A new swimsuit is shattering records—and unleashing debate
LZR is the new black
ATHLETES in the ancient Olympics competed in the buff, on the
grounds (among other things) that clothes were a hindrance to
performance. Modern technology, however, has changed that. In some
sports, notably swimming, the right costume can be an enormous boon.
Take Speedo's LZR swimsuit, which was introduced in February. Fully 38
of the 42 world swimming records that have been broken since then have
fallen to swimmers wearing LZRs. Indeed, some of those records have
been claimed by less-than-notable racers, suggesting that the
difference lies in the apparel, not the athlete.
To make the LZR four innovations had to come together. The first is
the fabric. The new suit is cut from a densely woven nylon-elastane
material that compresses the wearer's body into a hydrodynamic shape
but is extremely light. Moreover, there are no sewn seams. Instead, the
suit is bonded together using ultrasonic welding. Seams act as speed
bumps in the water. Ultrasonic welding removes 6% of the drag that
would otherwise occur, according to Jason Rance, the head of Aqualab,
Speedo's research-and-development centre in Nottingham in Britain.
Compared with Speedo's previous suit, which was used by numerous gold
medallists in the 2004 Olympic Games, the new material has half the
weight yet triple the power to compress the body.
Second, the suit has what Speedo calls an “internal core
stabiliser”—like a corset that holds the swimmer's form. As a swimmer
tires, his hips hang lower in the water, creating drag. By compressing
his torso, the LZR not only lets him go faster, because it maintains a
tubular shape, but also allows him to swim longer with less effort. In
tests, swimmers wearing the LZR consumed 5% less oxygen for a given
level of performance than those wearing normal swimsuits did.
Third, as a further drag-reduction measure, polyurethane panels have
been placed in spots on the suit. This reduces drag by another 24%
compared with the previous Speedo model. Fourth, the LZR was designed
using a three-dimensional pattern rather than a two-dimensional one. It
thus hugs a swimmer's body like a second skin; indeed, when it is not
being worn, it does not lie flat but has a shape to it.
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. Arena, a rival swimsuit-maker, called the situation
“unprecedented” and, initially, lobbied for a review of the garment
rules in an open letter to the sport's governing body, FINA (the
Fédération Internationale de Natation). Another maker, Tyr, has
launched another type of suit altogether. It is suing Speedo's parent
company, Warnaco Swimwear, Mr Schubert (for more or less insisting that
members of his team wear the LZR) and others on antitrust grounds. The
LZR is thus being referred to by some people as high-tech doping on a
hanger.
Speedo's success is partly due to a subtle rule “clarification” made
by FINA in April which confirms that polyurethane areas can be
incorporated into racing swimsuits. Other manufacturers complain it is
unfair that a revision with sweeping implications took place only a few
months before the Olympics. Still, they are rushing to bring forward
rival products. On June 4th FINA approved new suits by Arena, Adidas
and Mizuno, so Speedo's technological lead may not last. In technology
as in sport, records are simply there to be broken.