Suit-less surf Kiwis find going tough at World Games

The New Zealand surf lifesaving team felt the full force of swimming's new high-tech bodysuits on the opening morning of World Games competition in Taiwan today.

Led by Wellington's Steven Kent, the New Zealand contingent made every final on the first of two days in the Kaohsiung Municipal Pool but were left reeling by the speed of athletes in the controversial new suits.

Kent set a new national record in the 50m manikin-carry event but with only traditional swimwear could still only qualify third-fastest for the final, behind Italians Federico Pinotti and Giovanni Legnani who were wearing Jaked suits.

"The new suits have put the pool events on a different plane - the times were so incredibly fast out there," New Zealand coach Scott Bartlett said.

"Our crew did extremely well and we're delighted to make all the finals but it's going to be a tough ask to collect medals against this sort of competition, especially the Italians."

The Italians and Chinese dominated the session, with China's Yang Jie-Qiao breaking the world record in the 200m obstacle race, clocking 2:09.14.

Not to be outdone, in the very next heat her compatriot Ying Chn Lu took more than a second off that time recording 2:08.11, while New Zealand pair Ayla Dunlop-Barrett and Georgia Hind were second and third respectively.

Dunlop-Barrett's time of 2:14.46 was just enough to scrape into the final in seventh spot.
Wellington's Samantha Lee was fourth in a fast heat of the 50m manikin carry to qualify for the final in 40.19secs, while Kent comfortably dipped under 2mins for the 200m obstacle swim, clocking 1:58.27.
World swimming body FINA has come under criticism for its failure to regulate the rapid advances in swimsuit technology that led to 108 world records last year and nearly 30 so far this year.

Some suits are suspected of creating "air trapping" effects that artificially enhance speed. Last month, FINA approved 202 suits and rejected 10 others.