As the sizzling debate over performance-enhancing swimsuits continues making waves in the Olympic sports world, the frown on U.S. national team coach Mark Schubert’s face keeps growing wider and the tone in his voice keeps sounding more threatening.

It comes as no surprise after a FINA review of water-resistant, buoyancy-driven, speed-propelling suits last month resulted in the approval of 300-plus designs and the rejection of about two dozen designs for the world championships that begin July 19 in Rome. In May, swimming’s governing body had approved 202 designs and rejected 10 designs.

Among the designs on the approved list are modified versions of the polyurethane suits worn by Frenchmen Alain Bernard and Frederick Bousquet in record-breaking races in April. Bernard swam the 100-meter freestyle in 46.94 seconds, becoming the first person to crack the 47-second mark, and Bousquet swam the 50 free in 20.94 seconds, becoming the first person to dip below 21 seconds.

Since Speedo unveiled the NASA-designed LZR Racer with a ringing endorsement from Michael Phelps about 16 months ago, swimming’s record books have been rewritten with 127 world records, an arms race has been launched among swimsuit manufacturers and athletes have been caught in the middle, forced to choose between staying loyal to sponsors and giving themselves the best chance to win.

“Without a doubt, we’re going to be looking at a lightning-fast world championships,” Schubert said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters. “FINA moved in a very good direction in May, and we were disappointed to see it opened up. But we’re hopeful in January, the suits will be less of an issue.”

Next year, FINA plans to overhaul its rules regarding swimsuits, creating a better-defined standard of what’s acceptable and what’s not, which probably will result in the banning of all polyurethane suits and other high-tech suits used in this record-setting craze.

By then, will it be too late? Will too much damage have been done? Will so many records have been set that the sport will lack legitimacy?

“Some of the world records that have been broken over the last two years are due to the athletes and some of the world records are due to the suits,” Schubert said. “I think the suits should be complementing the performance. … I don’t think we’ve been good stewards of the sport to allow what has happened.”

Schubert feels for athletes who are pressured into turning their backs on their sponsors.

“Athletes each have their own companies and have a desire to be successful, and that puts them in difficult situations,” he said. “That’s one reason we need to roll the suits back – so that’s less of a factor of a performance. … I’m not going to tell a swimmer to break a contract. That’s going to be up to a swimmer to make that decision.”

Five-time Olympian Dara Torres hasn’t decided what brand she’ll wear at the national championships that start Tuesday in Indianapolis. The event is a qualifier for worlds.

“If you do wear what you think is the fastest suit, and then you break a contract,” Torres said, “it’s a very, very delicate, tough situation. … It seems like we’re years ahead of where we should be. I personally wouldn’t mind going back to the old-school days, and then you could really see who the fast swimmers are.”

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