Spofforth: Supersuit Not for Me ; Swimming

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GEMMA Spofforth believes the decision not to wear one of the supersuits strengthened her resolve which culminated in the 21-year- old winning the 100m backstroke title at the World Championships in Rome. Spofforth set a new world record of 58.12secs as she touched out Anastasia Zueva at the Foro Italico before coming fourth over 200m and in the 4x100m medley relay. The University of Florida student donned a Speedo LZR in Italy despite attempts to convince Spofforth she was putting herself at a disadvantage in a sea of Jaked, adidas and Arena supersuits.

The Speedo itself was the first of the performance-enhancing suits and their impact on the Beijing Games was enormous. However, they were overtaken by the all-polyurethane suits which saw swimmers slice huge margins off their best times with lesserknown individuals propelled to the top of the world rankings. However, Spofforth chose to remain loyal to the Speedo she wore when she was fourth in Beijing.

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Spofforth: Supersuit Not for Me ; Swimming

She said: "Every coach I was with told me I should think ...

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