High-Tech Swimsuit Topples Speed Records, Causes Waves
Apr 14th, 2008 • Posted in: NewsCritics say the garments amount to a technological assist
PARIS
A new ethics issue has evolved in the sports world: whether a high-tech swimsuit offers competitors an unfair advantage.
London’s Telegraph observes: “It is almost traditional for technological developments in swimsuits to become the subject of debate in Olympic years, but recent performances by swimmers in the Speedo LZR Racer have alarmed the company’s rivals.”
World records have been falling like autumn leaves since the development of the suit in February, reports the International Herald Tribune. But even though the LZR was approved by swimming’s governing body, rival manufacturers are claiming it uses outlawed materials to enhance performance.
The new suits, developed with the help of NASA technology, are seamless and electronically bonded instead of being sewn, are fashioned from a special water-repellent fabric, and reduce skin vibration and other human factors that can slow swimmers, the Taipei Times reports.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, critics claim that the high-tech devices amount to technologically assisted swimming, not human swimming.
But the Australian general manager of Speedo takes issue with that, telling the Herald: “What we are allowing the swimmers to do is to swim their fastest, and it is exciting for the sport. People have to embrace innovation and technology, otherwise we would all be sitting around … watching Roger Federer playing with Rod Laver’s racquet.”
Sources: Taipei Times, Apr. 12 — Telegraph, Apr. 12 — International Herald Tribune, Apr. 11 — Sydney Morning Herald, Mar. 23.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Apr. 7 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 18.
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