BRISBANE, Australia (AP):NEW ULTRA-fast suits notwithstanding, the Australian swim championships which doubled as Olympic trials proved to be quite an eye-opener for the country's prospects in Beijing.
Eight world records in eight nights set up the Australians as the sprint and women's individual medley swimmers to beat at August's Games.
All eight record-setters at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, the 2000 Olympic pool, were wearing the new Speedo LRZ suits which promised - and then ultimately provided - less drag in the water and faster times.
Dress code
But they could prove to be more of a drag if the sport's governing body FINA rules that the seamless suits - made available to the world's elite in mid-February - provide too much buoyancy, possibly making them illegal ahead of the Olympics.
The sport's governing body will take a closer look at the suits during the world short-course titles in Birmingham, England beginning early next month.
On yesterday's final day of the Australian titles, Libby Trickett broke the world record in the women's 50-metre freestyle, adding to her 100 world record of two nights earlier.
Trickett, formerly Libby Lenton and competing under her married name for the first time at this event, finished in a time of 23.97 seconds to lower Marleen Veldhuis' previous mark of 24.09. Dutch swimmer Veldhuis set her record on Monday at the European championships.
On Friday, Australian Eamon Sullivan broke his own world record in the 50m freestyle, setting a second new mark in 24 hours. It was the fourth time in the past six weeks that the record had been broken after Russian Alexander Popov's record had stood for nearly eight years.
The 22-year-old Sullivan broke it for the third time in that span.
Sullivan clocked a time of 21.28 seconds in Friday's final, after lowering the mark to 21.41 in the semi-finals on Thursday. His semi-final time had broken France's Alain Bernard then world-record time of 21.50 set at the European championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands last weekend.
