Not sure if it's the suit, the Olympic year, or a combo of both - but I do get the impression that the LZR racer is the fastest suit out there. It's not yet available, but I am sure some people will pull some strings and show up with the suit in Austin.
I think we should all agree to ban the suit from Austin and spread the word to everybody. I know it's not binding - but I think we are all "old enough" to work on the honor system.
Any thoughts ?
Former Member
What I am saying is for me, the journey is much more satisfying than the destination.
Don't know if I agree with that. This morning I almost blew chow during my journey.
I think Nationals should be handicapped on the basis of your VO2max.
Again the point here is just AVAILABILITY for this year's Masters Nationals. You can have all the philosophical and cost discussions you want - but the suits are not generally available to Masters swimmers competing in Austin.
In terms of effectiveness - I would guess that the average to good Masters swimmer will get double the time boost compared to an elite swimmer. For one, our older skin flops around a lot more. And then of course there is the issue of excess fat ....
Perhaps those of us unable or unwilling to spend hundreds on the latest technical suit can make do with the latest high tech swim cap, which only costs £12
www.speedo80.com/.../
Perhaps those of us unable or unwilling to spend hundreds on the latest technical suit can make do with the latest high tech swim cap, which only costs £12
www.speedo80.com/.../
That's $24.00 in US or Canadian dollars. I don't spend that much on my suits!
Anna Lea
"Cheapest swimmer on the Forums"
Lindsay the new bathing cap I have seen causes super cavitation to happen so the body is in bubbles. The body then speeds through the water with very little drag. New world records are going to come fast once this cap is on the market.
Perhaps those of us unable or unwilling to spend hundreds on the latest technical suit can make do with the latest high tech swim cap, which only costs £12
www.speedo80.com/.../
There is also the core stabiliser that acts like a corset in helping a swimmer maintain optimum position in the water.
Jayhawk was right -- it's the Titanium Corset!
I like the paper suit feel of the Pro better anyway.
Here's the link from the post above...
LZR Racer: Banned In Canada And Maybe At NCAAs
Mar 26, 2008 Craig Lord
The Speedo LZR racer has been banned at Canadian Olympic trials and looks set to de disallowed at NCAAs too. Beyond the high cost of the suit, the bigger problem is the lack of availability. Swimmers unable to get hold of the garment feel disadvantaged, say meet organisers. The Canadian trials organising committee weas looking further into the issue today.
The knock-on effect of the decision to exclude the suit will be interesting to watch: as speedsters knock seven bells out of what was once amazing world champion Brent Hayden (CAN) must qualify for Beijing wearing the last generation of suit at his Olympic trials next week.
'It is amazing what the suit can do to people,' Stephanie Rice is quoted far and wide as saying after demolishing Wu Yanyan's dubious effort in China in 1997 in the 200m medley at Australian trials in Sydney. Rice raced 2.5sec inside her personal best.
In Britain, masters swimmer Graham Short has complained to FINA that swimmers heading for the Olympic trials in Britain next week cannot buy the suit and will have to compete against national team members who will be wearing the garment.
His complaint highlighted FINA rule 5.6: 'The manufacturers must ensure that the approved new swimsuit will be available for all competitors'.
When Short contacted Speedo, the following reply came back:
'We have supplied Loughborough University with the new LZR suits because they were helpful to us during the development and production of the suit. Unfortunately these suits won't be on general sale until about June - and then only in limited supply. We are taking pre-orders now, but the suits will not be available to every swimmer who takes part in the Olympic trials in Sheffield.'
That confirms the problem.
Cornel Marculescu, Director of FINA, has asked Speedo for immediate clarification.
Speedo is not denying that its suit improves performance: claims include a 5 per cent cut in drag factor and also that compression elements somehow aid oxygen uptake by 5 per cent. There is also the core stabiliser that acts like a corset in helping a swimmer maintain optimum position in the water.
Tom Johnson, Hayden's coach, told the Toronto Star: 'The only thing we don't want to be is to be feeling like we're being treated any less fairly than any of the countries in the world that have access to this suit. But we were told that the suit wasn't available. The question now is: If it's not available, how come everybody has it?'
Speedo Canada officials said that the Canadian team will get the new suits right after the Olympic trials next week. At the helm, Pierre Lafontaine told the paper: 'It's more the fairness in the trials and then after that we'll deal with the world.'
A source in the NCAA world tells me that the colleges are likely to ban the use of suits that are not made available to all.
www.swimnews.com/.../ui_1.gif
