Though FINA has said that the high-tech rubber suits that tore up the World Record books in 2008 and 2009 will be revisited in 2013, after the London Olympics, for now the polyurethane supersuit industry is dead.
Or is it?
More and more teams have found a way to incorporate these ultra-fast suits into their training regimines. Over the past few weeks, both Trojan Aquatics and the Gator Swim Club (which are, without much argument, two of the three top post-grad programs in the country) have been slipping on their old LZR’s and X-Glides, though not in competition.
Gregg Troy and Dave Salo are two of the hottest names in coaching right now, and both have run “race-pace” sets recently that incorporate these suits to give swimmers a whole new feel.
The idea makes a ton of sense, and have resulted in some spectacular practice-times. Eric Shanteau, at the end of a set of (50 br, 50 br, 100 br) x 6, reports that he went a 1:00.8 100 breaststroke wearing an Arena X-Glide. That’s a much faster mark than he’s been in a meet yet this season in a legal suit.
Last week, Ryan Lochte shared a similar story. He had a set of four 100’s (one free, one back, one breast) on a 4-minute interval in a full-body suit. His times were 48.6 on the free, 54.2 on the back, and finished with a 1:03 on the breast. The backstroke mark was right at his season-best time, and the other two swims were easily the fastest he’s been in 2011.
These suits, when used judiciously, can provide some psychological benefit – think the effect you get on the second-half of a stretch-chord swim.
The question is whether or not there’s a long-term marketing opportunity for the suits for training purposes. If the suit manufacturers aren’t worried about shaving off every last .01 from swimmers’ times, can fast-suits be made economically enough to use them on a regular basis? My guess is no. But for the time being, this is a highly creative use for a suit that’s otherwise just taking up closet-space. This is a great example of coaches using some inginuity to make the best use of the materials and circumstances that they are given.
This year’s Worlds is actually a lot stronger than Rome because finally this year all top swimmers are swimming in preparation for London. And if jaked had been allowed, ALL and EVERY single WRs would have gone down, some multiple times.
If the polysuits weren’t banned, the following records probably would have gone down in 10′ and 11′
men’s 50 free (probably once to Bousquet’s 21.36)
men’s 400m free (to both Sun and Park, had Zhang Lin been in full poly in Rome, the record would already have been in the 339s)
men’s 1500m free (who’s going to argue this? We might have seen a sub15:30 and barked angrily without ever knowing what an amazing swim it was)
men’s 50m back ( ” , multiple times with Tancock’s 24.52, Lacourt’s semi and final swims from euros)
men’s 100back (51 low by Lacourt?)
men’s 100 breast (to Kitajima’s 59.04)
men’s 200m breast (to the current… Read more »
I highly doubt they’ll consider bringing back polyurethane at this point. Most of the opposition to the suit ban has quieted since that date, especially as some swimmers have approached tech suit times and the effects of the suits have become more obvious. However, I could see them bringing back full body textile suits. That proposal was one I agreed with back in 2009, but at this point, change is not good. I think some of the chaos will return with another suit change, and it is stupid to change the sport every few years as people want. Keep the jammers!
“By pushing the times a little closer to the records, the sport can be more exciting and marketable while preserving competitive integrity.”
Swimming and the rarity of world records being broken wasn’t exciting enough for you before the bodysuit/rubbersuit debacle? In 2009 at Rome the excitement and achievement of breaking a world record was cheapened (and when I look back at Beijing, I start to feel a bit the same way). Everyone and their dog was getting one. It was ridiculous. A world record wasn’t special anymore.
Obviously even textile bodysuits do help some, but not to the level that they are giving some athletes advantages over others. The apparent benefit is in the lack of friction with the water, not the bouyancy. By pushing the times a little closer to the records, the sport can be more exciting and marketable while preserving competitive integrity. Also, the above Brint is a different Brint than I.
Indeed, all competitive swimming should be nude, even during practices, to protect the purity of the sport.
What would be the point of a full body suit, then, other than $$$$?
They should go back to full body textile (maybe no arms). It’s good for the sport to have some debate/competition over equipment, even if the effect is minimal in comparison to polyurethane. It also allows for more sponsor visibility, which could bring more money into the sport.