Australian Paralympian's swimsuit called "immodest"

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

Sydney's Peter Leek was admonished by FINA officials for wearing "immodest" swimmers at the Water Cube, while Australia's first female Aboriginal Paralympian was ordered to explain the origins of her indigenous flag before being allowed to keep it on display in the Paralympic village.

Leek, 19, from St Marys, was told after winning the S8 100 metres butterfly final at the Water Cube that his skin-tight hip-to-knee costume - the same "knicks" style favoured by Olympians Michael Phelps and Pieter van den Hoogenband - was "unacceptable and do something about them before tomorrow".

Leek decided what to do, all right. He decided to wear them again yesterday.

"I was a bit shocked," said Leek, who has cerebral palsy. "They were my normal swimmers - nothing was different as far as I could tell. I will check with my coach, but I think I will wear them again. Anyway, I'm over the moon. I've being waiting 10 years for this gold medal."

Leek was taken aback to be bailed up on the pool deck straight after clocking a world record to win his first Paralympic gold medal. His briefs are one of the designs officially sanctioned by FINA. They are supposed to be tight, but the FINA official said they were too tight.

The problem for Leek was his costume had slipped down at the back. The Speedo suit is supposed to be worn only two or three times but Leek considers it to be lucky. The teenager nicknamed "Pipes" had a classic case of what can only be described as plumber's crack, right in front of Paralympic sponsors and the FINA officials. But the FINA official seemed to overreact.

A highlight of the swimming has been China's Fuying Jiang, born without arms, doing butterfly by swooping down the pool like a dolphin. She blew the roof off the jam-packed Water Cube when she led the 200m individual medley - only to be mowed down centimetres from the wall by an American dwarf who had been lifted up on to the blocks for the start. Quite a sight.

Meanwhile, Tahlia Rotumah, 16, who also has cerebral palsy, was questioned by officials about the Aboriginal flag in the athletes' village, which is overflowing with the colours of the 100-plus competing nations. Rotumah's flag was allowed to stay when her heritage was explained.