MANCHESTER, England, December 19. AFTER several readers questioned Swimming World due to American records being listed in the results at the Duel in the Pool, we contacted USA Swimming to find out whether these national records will be ratified.
A USA Swimming official went a step further and explained that any American records set in a techsuit after the date the governing body applied the techsuit ban domestically on Oct. 1, will not be ratified. This ruling is even in the case of international competitions where techsuits were legally worn, such as the Duel in the Pool, and if extrapolated should apply to any and all American records set on the World Cup circuit.
This ruling will also lead to some interesting issues, similar to the Japanese Swimming Federation recognizing national records that were not ratified as world records. This decision will just be a 180 where United States citizens will hold world records that are faster than the listed American records.
The sport could potentially see some lawsuits from this ruling as swimmers who were competing legally in an event at the time could be denied bonus money with USA Swimming not ratifying a national record.
Swimming World will continue to look into this decision.