JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The 2024 Paris Olympics is in full swing.
Currently as it stands, following day two of the 2024 Games, the United States is the only country to have racked up double digit medals so far with 12. Of the total amount, more than half of medals won have come from Team USA's swimming team, with seven.
In light of Virginia-born Torri Huske's sensational performance Sunday, knocking off world-record holder Gretchen Walsh in the women's 100 butterfly, and after the First Coast's own Ryan Murphy secured a spot in the men's 100-meter backstroke finals, many may wonder: Why aren't any of the Olympic swimmers wearing full-body swimsuits? Are they banned?
Full-body swimsuits made popular by Michael Phelps in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, were banned by World Aquatics, "the sole and exclusive world governing body for all Aquatics," in January 2010.
The ban came after Phelps broke seven world records in Beijing while sporting the Speedo LZR Racer, a swimsuit made of polyurethane material, as well as after 43 world records were shattered during the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome. Polyurethane is a fabric that is typically flexible, lightweight and water resistance.
The more than decade-old regulations outlined by World Aquatics say that swimsuits must be made with "permeable open mesh textile material" if an athlete competes at World Aquatics Events and/or Olympic Games.
The regulations also mention that the manufacturer of each swimwear an athlete proposes to use, must submit the swimwear to World Aquatics and obtain approval from them. Furthermore, men's swimsuits are only allowed to extend from the waist to the knees, while swimsuits that extend from the shoulders to knees is permitted for women.
