'Swimming in a G-string could be the answer'

Tokyo - Japanese world-title favourite Ryosuke Irie says only racing in skimpy G-strings would put a stop to the raging bodysuit row in swimming.

The 19-year-old broke the world record in the men's 200m backstroke in May but the International Swimming Federation (Fina) has yet to ratify the mark due to questions over the suit he wore.

"It would be better if all swimmers wore tiny swimming trunks but it would be tough to make them do it," Irie said on Monday.

"It's sad that everybody keeps talking about the swimsuits. Mentally, it was a bit upsetting for me. My swimming went to pieces and I didn't want to get in the pool for a while."

His time of 1min52.86 in Canberra, Australia, wiped over a second off the previous mark set by American Ryan Lochte in the final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Fina will re-examine Irie's Descente racing suit before deciding whether to approve his time but Japan's hottest swimming property has vowed he will tear through the red tape and make the argument academic.

"They can ratify it as a world record or not," said Irie, who is tipped for gold at the world championships in Rome in July and August. "I broke it once so I will break it again.

"Fina haven't ruled on it yet, and the rules could change again. It would good, though, to have concrete rules in place so everyone can stick to them and we'd have a level playing field."

As the race to develop hi-tech swimsuits escalates and world records tumble, calls have increased for standardised manufacturing regulations.

"If you break a world record now it's all about the suit," Irie remarked. "The technology has a part to play and can shave a few hundredths of a second off the time but we are the ones swimming."

Before the 2008 Beijing Games, multiple Olympic gold medallist Kosuke Kitajima courted controversy when he wore a T-shirt with the slogan: "I am the swimmer".

That blunt message to Japanese officialdom led to the country's swimmers being given the freedom to switch to Speedo's drag-reducing LZR bodysuit in China.

American Michael Phelps wore an LZR suit when he won a record eight gold medals in the Chinese capital but Irie has no plans to sever his ties with Japan's Descente.

"I just want to break the world record again in the same suit," he stated before this month's Japan Open. "That will end the argument. It will show that I'm the one posting those times and that it's not just the suit."

Irie added that watching Kitajima repeat his 100m and 200m breaststroke double from Athens in Beijing had given him the incentive to follow in his countryman's footsteps.

"There was an aura around Kosuke Kitajima," he said. "He had this amazing inner strength. His gold medals gave Japan a huge lift. I really wanted to be like that." - Reuters