Delegates at the USA Swimming annual convention have voted to ban high-tech polyurethane swimsuits in US racing from October, three months before FINA, the swimming world’s governing body, starts to enforce a similar ban worldwide.
Former French Olympic swimming champion Laure Manaudou has announced that she is retiring in a newspaper interview. The 22-year-old earlier decided to pull out of the 2009 season, saying she had lost the will to compete at the highest level.
After a difficult year during which Jessica Hardy was banned from competing, the American swimmer has come back in style to set a world record of 1:4:45 in the 100m breaststroke on Friday at the US Open Championship.
On the final day of the swimming World Championships in Rome, Michael Phelps collected a fifth gold medal, in the 4x100m medley relay, to end his campaign with a flourish. Germany's Britta Steffen triumphed in the women's 50m freestyle.
On another action-packed evening at the World Championships in Rome, American superstar Michael Phelps won gold and set a new world record by smashing the 50-second barrier in the 100-metre butterfly final.
Brazil’s Cesar Cielo has won his second gold medal of the World Championships, this time in the 50-metre freestyle final. France's world record holder, Frederick Bousquet, came second, with his compatriot Amaury Leveaux third.
America’s Aaron Peirson has won his second gold medal of the World Championships in the 200m backstroke. Elsewhere, French sprinters Frédérick Bousquet and Amaury Leveaux have qualified for the final and are both in with a chance.
