Probably the biggest gripe about the technical suits (Speedo Fastskin, et al) is the cost. With Speedo's introduction of the the new LZR at $550 for the high neck they've ramped the price up substantially over what lots of people already considered "too much."
On the other hand, there seems to be lots of support for swimmers being able to extend their careers by going pro. Lots of today's great swimmers would probably be out of the sport today if it weren't for lucrative contracts from the likes of Speedo. So, by an large, us paying for these expensive suits is keeping these people swimming.
Is it worth it? Should we all put our order in now for LZRs just to be sure Michael Phelps can swim beyond Beijing? :)
I definitely won't be buying the LZR anytime soon. I'm thinking about a Fastskin II, though.
Anyway, my point was there's sort of a double standard here. If we want cheap suits, we can't have pro swimmers.
Why do we "need" pro swimmers? I've never found professional sports, except for wrestling (LOL) , to be more entertaining to spectate than high level amateur sports. I'll take college basketball and football over the pros anyday. And I do strongly believe the Olympics lost alot of their luster once they started letting the million dollar cry babies in to play.
Maybe I'm just being old fashioned, but I don't see any need for pro swimmers, especially if it requires the "amateurs" to pay north of $250 for suit.
I definitely won't be buying the LZR anytime soon. I'm thinking about a Fastskin II, though.
Anyway, my point was there's sort of a double standard here. If we want cheap suits, we can't have pro swimmers.
Why do we "need" pro swimmers? I've never found professional sports, except for wrestling (LOL) , to be more entertaining to spectate than high level amateur sports. I'll take college basketball and football over the pros anyday. And I do strongly believe the Olympics lost alot of their luster once they started letting the million dollar cry babies in to play.
Maybe I'm just being old fashioned, but I don't see any need for pro swimmers, especially if it requires the "amateurs" to pay north of $250 for suit.
