 01 super suit took the total number of new world records to twenty-three, as the swim suit saga continues to be the talk of the meet.
The most world records set at a World Swimming Championships prior to 2009 was 18 and with another four days remaining it looks like that total could be doubled as the super suits reign supreme.
The question is come 2010 when the super suits are banned what will happen to the hundreds of world records that have been broken since the suits first emerged in 2008?
If the super suit world records stay it could be 20 years until we see another world record broken.
I believe that all the old world records set prior in 2008 should be reinstated.
For each event in swimming from 2010 onwards there should be a world record (all swims prior to the super suits) and then a world best (all world records that have been set in 2008 and 2009 in the polyurethane super suits).
For example the men's 800m freestyle would look like this:
World Record 7.38.65 Grant Hackett AUS 27th July 2005 Montreal (CAN)
World Best 7.32.12 Lin Zhang CHN 30th August 2009 Rome (ITA)
World swimming would then be put back on a level playing field and the real champions not the best suits would have a chance of breaking both the world record and world best in a textile suit.
The big win for today was for Speedo and it came in the men's 200m butterfly when Michael Phelps led from start to finish to break his own world record.
Phelps beat the field and the 2009 super suits wearing the 2008 Speedo LZR leggings.
With 23 finals still remaining in Rome who will win the war of the super suits? Take a look at the suit leaders' board for individual world records at the half way mark of the meet.
WAR OF THE SWIM SUIT TALLY
Arena X-Glide 9
Jaked 01 8
Speedo LZR 2
Adidas Hydrofoil 2
Relay (4 different suits) 1