Suits in dispute

Equipment or garment seems to be the question many organisations are being forced to grapple with these days. Shoes, for example, are equipment for athletes, singlets are not. Competitors at next month's Australian Olympic swimming trials will be allowed to wear full-length bodysuits despite concerns about their legality.

Australian officials have allowed the controversial neck-to-ankle outfits (similar to those worn by Michelle de Bruin in Atlanta) to be worn as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Swiss-based body which adjudicates on sports disputes, has not yet completed its investigation into their legality.

The suits, which are said to decrease drag in the water, have already been approved by the sport's world governing body FINA, but the Australian Olympic Committee is worried a swimmer wearing one might be stripped of a medal if a rival competitor protested to the CAS.

The CAS announced last month it will investigate the high-tech suits but is still not certain when a decision will be announced.