It follows the decision by FINA last month to approve 202 high-tech suits for competition after 348 designs submited by manufacturers were tested for fabric thickness and buoyancy.

 

FINA rejected 10 swimsuits outright but gave 136, including 11 designs submitted by blueseventy, 30 days to make modifications to make them legal.

 

But blueseventy claim that they have not informed how a test for trapped air will be conducted and that with the World Championships due to start in Rome next month they have been forced take legal action.

 

The Seattle-based company claim that models that they had previously been submitted in 2007 and had received approval have also now been removed by FINA from their list of approved suits.

 

Dean Jackson, the global marketing manager of blueseventy, said: “As a company, and personally, we were very comfortable with the criteria for testing that FINA had outlined, our suits passed well under the threshold for buoyancy and thickness proposed by them.

 

"We have had confirmation that our suits passed the independent laboratory testing for both of these tests.”

 

Officially blueseventy is classified as one of the suits that ”may cause significant air trapping when worn by the swimmers.”

 

However, there are several other similar brands with suits that use exactly the same fabric, with a similar construction, that have been approved, blueseventy claim.

 

Blueseventy has been given a deadline of June 17 to make modifications to the suit so that it no longer traps air, but the process around this is unclear since trapping air is not a measurable value and the subjective nature of this “testing” is not black or while, they claim.

 

FINA introduced the new standards last month after they had been criticised for failing to act more quickly to regulate the water-resistant, buoyancy-aiding suits which have helped smash most of swimming's records in the past year.
 

Davies is not listed among blueseventy's sponsored athletes but wore one of their suits when whe he set a British 400 metres freestyle record in March.

 

South African swimmer, Darian Townsend, who currently tops the world rankings for the 200 metres individual medley said: “Blueseventy saw fit to invest in me, but now I am unable to deliver to their expectation.

 

"I find myself lining up on the blocks looking down the line at swimmers wearing a suit of such body shaping success that has over 100 world records, yet my New Zealand designed blueseventy with a history of only five world records is deemed illegal.

 

"This confuses, disappoints and leaves me amazed at what the suit issue has come to."

 

Roque Santos, the vice-president of swimming at blueseventy, said: “We are dedicated to working on the best solution to the short-term situation and will work closely with FINA on this process.

 

"Most importantly, we care about swimmers, we care about our company and we care about fair play for all brands in this process.”