FINA moves up bodysuit ban to Jan. 1

Swimming's governing body has set a firm date of Jan. 1 for banning record-breaking bodysuits, which should remove the threat of a Michael Phelps boycott.

Earlier this week, FINA announced the ban but said it might not take effect until April or May _ three or four months later than expected.

FINA moved up that timetable Friday after Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, threatened to pull his swimmer from international competition until the suits are banned.

A staggering 29 world records were set over the first five days of the world swimming championships in Rome, all of them in suits that soon will be illegal.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ROME (AP) _ Swimming's governing body has set a firm date of Jan. 1 for banning record-breaking bodysuits, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement by FINA had not been made.

The move comes after a threat from Michael Phelps' coach to pull his swimmer from competition until the suits are banned.

Earlier this week, FINA announced the ban but said it might not take effect until April or May _ three or four months later than expected.

"Well then probably expect Michael not to swim until they are implemented," Bob Bowman said. "I'm done with this. It has to be implemented immediately. The sport is in shambles right now and they better do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these seats."

With three days still to go, 29 world records have been set at these world championships, nearly twice as many as at the last edition in Australia two years ago.

FINA plans to issue new suit guidelines to manufacturers by Sept. 30, and thought about delaying implementation for a few months to give the companies enough time to produce new suits.

"I think it would be fair to say Bob's comments helped, but there were some manufacturers who were saying, 'Oh, I don't know if we can make it by then,'" said the person familiar with the situation.

FINA is also planning to announce a rule requiring suits to be approved one year before Olympics or world championships, and available commercially six months in advance, said the source.

FINA scheduled a news conference prior to Friday's evening session.

Bowman's comments came immediately after Phelps was upset by unheralded Paul Biedermann of Germany in the 200-meter freestyle at the world championships Tuesday. Biedermann wore a 100 percent polyurethane Arena suit, while Phelps stuck with last year's LZR Racer from Speedo, which is less than half polyurethane.

Last year, Phelps and others with the LZR profited from the suit, while this year suits from Italian manufacturers Arena and Jaked are considered faster. Each of those suits will be banned at the start of next year, when males will be restricted to suits that extend from the waist to the top of the knees, and females to suits that cannot go past the shoulders or beyond the knees.