Next generation of swimwear sparks revolt

By Liz Byrnes in Rijeka

Amaury Leveaux broke four world records at the European Short-Course Championships in Croatia and the 45-second barrier in the 100 metres

The head coach of British Swimming, Dennis Pursley, has given his backing to the revolt by leading European coaches over swimsuits after the number of world records set this year reached 105 at the European Short-Course Championships in Croatia.

Fifteen out of the 17 top European nations, including Great Britain, have signed a protest which is to be presented to the world governing body FINA calling for a number of regulations to be discussed and implemented. Their concerns centre on the technological advances in the design of swimsuits and the fabrics used, with records starting to fall immediately after the introduction of the Speedo LZR Racer suit in February.

Within six weeks more than 15 world records had fallen and in Rijeka nine marks went, including four to Amaury Leveaux alone. The Frenchman became the first man to break the 45-second barrier in the 100metres freestyle and his time of 44.94 means almost two seconds has been taken off Alex Popov's record in just 13 months.

The materials used in the suits include polyurethane panels which help the swimmers become more streamlined through the water and neoprene, a flotation device. As a result the swimmer is allowed more speed and buoyancy in the water and fatigue is delayed.

Pursley said: "It demeans the records and kind of cheapens them to an extent. Up to this generation of suits I think it's just been maximising performance but I think we're crossing the line to enhancing performance and to me that is a whole different area." FINA are set to meet with coaches and suitmakers in the next two months and Pursley wants action to be taken. He added: "There is a strong consensus in the coaching community that feel that at the very minimum there needs to be regulation and there needs to be monitoring and there needs to be a strict approval process. And whatever is approved needs to be available to all the teams and all the athletes at least a minimum of 12 months in advance of the competition."

FINA regulations state no device should aid buoyancy, speed and endurance but when questioned further at the World Short-Course Championships in Manchester in April, the governing body insisted the swimmers were not using a device, but simply wearing a suit. Now Pursley wants FINA to take a strong lead as he fears the next step is for suits to be designed for individuals. He added: "It's opening the door to go in a whole different direction that can possibly advantage some athletes and some teams to go above and beyond others and that's not to mention all the ramifications below the top level."

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Jailed fan 'can get free pardon'

The Shields campaign for justice

Jailed Liverpool fan Michael Shields has won an important battle at the High Court in his bid for a free pardon.

The 22-year-old is serving a 10-year sentence for the attempted murder of a barman in Bulgaria in 2005, but has always maintained his innocence.

High Court judges have ruled Justice Secretary Jack Straw has the power to issue a pardon to Shields. Mr Straw is now considering a decision.

Shields' family said they hoped he would be home for Christmas.

Mr Straw had previously insisted he did not have the power to free him and the case went to the High Court in London.

The two senior judges ruled that it was for Mr Straw alone - and not the courts - to decide how to exercise that power.

The judges said the pardon relied on fresh evidence which had not been considered by the Bulgarian courts.

A confession by another Liverpool fan, Graham Sankey, who was in Istanbul at the time of the attack, but who later retracted it, would not form part of the new evidence, the judges said.

I hope and pray Mr Straw can do the right thing Michael Shields, father

In court the judges said: "It is, in our judgment, open to the Secretary of State to entertain a request to exercise the royal prerogative. It is not for this court to say whether or how it might be exercised."

Mr Straw said he would appoint senior counsel to advise him on whether to pardon Shields or not, in light of the High Court decision.

The Justice Secretary said the case had to be looked at very closely, along with any implications it could have for the cases of other British prisoners abroad.

He added: "I will ensure this process is undertaken as quickly as possible, and can assure Michael Shields and his family that I will reach a decision on whether to recommend granting a pardon as swiftly as is possible.

"While recognising the frustration of Michael Shields' family and his campaign team, I am also duty bound to work within the law."

Shields is currently serving the remainder of his sentence at Thorn Cross Young Offenders' Institute in Appleton Thorn in Warrington, Cheshire.

'Heart-breaking'

Liverpool Labour Euro MP Arlene McCarthy, commenting on today's High Court ruling, said: "The High Court ruling frees the way for Michael's release.

"It's a brilliant result for Michael and his family and we are now finally seeing the end to a three-year battle to get justice for Michael."

Ms McCarthy added that said she would be asking if he could be released on temporary licence to spend Christmas with his family.

Following the decision, his father, Michael Shields senior, said: "It's just heart-breaking for us.

Mr and Mrs Shields say their campaign will continue

"We just want to get him home and put everything behind us and get on with our lives. It's been so hard for us.

"I hope and pray Mr Straw can do the right thing."

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, which defends the rights of those facing charges in a country other than their own, welcomed the ruling.

He said: "After a grossly unfair trial in Bulgaria, Michael Shields has already spent more than three years in prison.

"It is now up to the British government to pardon Michael and to bring his ordeal to an end."

Shields family solicitor John Weate has now called for a swift pardon.

"We are today sending Mr Straw further representations about the pardon," he said

"In view of his close attention to the case we hope that he can make a decision to allow Michael to be free by Christmas."

High profile supporters include Louise Ellman MP; Arlene McCarthy MEP; Councillor Joe Anderson, leader of the Liverpool City Council Labour group; Sir Robert Atkin MEP, and a wide variety of celebrities.

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Michael Shields' parents: 'This could be the key to get Michael home'

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China Hosts Realistic-Looking Olympics

BEIJING—Long after the closing ceremonies of last August's XXIX Olympiad, participants and spectators from around the world were still talking about the incredibly lifelike, almost realistic atmosphere the nation of China was able to bring to the Games.

"From the opening ceremonies, which initially seemed to fill the sky with fireworks and gravity-defying acrobats, to the competitions themselves, which at first seemed to bring the entire world together in a spirit of brotherhood and friendly competition, the Games had me completely convinced," said Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee, who claimed he often forgot that what he was seeing wasn't real while attending the events. "I, of all people, should know better, but I freely admit that the nation of China pulled off a magnificent illusion."

The Beijing Olympics were watched, and most likely believed, by literally billions all over the globe. In the United States alone, Olympic broadcast partner NBC reported that the Games were watched by more than 200 million people in 83 percent of American households, with 97 percent of those viewers able to suspend disbelief and swallow the whole thing completely.

"I was absolutely taken in with the whole Beijing spectacle—the gala ceremonies, the swimmers breaking world records, those women sword-fighting. It had everything," said Olympic viewer Rick Thomason of St. Paul, MN. "Even that Michael Phelps guy—you knew there was no way such a person could really exist, but you wanted him to succeed every bit as much as if his actions were happening in the real world."

"You have to hand it to the Chinese—they thought of everything," said Anne Jefferson of Los Angeles, who found her skepticism dissolving as she watched the Games with friends. "I was absolutely certain that I was watching the world's top amateur athletes going head-to-head for the sheer love of competition, even while I watched the men's basketball medal round. I have no idea how they did that, but I bought it hook, line, and sinker."

Chinese Olympic officials are not revealing the secret of exactly how they pulled off such a massive fabrication or how they maintained their Olympic ruse throughout most of August. Even broadcast professionals, no strangers to the suspension of disbelief, admit they sometimes forgot that what they were seeing wasn't real.

"There were times I got completely caught up in it, I must admit," said Bob Costas, who hosted NBC's frontline Olympics show for the duration of the Games. "It was a fantastic job, all things considered, when you realize what China was up against. Think about it—they had to make people believe that a 10-year-old gymnast was actually a young woman. They had to make people believe that a Jamaican man could work hard and run fast, which frankly isn't something the average American is prepared to think. And they had to make people like swimming for almost two weeks. I still don't know how it was achieved."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," said Tim Layden, track and field reporter for Sports Illustrated. "What China did with the Olympics was impressive, to be sure. But it was nothing compared to making the world believe that Beijing is actually a clean, safe modern city, or that China is actually a fully functioning modern society with a vibrant and healthy culture, or that the whole thing wasn't a thinly veiled show of jingoistic nationalism nearly on par with the infamous Berlin Games. If they managed to do that, then I'm really impressed."

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