Should we "ban" the LZR Racer from Nationals ?

The most amusing comment of the day had to be on Swimming World's morning show, when Brent said, "It should be noted that Speedo is an official sponsor of FINA." :bow:

Maybe I should take the article linked below, replace Fastskin references with LZR, replace Sydney with Beijing, and call it good. Are you really surprised that a $600 price tag on a new suit revives/continues the debate?

I don't believe the suits float, If they fit well, right and tight, they give swimmers a better surface to slip through the water with. Which is one of the reasons we've seen so many WRs fall recently. 50 fr M W 100 fr M 200 IM W 400 IM W 200 bk W 50 bk W I'm sure Phelps could have broken records too but I beleive they are saving them for trials and the olympics. plus I beleive he has a financial incentive to break records in bits rather than in one large chunk.

As long as it sinks in water (without someone in it). If you throw the suit into a pool and it floats, then no way. Otherwise, whatever works. If you can't afford it, whatever. For me, it sounds too difficult to get into and I would either rip it or throw out my back before I even got to the blocks.

Speedo history. I swam in the 1956 Olympics in a Japanese pure silk swim suit given to me by one of the Japanese swimmers Tsuyoshi Yamanaka . Murray Rose also gave me a new Speedo that I took home from those same Olympics. The silk suit really felt good and I raced in that until it was completely disintegrated. history of Speedo en.wikipedia.org/.../Speedo

Considering George that wool swim suits were still being worn in the 1940's... that suit must have been a huge breakthrough.

I do remember the woolies for sure. The biggest break through for Canadians was the Unique Athletic Rayon swim wear.

If you don't think the suits are performance enhancing, then you shouldn't be bothered by the mass "madness," no? After all, you're not wasting your money and theoretically no one is gaining an advantage on you. It'd be interesting to have one nationals with bodysuits allowed as usual and one with them banned. Of course, the latter might cause some spectator trauma. :joker: Maybe the athletes have all been conned, but the ones I talk to sure rave about the suits. The corporate reps are just winking and avoiding making damaging legal admissions. "Conned" may be too strong for what I feel, but I do think their importance has been overblown. More than just the cost, the whole arms race aspect is wearying, it takes the focus away from the actual swims (which have been incredible) and the training behind them. And yes, I'll be wearing jammers in races for the near future, sans regrets. Maybe I'll try a LZR on some day and rave about them too. By that time, of course, the self-guided anti-gravity models with the slow-release HGH patches will be out.:D

It's like deja vu all over again! Maybe I should take the article linked below, replace Fastskin references with LZR, replace Sydney with Beijing, and call it good. People seem content recycling the same discussion from 8 years ago, so why not recycle the article? findarticles.com/.../pg_1 :dedhorse:

I do remember the woolies for sure. The biggest break through for Canadians was the Unique Athletic Rayon swim wear. I missed the silkies, but here is the progression I came up with back in 2000. Much of this timeline came from a rare interview with Stu Isaac: Nylon and Beyond To address the many questions about the bodysuits, it is enlightening to look first at the historical progression of competitive swimming apparel. In 1956, Speedo introduced the nylon suit for the Melbourne Olympics. The lightweight nylon fabric was a departure from the heavy wool and cotton suits previously worn by competitive swimmers. The next important development came 17 years later, in 1973, when East German swimmers appeared wearing lycra suits at the first World Championships in Belgrade. Prior to the lycra suit, most female racing tanks had a skirted front panel, sometimes called a "modesty panel." This design was a requirement in American swimming until April 1974, when a rules committee met at the U.S. Indoor Nationals in Dallas and waived the rule. For the first time, American women were allowed to wear the lycra suits in competition. "Paper" fabric, which is a lightweight, paper-thin blend of nylon and spandex, was invented soon after lycra. Although paper suits became popular in the late 1980s, the material was actually developed in 1974. Racing suits continued to get smaller and lighter until 1992, when Speedo released the S-2000 suit. The S2000 was different because it had a high-neck profile with a zipper back. The material was a blend of polyester, lycra and polyurethane, and it allowed for greater coverage because the fabric reduced drag. Although the S-2000 torso suit was available for women and men in 1992, it was mostly used by women. In March 1996, the Speedo "Aquablade" was introduced. Once again, Speedo offered some modified styles, including the half-leg, sleeveless torso suit. The fabric was innovative for its water-repellent qualities, and the drag-reducing effect ushered in suits that covered more skin. On Aug. 31, 1999, Adidas took the concept of covering more skin to the extreme by introducing the first full bodysuit. It wasn't too long before others caught on. Speedo announced the "Fast Skin" suit in March 2000, and by that time, swimmers had already begun to experiment with all different types of suits. :bolt: