CAS ruling has added to confusion, says Olympic committee chief

The opinion opened the way for Australian swimmers to use the full-length bodysuits at the May 13-20 Olympic selection trials but increased the prospect of protests and legal challenges, said Coates.

“We will allow our swimmers to wear the bodysuits but we point out that they do so at their own risk,” Coates told a press conference on Tuesday. “There is no greater certainty now than there was in March whether swimmers may legitimately wear the bodysuits during competition.”

McLaren had not investigated the validity of the process used by FINA in deciding to sanction the swimsuit, he said. As a result, AOC would delay naming the Australian Olympic swimming team until May 22 to allow a 48-hour appeals period for swimmers contesting the selection trials.

The risk of protests had been reduced because all leading candidates had been fitted with a bodysuit to wear at the trials, but the threat of protests existed, said Coates.

Coates said AOC had wanted CAS to determine if the bodysuits were devices or swimming costumes. FINA rule SW 10.7 prohibits “any device that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition.”

The issue has polarised Australian swimming since Ian Thorpe asked AOC for permission to wear an Adidas bodysuit instead of one supplied by rival manufacturer Speedo, a long-standing Australian team sponsor.

Coates said a subsequent Adidas presentation revealed the performance-enhancing qualities of the swimsuit and sparked his concern. Coates didn’t dispute FINA’s right to interpret and enforce its own rules, but said AOC was more concerned about the process regulators used in determining whether or not to sanction the bodysuit.

McLaren reported on documentation presented to him, FINA had followed its own guidelines in reaching the decision to sanction the swimsuit. But Coates said the Canadian lawyer was not given all the evidence.

Coates said he hoped the controversy would prompt FINA to review its stance at its next Congress. McLaren’s advisory opinion outlined that because AOC wasnot a member of FINA, it did not have a “property interest” in the international federation and, therefore, could not apply for a review of the sanctioning process.

“Clearly, this opinion leaves open the door for swimmers to pursue their rights as members of a member of FINA,” said Coates.