2 French swimmers appeal to CAS for suit approval

Rome: French swimmers Amaury Leveaux and Aurore Mongel filed appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday seeking last-minute approval of their TYR-manufactured bodysuits for the world championships.“We received an application this afternoon. It is a normal appeal but with a request for urgent written measures,” CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb told reporters. “We are working on it now and we hope to have an answer tomorrow.”

Swimming events at Foro Italico begin on Sunday. On Friday, FINA passed a rule banning bodysuits, but it won’t go into effect until after the worlds. The TYR B8 was rejected by swimming governing body FINA last month, and the American company maintains the 100 percent polyurethane suit is essentially the same as the Jaked 01, which did meet FINA’s standards. “The Jaked 01 was banned and then re-approved not in accordance with the Dubai charter,” TYR promotion director Matthew Zimmer said. “Ours was certified and has identical permeability as the Jaked and was not approved.” TYR already took its case to a French court in Strasbourg last week, and received a ruling that the suits need to be retested, but there wasn’t enough time to do so before the worlds. Consequently, Zimmer walked into FINA’s suit approval room at the worlds on Thursday with suits for Leveaux and Mongel, along with letters from a lawyer indicating he was representing them, and asked again that the suits be approved. Zimmer then received a letter from FINA’s legal department saying that only approved suits listed on the federation’s Web site would be allowed, and he appealed to the CAS on Leveaux’s and Mongel’s behalf. Leveaux, especially, needs a quick response, as he is scheduled to race for France in the 400-meter freestyle relay on Sunday. “Anything can happen, like always, but obviously (the CAS) thought we had merit,” Zimmer said. “It feels good right now, and hopefully in 24 hours it will feel even better.” Bureau Report