{"id":351671,"date":"2019-02-19T14:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T21:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=351671"},"modified":"2019-02-19T18:00:14","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T01:00:14","slug":"one-decade-later-do-we-miss-the-full-body-competition-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/one-decade-later-do-we-miss-the-full-body-competition-suit\/","title":{"rendered":"One Decade Later, Do We Miss the Full-body Tech Suit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lianne McCluskey, Swimming World Intern.<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been one decade since FINA banned the now infamous tech suit and ended the “shiny suit era” – one in which the world saw records falling at an alarming rate. In an article written by the late Steve Connor<\/strong> in <\/span>The Independent (see link at bottom of article),\u00a0<\/span><\/i>experts warned that world records would unlikely be broken for decades after they were banned in 2009. Reflecting on this monumental part of swimming history elicits this question: Where are we today?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"emily-seebohm-100-back-2018-australian-trials\"

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr\/Swimming Australia Ltd.<\/p><\/div>\n

In order to answer that question, we must dig into the past. The tech suit revolution really took hold following the 2004 Olympics when\u00a0Speedo<\/strong> asked NASA<\/strong> to help design a competition suit that would reduce drag. Through their partnership came the creation of the full-body LZR Racer. The suit could be either full-length, knee-length or shorter. With ultrasonically welded seams and a zipper, the suit compressed a swimmer\u2019s body into a streamlined tube that sometimes trapped air, adding buoyancy and reducing drag. Through the use of polyurethane material, the suit was designed to also make swimmers more hydrodynamic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within a year of its release in early 2008<\/a>, the LZR Racer achieved worldwide fame, highly believed to be the most successful swimsuit ever made. Within a month, athletes wearing the suit broke 13 world records. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, according to SpeedoUSA,<\/strong> 98 percent of medal winners in swimming competitions won while wearing a LZR Racer. Out of the 25 world records broken at that Olympics, 23 were accomplished by swimmers wearing the suit. <\/span>Michael Phelps<\/b> set world marks in seven of his eight events at Beijing wearing a version of the suit but not the full-body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BEIJING,

Photo Courtesy: Wally Skalij<\/p><\/div>\n

In response to the demand, companies such as TYR, Arena, BlueSeventy and more began creating wetsuit-like neoprene suits (shiny suits) after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which ultimately led to a ban of the LZR Racer and the emerging class of shiny suits among all brands. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beginning in 2010, the new rules permit only \u201cjammers\u201d – suits from the kneecap to navel for men and from the knee to shoulder for women. The fabric must be air permeable, and a suit may not have any fastening devices such as a zipper. <\/span>Speedo has since developed a new line of LZR suits that comply with FINA\u2019s new regulations, and other swim brands have also designed popular competition suits that comply with established rules<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the ban, Professor Steve Haake<\/strong>, director of the Centre for Sports Engineering Research at Sheffield Hallam University stated that “a ban on swimsuits has created an insurmountable rift in performance at the highest levels of the sport.” He also commented that elite swimmers are at a disadvantage without the suit, and that we may not see world records be broken for decades. <\/span><\/p>\n

So after one decade, how close have we gotten to rewriting the records set with these “super-suits”?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"katie-ledecky-after-winning\"

Photo Courtesy: JD Lasica<\/p><\/div>\n

Katie Ledecky<\/b>\u2019s legendary performances alone have shown that the suit doesn\u2019t make the swimmer, and the majority of women\u2019s world records have been broken since 2009. On the men\u2019s side, though, it may be a few years before we see the historic relay of Michael Phelps<\/strong>, Garrett Weber-Gale<\/strong>, Cullen Jones<\/strong>, and Jason Lezak<\/strong> erased from the record books; however, records are falling every year in individual events. <\/span>You can find current Long Course Meter World Records by following this link to Swimming World’s website.<\/a> FINA also provides 25m World Records<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another exemplary swimmer is Caeleb Dressel<\/strong>. Following his<\/span> 2018 NCAA success, Swimming World<\/em> <\/span>evaluated the likelihood of him matching eight gold medals at Tokyo 2020<\/span><\/a>. Currently, he is only .04 off of Phelps\u2019 signature 100 butterfly world record, a record Phelps spent years trying to steal away from butterfly legend <\/span>Ian Crocker<\/b><\/a>. <\/span>Regardless of whether or not he will be able to do so, Dressel not only has set American records in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events but also demonstrated his record-setting capabilities at the 2018 SEC Championships, where he surpassed <\/span>David Nolan<\/b>\u2019s US Open, NCAA and American records with a time of 1:38.13 in the 200 IM. He also broke the NCAA and American record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 50.03.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"sarah-sjostrom-swe-2017-world-champs\"

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA<\/p><\/div>\n

Other notable world record holders following the FINA ban on the full-body suits include the following swimmers:<\/span><\/p>\n

Men’s LCM world records broken since 2009:<\/h3>\n