Giving swimmers a second skin
The latest technologies surrounding racing swimsuits are aimed at:
he technology is a fabric that is extremely lightweight. It is a high-density microfibre fabric woven from chlorine-resistant elastane and ultra-fine nylon yarn. The fabric allows for various water-flow patterns over the whole body, producing a smoother swim and reducing drag by up to 4%.
So if fast suits do provide the competitive advantage that FINA and all associated research has attributed to them, the return to half-body textile suits could explain why we’ve seen fewer world and Olympic swimming records broken in London than we did in Beijing.
The latest technologies surrounding racing swimsuits are aimed at:
- reducing drag in the water
- creating fabrics that cling to the body and repel water
- creating fabrics that compress muscles and mould the shape of the body
- bonding fabric seams together while allowing stretch
- replicating a shark’s dermal denticles - its skin scales - to reduce drag and increase speed.
he technology is a fabric that is extremely lightweight. It is a high-density microfibre fabric woven from chlorine-resistant elastane and ultra-fine nylon yarn. The fabric allows for various water-flow patterns over the whole body, producing a smoother swim and reducing drag by up to 4%.
So if fast suits do provide the competitive advantage that FINA and all associated research has attributed to them, the return to half-body textile suits could explain why we’ve seen fewer world and Olympic swimming records broken in London than we did in Beijing.