Olympian Exposed by Swimsuit Malfunction

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - A swimsuit malfunction forced an Olympic swimmer to sit out a championship race Wednesday. And she can blame her new "more than skin" suit.

Italian swimmer Flavia Zoccari's bathing suit split in an unfortunate place while competing at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara, Italy. ( See photos ).

The malfunction happened right before the start of 200-meter race. The swimmer was upset about the incident and of not being able to compete. Zoccari, who competed at last year's Beijing Olympics, later apologized for any offense caused by her unplanned show .

Zoccari, 22, was wearing a top-of-the-line Jaked J01 swimsuit when disaster struck. The all-polyurethane suit (and others like it) have sparked controversy in the swimming world with critics saying the compression and buoyancy the material provides can boost speed .

The Associated Press reported that introduction of Speedo's NASA-designed LZR Racer suit 16 months ago sparked a flood of world records. Now, other companies are making suits that swimmers believe might be even faster.