The new high-tech swimsuit is making waves after a slew of world records have been set by swimmers wearing them.
It’s the $800 swimming costume that has rocked the sport from its foundations.
Australian coach of the year Stephan Widmer warned swimming’s governing body, FINA, to police any further development of Speedo’s controversial LZR Racer. … A consultant in the design of the LZR, Widmer said the suit shouldn’t be considered a form of cheating, despite the availability to every remaining suit restricted as Speedo struggles to cope with the demand.
There have been 13 world record broken this year by a swimmer wearing the suit, and it’s only been in use a month. The latest record-setter was French swimming stud Alain Bernard. On consecutive days he set world records in the 100-meter freestyle at the European championships. The old mark had stood for eight years and Bernard beat it by .24 of a second (a pretty good margin). He also set a record in winning the 50-meter freestyle. Bernard (shown with and without his suit) is 6-6 and does have an amazing body (his arms are huge), but many are crediting the suit with his performance.
With the Beijing Olympics looming in August, coaches and officials are worried the swimming world could be split into those who have access to the $550 suit and those who do not. The latter could miss out because the suit may not be immediately available to all or because their national federations are contracted to other manufacturers.
The LZR has an edge because it is “seamless, contains a water-repellent fabric and is said to have 5% less passive drag in the pool than an earlier version.”
I have long decried the move from Speedos to full-body suit on aesthetic grounds, but the technological edge the LZR suit gives is worrisome. Unless all swimmers have access to the suit (and not only to those who can afford it), any records or medals set by swimmers wearing a LZR will be suspect. We want athletes to win because they train harder and have a greater drive, not because they are wearing a special material that gives them an edge.
Other manufacturers are unveiling competitors to the LZR, which means this will be a race decided by technology. Just make all swimmers go back to traditional Speedos and everyone will be happy. –Jim Buzinski
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 5:53 AM
It seems that while the athletes are imporiving in the science of swimming, they are losing in the art of swimming. I no longer enjoy watching the swimmers perform in their robocop suits. The $550 dollar Speedo suits will hurt the athletes in the long run because no one is going to care if they break world records if viewers cannot see the art of swimming–the physique of the athletes. No viewers means no picture on a cereal box which means no $$$.
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 10:07 AM
In other words, Tim, if you don’t get to see skin you’re not gonna watch.
It’s okay to say that. You don’t have to predicate it in an “art of the sport” argument.
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 11:34 AM
I mean, that is why people watch…
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 12:16 PM
ha – by that argument, track and field stars shouldn’t be on cereal boxes either because they show just as much (or little) skin as swimmers are now showing in their skin tight tank-top like fast skins.
clearly technology is giving elite swimmers an edge in shaving off that extra fraction of a second, but the athlete underneath the suit still has to be an elite swimmer first and foremost. it’s not like buying a $800 suit is going to turn a weekend masters swimmer into the next world record breaker.
have no fear though, water polo and diving, by nature of those sports, will always be skin sports – so for those of you who prefer aesthetics to athletics, you will still have your eye candy.
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 1:39 PM
This is an ongoing struggle in all sports: fast-track turf in NFL/NCAA stadiums, metallurgical advances for golf/tennis equipment, advancements in shoe design in track and field.
Technology without oversight is ruining sports.
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 2:35 PM
I’ve lost interest since the robot suit has become the norm, tho kudos to some of the asian swimmers, they still seem to prefer the micro mini speedos! If the waterpolo playing macho boy start wearing such nonsense, I’m over it!
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 4:51 PM
The Speedo type high cut suit should be the required suit for swimming. The spandex track and field shorts should be the required suit for all track & filed competitions and basketball shorts should be returned to their 1970’s length. There would be a lot more viewers!
on Mar 26th, 2008 at 10:06 AM
The introduction of this suit in competitive swimming is very similar to when the clap skate became available in speed skating. The clap skate has definitely changed things in the sport and gave a huge advantage to those athletes who had access to them. One troubling aspect of that was that the skate was made by a Dutch manufacturer who selectively decided who would get the skates first (although this is not all that different from the Bodine sleds in bobsledding). I don’t recall those sports federations stepping in and stopping people from using these advances until everyone had access to them. Based on that, I doubt you would see anything now.
on Mar 26th, 2008 at 11:51 AM
I was a swimmer back in my high school days in the 1960s and 70s when briefs were the standard suit.
I am somewhat of an “Aquaphile” and I was attracted to swimming, diving, and W-Polo because of the unique sensation of being almost nude in the water and I really loved these sports for that reason.
However, the sensation of swimming in a body suit is like “Taking a bath with your clothes on”. If you don’t like the look – you will hate the FEEL of actually being in them. They are absolutely horrible!
on Mar 26th, 2008 at 4:37 PM
I can solve this problem with no difficulty ! Everybody swims nekkid
on Mar 27th, 2008 at 12:06 PM
From my understanding of the history of athletics, certain sports were considered to be “innate to the body” and not subject to aid from extraneous factors. In fact, the word “Gym” (as in gymnastics or gymnasium) is derived from the Greek “Gymnos” which literally refers to performing in near nudity and swimming is one athletic activity that lends itself quite well to the definition of a “Gym” activity.
It is the feel of being in the water with very minimal cover that makes swimming attractive and you have to agree that all the photos and videos of blue water flowing over bare skin are a very soothing and calming sight -whether it makes you horny or not.
Here’s an idea to swim faster without subjecting the swimmer to suiting up in an uncomfortable “costume”: Just add water softener to the pool to break the surface tension and reduce hydrodynamic friction. Anyone who has taken a bubble bath that contains a water softener knows how it makes the water feel wetter and slippery.
I’ve heard a saying something to the effect that “To take away the feel of swimming is to completely ruin the art”
Happy swimming
California Dolphin
on Mar 27th, 2008 at 8:48 PM
They make it sound like these ugly looking robocop bodysuits are going to help shave off fractions of a second in a swim meet. What nonsense. The only determining factors in speed and performance are the athlete’s skill in the sport, in this case swimming. Athletes who win are athletes who work continously hard by practicing their sport. All this bullshit nonsense that the latest in athletic wear will make you a better athlete is just another method for companies to peddle and sell their products. Its all about making money. Unfortunately, both the Olympics and professional sports are now dominated by big corporate money which is very sad.
on Mar 28th, 2008 at 6:24 AM
I was reading that one of the benefits of the bodysuits is that they act like a corset (Spanx for swimmers!), keeping the torso in the ‘correct’ shape throught the stroke, and thus reducing drag.
The article said that there were presently only 5 suits in Canada (and they were being passed around and tested), but they would not be available for the Canadian Olympic trials. Presumably they would be available by the time of the Olympics, but to be fair they should be made available to all competitors.
on Mar 29th, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Does the fact that it’s water repellent give anyone else pause? It seems like you are removing one of the basic elements of the sport: the water.
on Mar 30th, 2008 at 11:34 AM
My only response to all the people who are upset about more skin being covered is grow up. There are plenty of sources for you to get your skin fix. As for Jim’s worry of the suit not being available because of cost, that won’t be the main obstacle in swimmers having access to this suit. I have probably owned thousands of dollars worth of suits and never paid more than $20 for one. Once you get to the national level, the level when the suits could make a difference of being on an Olympic team or not, you get all of your competition suits for free. The problem with the Speedo LZR and the comparable suit by TYR is that they are both behind in their production schedules and will not be ready for all the swimmers at Olympic Trials in Omaha. They had similar problems in 2000 when the first Fastskin came out. So the elite athletes, the ones who helped develop the suits, will have access to these, but the Olympic hopefuls will not. That is something USA Swimming should deal with.
on Mar 30th, 2008 at 2:59 PM
Perhaps the IOC should take the advice offered by “Alwaysobjective” and look to the ancient Olympaids to settle this controversey.
For the first 292 olympiads the swimmers as well as all the other athletes were, as i understand it, naked.
It would seem that in the 696th Olympaid the IOC could look to the past and make the swimming pool a level playing field (talk about a mixed metaphore) so to speak and have them all swim the way God made them, naked.
I am sure some of the effects this would cause would be an increase in the numbers of those who would want to watch as well as determining if the full body swimsuits were not giving unfair advantage to those who would use them.
on Mar 31st, 2008 at 1:19 PM
Swimming with your entire body covered with waterproof clothing??? Yeah right like taking a bath with your clothes on.
Now that tops the list of really “antithetical” ideas if I ever heard of one.
They used to make jokes about having sex while wearing a condom as like “Taking a shower while you’re wearing a raincoat”.
Now they can rephrase the condom joke as “Like swimming in an LZR or a Fastskin II”.
on Apr 5th, 2008 at 3:35 PM
I like the no clothing alternative myself but one’s natural equipment could prove too big a drag on one’s progress through the water. By the way I really don’t think swimming formed part of the ancient olympics.