LONDON, 28 February 2008 — It looks more like a space suit than something you would wear to do a few lengths of front crawl, but the latest LZR Racer swimming suit has been developed by technologists at Speedo to make top swimmers more streamlined. To be christened in national and international competitions in the UK over the next couple of months, the all-in-one cossie is the first of many new functional items of sportswear expected to be unveiled in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.
The big sportswear brands are cagey about how much they invest in the research and development but Adidas and Nike admit that they employ more than 30 full-time designers and scientists, many of whom spend each four-year Olympic cycle working on an individual shoe or fabric.
Here’s what the top athletes have in their wardrobes for 2008:
Swimming: Speedo’s LZR Racer swimsuit is billed by the company as the fastest swimsuit ever developed, although this presumably depends greatly on which swimmer is wearing it. Using Nasa technology, the suit has 5 percent less drag than its previous incarnation, the Speedo FS-Pro, which was launched in 2007 and has been worn in 21 record-breaking swims. That suit was developed with shark experts from the Natural History Museum to produce fabric that simulates the texture of a shark’s skin.
The fabric used in the LZR is ultra-lightweight and, crucially, is “welded” together to create a seam-free surface. A “hydro form compression system” acts like a corset to hold the body in an even more aerodynamic shape.
Rugby/Football: Sweat-wicking (keeping heavy sweat from lingering on fabric) and body-cooling are the current technological buzzwords of these sports with top players opting for shirts made from fabrics that feature both properties. The England rugby shirt is also designed to be extra tight fitting making it difficult for opponents to grab. And it has rubberized “gripper” nodules on the torso and shoulders to help players keep hold of the ball or lock into the scrum.
In football, the must-have item of the season is Nike’s Mercurial Vapor IV, the world’s lightest football boot, weighing just 200 gms.
Golf: Justin Rose is among the many top golfers who wear a TechFit vest to aid his performance. It has a strong, supportive webbing fabric in the back and shoulders, where muscles are vulnerable to straining as a result of the repetitive swing. Other items focus on ventilation, such as the Sphere Macro top which features fish scale-style flaps that open up or roll back when they come into contact with sweat. Golfing footwear has evolved to allow feet to be closer to the ground, allowing greater control of the swing.
