The swimming arms race continues unabated as the national teams from Japan and Germany have decided to use the newest high-tech body suits. Japan will use Speedo’s LZR suit, which was unveiled this winter, while Germany will use one being developed by Adidas. Other companies are also working on their versions of the suits, which use fabrics and a tight shape that reduce the drag in the water.
That the suits work is not in dispute: 38 world records have been set since February by swimmers wearing the LZR (only four by swimmers not wearing the suits). And Japanese swimmers set 16 national records at a recent meet. For the Germans, having the high-tech suits has become a matter of national pride.
Adidas has been developing a new suit after complaints in Germany that the country was headed to an Olympic fiasco against the Speedo suit.
“This gives us courage,” said Helge Meeuw, silver medalist from the Athens Olympics men’s 4×100 meter relay team. “This product is on the same level and may be even better.” …
Many swimmers—some contractually bound to other sportswear companies— argue that the Speedo is unfair and gives athletes added buoyancy in the pool. World governing swimming body FINA says no scientific evidence supports the claims and has refused to ban the LZR Racer.
It sounds to me like FINA is full of crap. How can 38 records in four months not raise concerns, since the only common factor is that athletes were wearing the new suits? How is this NOT performance enhancement and why is this any different than taking a drug to help performance? (I would welcome swimmers to comment on this).
The results are a suit that costs $600 and takes 20 minutes to squeeze into, and a widespread belief among swimmers competing in the Beijing Olympics this summer that they will have to wear one or fail. The director of the American team, Mark Schubert, for example, thinks the LZR improves performance by as much as 2%—a huge leap considering that tenths of a second may mark the difference between first and fourth place.
I have lamented the demise of the traditional racing brief from competitive swimming on aesthetic grounds. However, putting all swimmers in small swimsuits would eliminate any technological edge and allow swimmers to stand on their own talent and skill. Conversely, these new high-tech suits would be OK if all swimmers had access to them, not just those federations rich enough or with sponsorship agreements with the right company. Having a level playing field (or at least one level enough) should be the goal, and races should not be decided in a lab by some fabric chemist. –Jim Buzinski
on Jun 11th, 2008 at 9:51 PM
I hate the new swimsuits. You don’t get to see enough of the guys bodies like the old suits used to show. More flesh please!
on Jun 12th, 2008 at 1:13 PM
I love the new suits. And I am glad the athletes are more interested in their finishes than fashion trends. Otherwise we would have been subjected to boardies for the past 20 years.
on Jun 12th, 2008 at 6:07 PM
1) Mark Schubert is on salary for Speedo and is an employee of USA Swimming. His opinion is not unbiased at all. If anything he has made it harder for other suit companies to get contracts with athletes.
2) This happens every 4 years right before Olympic Trials. All the swimmers would be breaking records in paper bags right now. In the last 18 months most of the swimmers haven’t taken a break of more than one full day. They are all getting to tweak their training and start to race more at all of these Grand Prix meets. The suits definitely help, but they are not “technical doping” as the Great Britain national coach called them.
3) I completely agree with the availability issue. The elite athletes don’t just get their free suits before everyone, but they have even gotten them custom made to fit them perfectly in the past.
Pretty much all swimmers that go to Olympic Trials have access to free suits, but I have heard that Speedo is behind in their production again and they probably won’t have the suits available to everyone at Trials in time. They never do. I didn’t get the right suit from them in 2000 or 2004. But the elite athletes will have about 1 suit for every 2 or 3 swims. They may cost $600, but they don’t last very long.
Summing up:
The suits help (physically and mentally), but these athletes are breaking records from all of their training and peaking. Both the Speedo suit and the TYR suit are made from the exact same material, coming from the exact same fabric manufacturer. The brilliance of Speedo is that they only release these new suits around times when they know the athletes will be swimming their absolute fastest. The athletes make the suit look good, not vice versa.
on Jun 13th, 2008 at 2:01 AM
Hey Sean:
Appreciate your comments. I will be curious to see how many medals are won in Beijing by swimmers in suits vs. those without.
on Sep 15th, 2008 at 9:31 AM
Hey Adidas is good design a swimming suits. I like new swimming suits because very comfortable. Good decision japan and germany countries team have decided to used new hi tech body swim suits.
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 4:14 PM
Oh wow that is quite a swim suit there. I hate the look of speedos and I just can not wait for the U.S. to switch to these. If they do that I might actually enjoy watching the men swim!
on Sep 21st, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Not to mention I am just loving the guy in the speedo though and I would adore seeing him wear a new high tech suit. That would be quite a sight to see. Nice post by the way!
on Oct 5th, 2008 at 3:22 PM
These new bodysuits are hideous and should be banned from all swimming competitions. A suit does not determine the speed and overall performance of a swimmer. Good old fashioned practice, proper diet, and taking good care of oneself are the keys to success in swimming as well as all other sports. These new high tech suits are an equivalent to steroids if they artificially enhance swimming speed rather than working hard on swimming form and speed through practicing. In another word, these hideous high tech bodysuits help swimmers cheat in their races and that is wrong. Bring back the racer brief and outlaw these bodysuits permanently. Not everything has to be high tech. If some of these conservative prudes don’t want to wear a racer brief, then probably they should find another sport.