Subscribe“They’ve been called super-hero suits and bat suits.
The coach of the Italian national swim team even called them ‘technological doping.’
The Speedo LZR (pronounced laser) Racer suits aren’t magical, but they have raised some eyebrows in the swimming community around the world and here in Southwest Florida.
Since the LZR Racer debuted in February of this year, 59 world records have been set — 54 of them by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer. When Michael Phelps goes for yet another Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly tonight, he will be wearing a version of the LZR Racer.
The LZR Racers were designed with the help of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA. They use a high-tech LZR Pulse fabric that is low in friction and drag. The suits are ultrasonically welded together, meaning they have none of those pesky seams that cause resistance in the water.
So, does all of this technology really make swimmers faster?
‘Not really,’ Gulf Coast Swim Team coach Don Henshaw said.
‘I think the suit enhances the performance some, but the swimmer has to do the work in order to swim that fast.’
The LZR Racers are not yet available to the public. If you want one, you can get on a waiting list at speedo80.com where the LZR Racers retail for as much as $598.
At this year’s USA Swimming Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., local swimmers from GCST and Swim Florida — both Speedo-sponsored teams — got a chance to try out the LZR Racers firsthand.
For a $200 deposit, local swimmers had full use of a variety of LZR suits from the full-body, so-called bat suits, to the legs-only suits that are popular with Olympic breaststrokers and butterflyers because they offer a better range of motion throughout the arms and torso.
The results were mixed.
Swim Florida’s Amy Modglin, a three-time high school state titlist, loved the LZR Racers.
‘It depends on how you swim, but in backstroke it helped me stay on top of the water and not jam my hips down as much, which is really important for going fast,’ she said.
Her teammate, University of Florida-bound breaststroker Robby Kennedy, disagreed.
He prefers Blue Seventy swim suits, which are made from neoprene, the same buoyant material from which wet suits are crafted.
Gulf Coast’s Chelsea Franklin, another multiple high school state titlist, found the LZR Racer too constricting.
‘I did not like it at all. I talked to some coaches and they said that if you’re already on top of the water, it doesn’t really do anything for you. I felt claustrophobic in it,’ she said.
All three swimmers agreed that the LZR Racer is more of a psychological boost than a physical one. And with such a hefty price tag for a suit that will only last for about 10 swims, it’s hardly a frugal purchase.
‘I think everyone should go back to the old suits that Janet Evans used to wear,’ Franklin said.
‘It’s not fair that they can go out and break her records when it’s not necessarily an equal field. I’m all for technology, but you have to keep it fair.’”
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posted by Solon and Thanks at 6:23 PM on August 15, 2008