"Cutting-edge Technology"

COLUMBUS, OHIO - With most of the nation's best swimmers scheduled to compete at the Toyota Grand Prix here this weekend, record-breaking performances might take a back seat to the swimsuit competition.

The Speedo LZR Racer, a $550 seamless, water-resistant swimsuit, has dominated pre-Olympic meets, and its use has been praised - and questioned - because of its cutting-edge technology and high price tag.

Since the suit's debut in February, 18 long-course world records have fallen, 17 of them to LZR-clad athletes. The Australian Olympic trials produced eight world marks in eight days. Swimmers at the European championships last month set six world records. At the British championships Wednesday, the record in the 50-meter backstroke fell to a swimmer in a LZR.

Not surprisingly, Michael Phelps, the six-time Olympic gold medalist from Rodgers Forge and Speedo's top pitchman with a multimillion-dollar deal, gave the suit this endorsement: "I remember trying it for the first time in Canterbury [Australia] with Ryan Lochte, and it just felt like I was a rocket coming off the wall. It feels like a spacesuit. I'm excited to see the results."