Spain Swimsuit Controversy
The Olympic synchronized swimming team from Spain planned to wear electric lights as part of their swimsuits for their Team Event Free Routine final on August 23, 2008. Officials from the International Swimming Federation (FINA) banned the suits, citing swimmer safety concerns, since the lights were battery-powered.1
Fast Facts
- The suits were fitted with waterproof electric circuits and an interrupter switch, allowing the team to build a light show into their sequence2
- The routine was planned as part of Spain's Africa Exercise, which won the gold medal at the European Swimming Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in March 2008, without the lighting effect3
- The Africa Exercise was also featured, again without lights, at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne in 20074
- The Team Event Free Routine final is scheduled for August 23, 20085
- 8 teams qualified for Olympic synchronized swimming: Spain, Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Japan, Russia, and the United States6
Quotation
- It got very sophisticated because obviously the battery doesn't last long and then we had to look at circuits and interrupters, so we have been working on it around two months with a crack team. ---Andrea Fuentes, Olympic synchronized swimmer from Spain7
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