Swimsuits: The Technological Arms Race

Every competitive swimmer searches for that performance edge that will help put him or her on the winner's podium -- a better training regimen, better diet, and increasingly, better equipment in the form of swimsuits made of high tech fabrics and scientifically tested designs. At the highest levels of competition, some events may be decided by tenths, even hundredths of a second, so every possible advantage becomes important.

With the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, Speedo, a maker of swim- and sport-wear, has come up with the Speedo LZR, a $550 swimsuit that some Olympic-caliber swimmers say gives an almost unfair advantage to those who wear it. Swimmers wearing the LZR ("laser") have broken a slew of world records since the suit was introduced earlier this year.

(Australia's Stephanie Rice set two world records
wearing the controversial suit at the recent
Australian championships. Photo: ABC News Australia)

According to the Boston Globe:

Swimmers using the new ultra-sleek full-length bodysuit have torn up the record book this year, producing 38 world marks in less than four months. Even more records are expected to be set by LZR users in the US trials, which begin today, and all of them could be wiped out at the Beijing Games in August.

"I think you'll see not only multiple world records broken, but also multiple swimmers breaking world records in an event," said US national team coach Mark Schubert.

LZR users appear to have such an advantage that Nike has allowed its contract swimmers, such as backstroker Aaron Peirsol and breaststroker Brendan Hansen, both world champions, to switch to Speedo for the trials to help them keep up with their rivals.

Here's a video of the suit and some of the technology behind it:




According to this L.A. Times article from April 10th, the LZR has been worn for 21 of 22 new world records since it's introduction in February 2008. According to this report, that number is now higher, and stands at 38 world records for swimmers wearing the LZR.

Some critics of the suit have called it "technological doping", but with records already on the book, it may be too late to ban the LZR:

Speedo say the LZR aids streamlining and reduces skin vibration and muscle oscillation, but critics say use of the suit is tantamount to "technological doping" and should never have been approved.

With a flurry of world records broken in the LZR and scores of athletes qualifying for the Beijing Olympics having worn the suit, coaches and swimmers say records cannot be rescinded and it is too late for it to be banned.

Mark Schubert, who has coached the United States team at every Olympics since 1980, said the $600 suit was "better than anything seen before" but it left swimmers contracted to other brands with a huge dilemma.

"I feel very sorry for them," Schubert said.

"Do you go for the money or go for the gold?

"They say the suit is rocket science but the statistics aren't.

"The other companies just haven't put the effort in. They've focused more on fashion than performance. They need to get with it, it's simple."

Here's another video "test drive" of the new suit:



Purists might object, but given the high stakes in the search for Olympic gold, I expect that this technological arms swimsuit race will only intensify. Good luck to our swimmers in Beijing, and may the best swimsuit, er, swimmer win!