http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7068
http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7071
Only seven nations voted against the proposals. More than 180 voted for. Bravo! Swim legend Vladimir Salnikov stood in support of the USA and the proposal read out by head coach Mark Schubert, mentor to some of his old enemies in the pool during Soviet days of Cold War.
Glad to hear that the member countries overwhelmingly did what the bureaucrats didn’t have the guts to do.
Does this imply that wet suits should be banned in triathlon for the same type of logic used here? Does this mean no more body suits at kona?
Dave
Those rules only apply to real swimmers…
That made my day.
No Kona swimmers are “real” swimmers?
Dave
Not really
.
What a ass, real swimmers? Lets see, I do all the work outs but don’t do the Masters meets because that in my mind is a waste of time sitting on the pool deck. Yet when I do mile + open water swims the masters don’t show up and use lame excuses like, I don’t like open water. Yes pool swimmers are real swimmers and specialist at their craft, but to call others not real swimmers is a a-hole move.
Sensitive, aren’t we?
It would be the equivalent of the UCI’s bike geometry rules that don’t carry over. Triathlon has its own governing bodies with their own personalities/politics.
Surely you’re aware of this and not trying to troll here. . . Wouldn’t Team USA members be aware of this?
Grandpa,
Francois is right. This is all due to what’s going on with real swimmers. Not triathletes. And not masters swimmers.
nope, not real swimmers.
Sorry but that is about the same as saying since you don’t run marathons you are not a real runner. Just elitist bull shit!
I don’t think distance has anything to do with it. With an 1:27 half-mary time, I certainly don’t dare walk around calling myself a “real” runner.
Let’s not be so sensitive.
Bekele is a real runner, and has never run a marathon as far as I know…
You seem a bit sensitive though…Lighten up…The day I swam a workout at the Miami pool in Queensland, and saw Craig Walton being overtaken 200 times by Grant Hackett swimming an easy 6x400m long course, in 4.15, I was convinced that the immense majority of triathletes were not real swimmers.
Maybe it is elitist bullshit.
OK, you are a real swimmer. You’re awesome. Sorry 
Never said I was, but I just hate the elitism, such as bikers saying Triathletes are not real bikers, hell we all love the same things so why dis anyone? I know I couldn’t hold a candle to a pure swimmer, but I don’t expect them to put the time in on the bike and run that I do either, I still appreciate their dedication but will not put them down if they decide to try something else. That is elitism.
How many shots of espresso have you had this morning??
So in the same sense - becuase I know a few engineering principles I’m an engineer? Or because I can write a blog I’m a journalist? It so happens I have a journalism degree, but don’t work in the field. It’s a matter of specificity and specialization.
Yeah, maybe the original comment was made in haste and does sound elitist. But if you, as a triathlete, think that you could compete with Phelps or Torres, you’re kidding yourself. Or that you could ride with Sastre and Contador, becuase you can buy the same brand of bikes.
It’s not that you’re NOT a swimmer, or NOT a cyclist, but you’re not a “REAL” cyclist or swimmer - it’s not what you do for your job, or it’s not WHAT you are and THE thing that you’re known for. And as others have mentioned, the rules don’t apply to tri as we have our own governing bodies. And wetsuits are a totally different vehicle - the original goal of them isn’t to go faster - it’s to make sure we don’t freeze off extremities. Going faster is a great side-effect. These suits were solely made to go faster and they are, in essence, elitist themselves as only the top echelon can afford them.
Maybe pure was the better way to say it than “real”, but you got the point. It more than likely wasn’t intended in the way you took it. Now you’re all just carrying on the argument for arguing’s sake.
Tell you what, as soon as the absolute only way there is for you to improve your best time over 100m by half a second is to decide whether or not you need a full polyurethane suit, I’ll call you a real swimmer
.
*Yeah, maybe the original comment was made in haste and does sound elitist. But if you, as a triathlete, think that you could compete with Phelps or Torres, you’re kidding yourself. Or that you could ride with Sastre and Contador, becuase you can buy the same brand of bikes. *
The rules laid down by FINA (and UCI) apply to a LOT more competitors than the elite athletes who go to the olympics, world championships and premier events like the TdF., Many of those competitors are “real (swimmers|cyclists)” by any reasonable definition, but would be similarly unable to (swim|ride) with Phelps, Torres, Saste or Contador. There are dozens of Pro-category cyclists in the US who will never ride with Sastre or Contador. There are many masters swimmers who will beat almost any triathlon swimmer yet wouldn’t put themselves in a pool with Phelps or Torres. Are these people also not “real swimmers” or “real cyclists” ? Or does “real” mean “top 20-50 in the world”, and nothing else?
Good, the suits were fvcking stupid. Imagine if somebody actually created a shoe that made people clearly run faster, like took :30 off their mile, even at the elite level. It would be silly and make all previous records immaterial.