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Former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster is convinced performance-enhancing swimsuits have caused so much damage to swimming it will take more than 20 years to set the record straight.

World swimming governing body FINA continues to chop and change its legislation regarding the use of polyurethane swimsuits, and the matter is far from resolved with just two-and-a-half weeks to go until the World Championships.

In the last 18 months, more than 100 world records have been broken, including the 50m freestyle, by France's Frederick Bousquet in April, and the 400m freestyle by Italy's Federica Pellegrini just last week.

Both record times were achieved by swimmers wearing the Jaked 01 swimsuit - a suit that is completely comprised of polyurethane, rather than the first of its kind, the Speedo LZR (pictured), which only had patches of the material.

The Jaked 01 looks set to be outlawed in 2010, along with the Arena suits that have already been banned, but Foster is adamant the sport is already in too deep and the current mess will take decades to put right.

"It's sad in a way because all of the records that existed mean nothing with these new suits but they can't go back because it will take 20 years to get back to where the world records are now which would be dreadful for the sport," said Foster.

"I really don't know who guides them because it can't be swimmers it must be people who don't know a lot about sport because there are far too many mistakes.

"The whole situation has been badly handled, FINA really should have put their stall out ages ago but now we're in too deep.

"Everyone could see this coming when the LZR suit came out because it upped it for everyone and when that material became legal, companies just started making whole suits out of it rather than just patches.

"In a 50m freestyle race the new suits can take nearly half a second off your time - even more in breaststroke - I think this World Championships will be suit wars and it will unfortunately dominate the headlines.

"Michael Phelps is the best swimmer in the world but someone wearing a Jaked suit will beat him if he's using a Speedo suit - they are that effective."

When Pellegrini claimed back the 400m freestyle record, she did so by beating Great Britain's Jo Jackson's previous best, set at the British Gas Championships in March.

But Foster, who captured World Championship 50m butterfly silver in 2003, insists it would still be Jackson's name in the record books if they were competing on a level playing field.

"Jo's record only got beaten because Pellegrini was wearing a Jaked suit. If you put Pellegrini, Adlington and Jackson in a Jaked suit then the two Brits would win," added Foster.

"But if you put those two in their regular Speedo suits then Pellegrini would win - the suit makes that much difference.

"Pellegrini wasn't rested but all distance swimmers can swim well without rest so that is not an issue."

More Than The Games / Eurosport