The biggest star to emerge from the pool at this year's Summer Olympics won't be Michael Phelps or Natalie Coughlin or any of the other swimmers who could win multiple golds in Beijing.No, the biggest star -- the name everyone will be talking about in August -- isn't a record-setting swimmer but the swimsuit that the record-setting swimmers are sure to be wearing: The Speedo LZR Racer, which forces swimmers' bodies into an aerodynamic shape and repels water as they swim. As of the time I'm writing this, 44 world records have been broken this year by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer, and by the time you read this, that number may have gone up.
But there's a fundamental issue that the LZR Racer poses: Aren't the Olympics supposed to be about who's the best athlete, not who has the best technology?
The technological advantages of the LZR Racer are touted on the suit's official web site, but the claims made by Speedo aren't just advertising propaganda. It sounds trite to say that the LZR Racer uses space-age technology -- until you watch this video and see NASA engineers developing the suit:
Even on those tight, muscular Olympic athlete bodies, skin is flapping around all over the place while swimmers move through the water in an ordinary swimsuit, and that creates drag that slows swimmers down. The engineers who developed the LZR Racer have made reducing that drag their top priority. They've also made the midsection of the suit as tight as a girdle, to keep swimmers' posture perfect.
Rival swimsuit makers are threatened by the Speedo suit, but they're not quite sure how to approach it. The New York Times reports that TYR Sport -- which says its own high-tech suit, the Tracer Rise, is just as good as the LZR Racer -- will not allow its affiliated swimmers to wear the LZR Racer. Nike's swimmers, on the other hand, don't have to wear Nike suits in competition.
No one disputes that the LZR Racer gives swimmers an advantage, but the question is whether all that technology constitutes an unfair advantage. Italy's top swimming coach, Alberto Castagnetti, says it absolutely is unfair. He has compared wearing the LZR Racer to using steroids, calling the use of the suit "technological doping."
Castagnetti's point is worth discussing, but with the Olympics just five weeks away, it's far too late to do anything. It seems clear that there are going to be two classes of swimmers in Beijing: the dominating athletes wearing the LZR Racer and everyone else. If an athlete who had signed with TYR Sport is bitter about this, I wouldn't blame her.
After Beijing, however, the International Olympic Committee and FINA, the sport's governing body, need to seriously consider whether stricter standards should be implemented in dictating what swimmers are allowed to wear while they compete.
Perhaps the Ancient Greeks had the right idea: In their Olympics, the athletes were naked.
Swimming
OMAHA, NE - JULY 02: Garrett Weber-Gale celebrates setting the American record of 47.78 in his preliminary heat of the 100 meter freestyle during the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials on July 2, 2008 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
OMAHA, NE - JULY 02: Garrett Weber-Gale celebrates setting the American record of 47.78 in his preliminary heat of the 100 meter freestyle during the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials on July 2, 2008 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
OMAHA, NE - JULY 02: Garrett Weber-Gale celebrates setting the American record of 47.78 in his preliminary heat of the 100 meter freestyle during the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials on July 2, 2008 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
OMAHA, NE - JULY 02: Jason Lezak celebrates setting the American record of 48.15 in his preliminary heat of the 100 meter freestyle during the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials on July 2, 2008 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The record was broken in the next heat by Garrett Weber-Gale at 47.78. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
OMAHA, NE - JULY 02: Jason Lezak celebrates setting the American record of 48.15 in his preliminary heat of the 100 meter freestyle during the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials on July 2, 2008 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The record was broken in the next heat by Garrett Weber-Gale at 47.78. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Garrett Weber-Gale celebrates setting the US record time of 47.78 during the men's 100-meter freestyle preliminaries at the US Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, July 2, 2008. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)
AP
Michael Phelps looks at the clock after winning his heat of the Men's 100m Freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, July 2, 2008. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES) (BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008 PREVIEW)
Reuters
Garrett Weber-Gale reacts to setting a new U.S. record in his heat of the Men's 100m Freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, July 2, 2008. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES) (BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008 PREVIEW)
Reuters
Garrett Weber-Gale reacts to setting a new U.S. record in his heat of the Men's 100m Freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, July 2, 2008. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES) (BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008 PREVIEW)
Reuters
Chinese swimmers remove blue green algae from coastal waters in Qingdao, eastern China, Wednesday, July 2, 2008. A little over a month before the start of the 2008 Olympic Games the venue for the sailing events in Qingdao has been invaded by a forest of blue green algae. City officials say they'll need at least two weeks to clear the coastal waters, mobilizing 10,000 workers aboard 1,000 boats. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
AP
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2008 @ 1:41PM
Baron said...
Weightlifters have been using compression type clothing for ages (not sure about in the Olympics though), runners with better shoes get a better start, the shooters that can afford the best guns generally do better, etc. I think, overall, the countries that have the most money to put towards training and technology do better. At this point, it would really be very hard to stop something like this since it has become so entrenched in almost all sports. I suppose one could argue about swimming staying "pure", but then you come back to how the atheletes train. You might have someone here that gets hooked up with all the best training and developes a technique that allows them to actually swim a little faster than someone for another country who is, a stronger, faster, better swimmer (sans the technique that was only able to be developed through the use of hundreds of man and computer hours analyzing the swimmers movements). Sorry to ramble! Back to it, if we want it to get a little more even, then hand every one the exact same gear for the Olympics (or whatever sporting event).
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7-02-2008 @ 1:53PM
Spence Conley said...
Probably a good idea, but this is a very old argument that dates to the first use of fiberglass over bamboo in the pole vault. Is the catapault effect of fiberglass a better thing than pure upper arm strength? How about all-weather tracks, better shoes, Nautulis systems? Nothing is going to prevent technology from impacting sports.
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7-02-2008 @ 2:16PM
ducksoup said...
The athletes wearing the new Speedo suit have proven throughout their careers that they can post world record times without this new suit. A swimsuit does not propel athletes through the water faster - training does that - at best the suit cuts drag and gives a psychological advantage.
If these athletes had never posted world record time before last year a solid argument could be made that the suit provided a technological edge.
In an Olympic year where the American team is once again poised to win many medals and to post world record swims the focus should be on these extraordinary athletes not their swimsuit. The grueling hours of training in the pool and out every day should be the focus. In a sport that gets little attention outside the Olympics we should cheer on these athletes as they strive for Olympic gold.
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7-02-2008 @ 2:23PM
murph207 said...
i cant argue with anyones point here except there was something cool about Mark Spitz refusing to shave his legs ad growing that STASH!!
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7-03-2008 @ 9:31AM
Nick said...
I just want to make it known that at one point the olympics were performed in the nude way back in its founding days in ancient Rome. So if they want to make the argument that it enhances the body then so does the speedo in regards to how the games used to be played
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7-03-2008 @ 12:17PM
Pops said...
Unless you want to take the Olympics back to its Greek roots, you will always have better funded countries with an unfair advantage. Even if you stripped the atheletes naked, countries like the U.S., Aust, Britian, Russia, etc would have an advantage. We have better medical care, better food resources, better living conditions in some cases. All those things mean that an American competitor will start off with some advantage b/c they are simply healthier.
Also, even if you take away the special equipment like these suits, a larger country will have technological advantages that other countries can't match. Our boats will have better tech for Yacht races, better Bows and Guns for archery and shooting, etc. Even w/o having speical tech, many small countries could not compete
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7-17-2008 @ 11:26AM
Fred said...
Well, it all used to be done naked so we could always go back to that and forget about all this technological BS.
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7-24-2008 @ 10:23AM
Macbeast said...
Technology is at the very heart of all but a few sports. Equipment, clothing, training, medical advancements, to name a few. No snow skier would be able to do what they do without modern skis of carbon fiber. Tennis rackets, sailboat hulls deigned in CAD and built of polymers. Running shoes and actually all types of footwaer geared to performance. As long as you accept the fact that you can outfit the average Joe or Jane with any of these items and they will never be at Olympic level the playing field is even. Numerous people will win in Bejing with inferior equipment to their fellow competitors. Equipment advances enhance the sport in every example.
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7-25-2008 @ 2:28PM
punkinjr said...
I knew this argument was coming the first night I saw the suit during the Olympic Trials. Why wasn't something said then instead of now when we are only a couple weeks before the Olympics starts. What is stopping the other countries from getting the same suits? I would enjoy the way it used to be, in the buff, but how many of the athletes today would be able to or want to compete. A few years ago the USA only had amatuer athletes compete and other countries had professional athletes and no one complained because we only allowed amatuers. Personally, I think it should still be the amatuer only from all countries, but that won't happen. The thing with amatuers is that it gave a lot of people you may never know a chance to compete and now it is professionals and I for one don't like it. Professionals get all kinds of money already and it is only a gold medal to them and so what if they lose, they are getting paid. Remember when the US Hockey amatuer team won. It was a miracle on ice and it was amazing, but the great Professional Basketball team got beat and they didn't really care because they still have the NBA Championship they can win. Go back to Amatuers if you want it to be special.
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