After seeing a woman break 24 seconds and I think we can stop the discussion of "IF" the LZR suit is faster and start thinking "how much faster".
The previous line of suits (Fastskin and so on) were pretty similiar to a shaved swimmer. Sure - they do feel like they make you float, but overall the times seemed to move along "in line" with what I would expect to see in terms of improvements in the sport. If the previous suits would have been that much faster than shaving, you would have never seen people just using the legskins. By the way - for us Masters swimmers there was always the added benefit of keeping in all the "extra layers of skin".
So how much faster are the LZR suits ?
If I had to guess based on the results so far, I would say 0.25 to 0.30 per 50 and double that for the 100. I can see the Bernard going 48 low in the 100 and I can see Sullivan getting close or just breaking the 50 record. It makes sense that Libby Lenton would swim a 24.2 or so in the 50.
I think one of the top regular teams out there should do a test - you need a good amount of world class swimmers training together to be able to do a test. Here is the test I would propose:
8-10 swimmers
2 days of testing
4x50 on 10 minutes all out
Day 1 - swim 2 with a Fastskin2 followed by 2 with the LZR
Day 2 - swim 2 with the LZR followed by 2 with the Fastskin2
Get the averages of all 10 swimmers - maybe drop the high and low and there you go.
Why do the test ? I would HAVE to know. Swimming is a big part of your life and you just set a massive PR using this new technology - my very first question would be " How much was me and how much was the suit?"?
A question or two Fort, are you in better shape now swiming in your Blue 70?
Or when you swam in your with recordbreaker Pro?
Is your technique better now than it was before?
George, I felt like I was in pretty good shape (for me .. it's all relative) last summer at Zones. Before the IGLA meet this June, that was probably my best meet ever. I was likewise in pretty darn good shape this summer in June until late July, and perhaps stronger from weight lifting. (I prefer LC and always feel in better shape generally.) Had a bad month of training before Zones due to a bunch o' crap. I didn't feel quite as "strong" this weekend as when I swam a few events in June and July (my two unrested times from above were from a USA meet in early July). My technique in fly and back is mostly the same, but they are my two best strokes technique wise. My starts seem to get worse on a daily basis, as I never have much chance to practice them. But I usually do a pretty good backstroke start; unfortunately, I slipped badly yesterday. At the time, I was pretty disappointed with my 50 back. I actually felt better when Michael Ross commiserated with me and said if you slip at the start, "it's all over." (Note: His backstroke starts were truly awe inspiring!) Moral of the story: I really have to find a way to practice starts!
A question or two Fort, are you in better shape now swiming in your Blue 70?
Or when you swam in your with recordbreaker Pro?
Is your technique better now than it was before?
George, I felt like I was in pretty good shape (for me .. it's all relative) last summer at Zones. Before the IGLA meet this June, that was probably my best meet ever. I was likewise in pretty darn good shape this summer in June until late July, and perhaps stronger from weight lifting. (I prefer LC and always feel in better shape generally.) Had a bad month of training before Zones due to a bunch o' crap. I didn't feel quite as "strong" this weekend as when I swam a few events in June and July (my two unrested times from above were from a USA meet in early July). My technique in fly and back is mostly the same, but they are my two best strokes technique wise. My starts seem to get worse on a daily basis, as I never have much chance to practice them. But I usually do a pretty good backstroke start; unfortunately, I slipped badly yesterday. At the time, I was pretty disappointed with my 50 back. I actually felt better when Michael Ross commiserated with me and said if you slip at the start, "it's all over." (Note: His backstroke starts were truly awe inspiring!) Moral of the story: I really have to find a way to practice starts!
