Kitajima breaks world record in slick Speedo swimsuit

(BEIJING, June 8) -- Dressed in Speedo gear, Japan's Kosuke Kitajima torpedoed his way into history by breaking the previous world record in the men's 200-meter breaststroke in the Japan Open on Sunday, reported sports.cn.

With a time of 2 minutes, 7.51 seconds, the 25-year-old triumphed over the previous record by .99 seconds, untouched after being set by American Brendan Hansen two years ago.

50-meter and 100-meter national breaststroke records were also broken by Kitajima in a warm-up meet for the 2008 Olympics. For those events, he donned the Speedo LZR Racer suit as well. Since the unique swimwear was promoted in the beginning of this year, 38 new world records have been set.

Records weren't the only thing broken this week. Previously, Japanese athletes were officially only allowed to wear swimsuits produced by three Japanese companies: Mizuno, Asics, and Descente. A decision came on Tuesday from the Japan Swimming Federation breaking away from that rule, allowing Japanese swimmers to choose their suits as they please for the Beijing Olympics.