Speedo's High-Tech Suit That Is Dividing The Swim World

Reuters:

A revolutionary bodysuit has divided the world of swimming into the haves and the have nots just weeks before the Beijing Olympics, testing relationships between federations, athletes and rival suppliers.

Australian and U.S. swimmers and others wearing the Speedo LZR Racer suit have set 38 world records since its introduction in February. Australian Libby Lenton said it made her feel she was swimming downhill.

As the buzz has grown -- an LZR is even on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in an exhibit on superheroes -- swimmers using other equipment are weighing the merits of breaking existing contracts and switching to Speedo.

Read the whole story: Reuters

Comments

[wmbear]

ISSUE #423...

That I can't get worked up about, somehow...­.

[ceasenake]

It's 11 o'clock ...already­?

[VitriolAndAngst]

>> China's pollution is going to be a real issue this year. I suspect that asthma and other medications that help with the lungs are going to set off flags for performanc­e-enhancem­ent --- what to do about that?

[sfsilver]

improving times is great and all but this diminishes my interest in the sport as a spectator. I miss the sexiness of the traditional speedo. Hot sexy swimmers at the peak of physical perfection was part of the draw to watch this sport. Now they're covering up too much and look like a cross between super heroes and Victorian age bathing suits.

[VictorAndTim]

Thank you for saying that. I couldn't agree more.

[frantaylor]

Go buy a magazine and look at the pretty pictures. Sports are all about corporate sponsorship and advertising. They always have been.

[midnoon]

I don't know, I think you can see their packages better. You gotta be a real man to wear that suit!

[MikeDu]

This article has highlighted just how LITTLE I care about the Olympics . To me the Olympics is rather like the Miss America pageant, an anachronism that's been distorted by commercialization beyond all recognition. Sure, some rosy-cheeked seventeen year old has been working all her life to win a ribbon or medal or whatever they win. But with the grotesque overlay of hype and commercialization I just can't bring myself to care anymore.

[OhComeOnNow]

I am totally with you -AND- sfsilver! They may be breaking records, but I won't be watching it happen.

[midnoon]

Speedo has said, the suit has yet to break any records. I personally hope someone not wearing any supersuit wins.

[VitriolAndAngst]

Anachronism is right.

It is still great for young athletes to go to the Olympics -- I just think that when the US desired so much to win against the Soviets and China that we started allowing professionals -- it kind of ruined it.

I think a lot of the problem is the IOC. Somehow, it is very expensive to impress these folks, and I don't understand why people get sued over using the olympic symbol. All the IOC needs is enough money to pay for a plane ticket to get an official there -- yet it has become a huge cash cow.

Let the UN take it over and keep the spare change. This should not be a private corporation.

>> A suit that confers this much advantage needs to be regulated. Boxers don't get to add iron weights to gloves. Jumpers don't get helium-filled pockets. And, like steroids -- right?

Maybe if they went back to the Greek tradition of not wearing clothes, I might get interested in this sport again.

I'm also tired of all the sports that require "judges" to tell us who won. Do I need to see an amazing US or Canadian ice skater get blown out by some boring East German performance that happens to be in a formal style the judge likes?

>> I guess I'm rambling. Too much money and commerce in this. It should be a looser system of competition -- perhaps break up the Olympics and host parts of

[Economike]

Couldn't agree more

[BobSF94117]

I say they go back to naked swimming and if drag is a concern, just chill the water...

[NYCrex]

Athletes, training and coaching should be the only factors in Olympic competition. Corporations should be allowed to bribe the Olympic committee into what atheletes will wear and then they all wear the same gear. Individual countries should not choose their own Olympic gear, even if it is better.

As far as these swimsuits, it shouldn't be allowed. Men and women should wear a distinctly similar one piece (to be fair to women's need for such a suit) and that's that.

Unless this is Revenge of the Nerds frat olympics, leave the technology out.

[STParker]

Is it just me or do the lines in his suit make the model look as though he's stuffing the crotch with a basketball?

[mabinog]

That is a hydrodynamic codpiece.

[VitriolAndAngst]

Marketing found that the hydrodynamic codpiece helped customers accept the $800 price tag.

[avraamjack]

.
Ancient Greeks all competed naked and oiled.
.

[mabinog]

The Speedo LZR Racer suit of its day!

[justamazed]

oil would provide an advantage. The oil would have to be the same for everyone. Would hairy people get to shave? Shaving and oil would be tech advantages if one person did not know how to shave. Some oil is lighter. How much oil?

So your post falls short in your attempt to be clever.

[StandUpAmerica08]

Is it ME or do the models look like Borg drones? It's kind of scary.

[jukesgrrl]

No, they look like Borg sex robots. Still scary, though.

[revko]

I've got a feeling that the primary purpose of these swim siuts are for more suit to put corporate sponsor logos on.

I'm not kidding.

The Olympic athletes lately have just become human bill boards. It was hard to fit the "YAHOO" logo on those tiny Speedo trunks of the past.

[justamazed]

Other than the clear fact that there are no ads on the suit, your opinion is flawed by you understanding of hydrodynamics. There is so much more to this then you are able to understand. I swam in college and coached for several years. A suit can make a dif.

Just so you know. It is not always good to be jaded and wrong. It makes you look ignorant.

[revko]

Cut to the chase. Eliminate the humans and have robots compete in the Olympics.

[bmermaid]

I agree completely. Really, What is the point?

[robbor]

codpiece insert optional

[rkab]

So when are we going to see swimsuits endorsed by swimmers? Make them all swim naked or with the EXACT same swimsuit. I personally think they should make them wear a g-string with lead weights attached to it. Like 200# each, lots of drag. Oh and dye the water black so they can not see well, either. Maybe throw in some baby piranhas too.

[frantaylor]

No shaving. Men in full beards. Everyone in long hair. Swimmers are using the latest technology to remove their body hair. It's not right. Anyone can swim like a dolphin if they have no hair.

[justamazed]

This is one of the dumber comments on this thread. You could finish the races these kids swim. Your an idiot.

[Robert59]

Different sport, but we've seen the same thing in powerlifting. Technology has ruined the sport. You'll see competitors whose bench increases by 100 pounds solely because of the shirt they are wearing.
And it's the same with the squat.

Technology is great, but what's the point. We all know flippers can make swimmers even faster, but is that what we really want?

[VitriolAndAngst]

I knew I was trying to find an analogy -- that's it!
Not only could a hydrodynamic suit help a swimmer -- but a area expanding sock (aka Flipper), might also improve stroke power.

[justamazed]

Please explain how the shirt alone increases bench press by 100 lbs!