Hackett wades into swimsuit row, urges boycott

Sydney: Australia’s former long-distance king Grant Hackett has urged the world’s best swimmers to join Michael Phelps in boycotting international meets until the swimsuit controversy is resolved.

Hackett, who retired after last year’s Beijing Olympics, said it was time for all swimmers to take a stand against the world’s governing body FINA over their decision to permit the use of performance-enhancing suits. “For him (Phelps) to declare that he’s unwilling to compete at further international meets until this swimsuit controversy is over just speaks volumes,” Hackett wrote in his column. “If I were still swimming, I would be standing right alongside him And I would be encouraging my Aussie team mates to do the same.“Right now the world of swimming needs to be united. Everyone from the greats to the emerging stars.” “If I were still competing, there would be nothing better that to say to Ian Thorpe, Inge de Bruijn and Phelpsy, ‘let’s make a stand and do it together’. “Let’s show how disastrous this swimsuit situation is and how poorly the leadership has been.” FINA has promised to ban performance-enhancing suits from next year but their decision to allow them at the current world championships in Rome has been widely criticised after 39 world records fell in the first seven days of competition. Darkest Hour Hackett’s 1500m record of 14 minutes 34.56 seconds, which he established in 2001, is the last remaining long-course world record set by a male swimmer before the introduction of the bodysuits, but is also in danger of disappearing. Hackett lost his 800 freestyle world record to China’s Zhang Lin and is resigned to losing his 1500 mark on Sunday, but said that was not the cause of his complaint. “Will I feel like I’ve been robbed? Will I be shattered? The answer is ‘no’. I wish the entire eight swimmers in tonight’s final the best,” he wrote. “But what does disappoint me is the way the record could be broken. Under this thick cloud of controversy. Swimming’s darkest hour.” “It disappoints me that the performances of so many amazing swimmers have been overshadowed by short-sightedness from the sport’s governing body.” “Breaking a record is such an amazing feat. Consider the hours of pain and training and hard work. A record is reward for everything you stand for.” “Right now, swimming isn’t a sport and that upsets me greatly.” Bureau Report