I noticed that Alexander Popov isn't wearing a swimming cap in Barcelona--and certainly doesn't seem
to need one to swim fast. And the Russian winner of one of the semifinals in the women's 200
backstroke isn't wearing goggles. A back to basics movement? I'd like to see a long haired woman
swim without a cap.
There seem to be four types of caps being used: (1) silicone seamed caps, which have wrinkles down
the top of the head, (2) latex wavy edged caps (Australia--can't they afford silcone?), (3) a sort
of cap that looks like an unseamed silicone thing, with no wrinkles in the center when worn (e.g.,
Japan), which makes the wearer look bullet-headed, and (4) those fabric (nylon?) caps, worn by some
of the distance swimmers.
On another topic, wasn't the supposed reason for shaving that your skin would be more sensitive to
the subtle feel of the water? Don't bodysuits eliminate that? Or rather, expose it as a load of
[censored]? I think the latter; but I think the supposed "advantages" of the "high tech" bodysuits are an
equal load of pseudo-scientific [censored].
Is there a FINA rule against swimming in the nude?