Month: July 2009

Salute the ageing athlete

Some older athletes are blessed with tremendous talent. But others didn’t start until middle age. If there is a common thread in their lives, it’s a belief that an athletic act, executed with old bones and muscle, can give meaning to life in ways that love and religion can not.

Fina to ban hi-tech suits from 2010

World swimming governing body Fina has decided to ban controversial non-textile swimsuits, but not until 2010. The introduction of polyurethane suits in 2008 coincided with a marked improvement in swim times meaning world records have fallen dramatically. However, with the ban not being implemented until January polyurethane suits will still be used at the Fina World Championships in Rome. That is likely to see more records set which may not be broken for many years. The return to common textile suits, men in shorts and women in suits above the knee and to the shoulder strap, would mean world records would be almost impossible to better in the short term.