Speedo LZR using banned materials and methods?

Chris Stevenson, I'm no proponent of the suit..... other than I like the fact that it stirs controversy in general. Personally, I'd prefer it if FINA ruled out full body suits all together and only allowed jammers going forward. You don't need anything but jammers to swim fast. If you need the full body suit you are reaching for a technical equipment solution. No one should need a full body suit...... unless of course your body is old and soft...... like mine. John Smith

I'd agree to that, but I'd insist on gender equity. If I can't wear a suit that covers my flabby upper body, neither can the women. This confirms my love of full body suits!

Here’s the ultimate solution to the ongoing controversy about these technical suits: Just issue the men a standardized pair of old fashioned briefs and the women a bikini with a brassiere (with just enough coverage so the conservative, "family values” crowd won’t be offend by the swimmers allegedly showing “too much skin”) and also provide the briefs with some kind of athletic supporter so the male swimmers aren’t prone to injury. :lmao: Then everything else will be up to the individual swimmer and his or her minimally covered body and good old hard practice. No more squabbling over technical advantage and most importantly, no more of that ecchy "taking a bath with your clothes on" sensation either. :applaud: Happy swimming :D Dolphin 2

Geochuck, The suit floating is certainly an obvious reason to ban it but probably doesn't address the more important issues of body compression. FINA doesn't have the kahunas to tell Speedo the suit is illegal. Mark my words, the suit will pass inspection by FINA. FINA wants their world records for the additiona interest it generates in the sport.... Speedo wants their suit for revenue purposes....... the swimmers want the suit because it obviously makes them swim faster. Who doesn't want the suit? ....... Purists and record holders who records were recently broken and never had the chance to race with the suit. But then again after all the stroke changes the last 15 years..... do we really care about the record holders or just the records? John Smith

I would like a brief history of the swimming briefs. I remember a few guys wearing body suits when I was a kid just after the war 1945. Our senior relay was made up of the guys who were in the armed services. They still wore the swim suits they had worn before the war. I am going to search for their picture. Hey Geochuck I recall briefs were quite the norm for way back in the 60’s when I took up swimming as a kid and also when I was on my high school team in the late 60’s and everyone loved them. This is quite logical as briefs are the simply the most comfortable thing to wear in the water (except for your birthday suit) and there’s something about the water/skin contact that ”recharges your batteries” both physically and emotionally. However right now, the problem is that the hyper-competitive atmosphere has completely overwhelmed the idea of swimming as being a sensually enjoying and truly athletic art and the “Win by any means possible” approach has just ruined the sport. Being an “Aquaphile” I have devoted a lot of time to the study (and also the promotion) of water-related activities such as swimming, w-polo, hot tubbing, and even ordinary bathing/showering techniques and considering the horrid feel of wearing those “technologically advanced” suits, I am quite optimistic that briefs will definitely return as the suit of preference. :banana: Happy swimming Dolphin 2 :D

Jammers are not good for pulling with a buoy between your legs. It is difficult to hold on to it for an extended set.

Chris, I'm doing my part to ensure that briefs don't die! Here in California, there are a lot of college teams that still prefer to practice in briefs. Although jammers provide more buoyancy for the hip and thigh area (to prevent you from going down legs first like a sinking ship), a lot of swimmers feel that they are a bit too uncomfortable. However I suspect the influence of suit “technology” in Olympic swimming has crept into high school level as well and coaches want everyone to wear what they think is going to give their team a more competitive edge. Considering the extremely uncomfortable sensation of wearing a body suit, I suspect that jammers are all they can tolerate so that's their going to be their standard attire. Being a guy with a very slim physique, I don’t really need to smooth out things and I don't like the feel of excessive coverage when I'm in the water. From my conversations with Masters swimmers, they don’t like the idea of wearing more than the bare necessities either (no pun intended). Regarding the perception that briefs are dying, I recall a quote from William Shakespear who said "The rumors of my death are completely unfounded". :applaud: Happy swimming :p Dolphin 2

I would like a brief history of the swimming briefs. I remember a few guys wearing body suits when I was a kid just after the war 1945. Our senior relay was made up of the guys who were in the armed services. They still wore the swim suits they had worn before the war. I am going to search for their picture.

Jammers are not good for pulling with a buoy between your legs. It is difficult to hold on to it for an extended set. I used to think so as well. These ones stick well enough to my jammer though. Skip