I would stop at 1968 when I was in the first year of being on my high school swim team.
At that time, there were no such things as “technology or innovations” in swimming (except for the rather mundane lane dividers). The “advances” at that time were hours spent in the pool, in the weight room, and practicing general fitness. We went in the pool wearing just simple and comfy briefs (which were the standard uniform issued throughout the city’s school district) and after that, it was up to the individual and their innate talent and training.
There's another piece of equipment, or costume, or whatever you call it, that everyone seems to be ignoring. This item allowed swimmers to greatly increase the amount of time they were able to spend training in the pool. Consequently, big drops in times were seen when this item came into widespread use. The item is...
GOGGLES.
Were goggles in widespread use in 1968? (I'm too young to remember, but all of the photos I've seen of Mark Spitz show him swimming goggle-less.)
Are goggles considered part of the "costume"? Or are they "equipment"?
I would argue that they are definitely "performance enhancing." Should they be banned?
I would stop at 1968 when I was in the first year of being on my high school swim team.
At that time, there were no such things as “technology or innovations” in swimming (except for the rather mundane lane dividers). The “advances” at that time were hours spent in the pool, in the weight room, and practicing general fitness. We went in the pool wearing just simple and comfy briefs (which were the standard uniform issued throughout the city’s school district) and after that, it was up to the individual and their innate talent and training.
There's another piece of equipment, or costume, or whatever you call it, that everyone seems to be ignoring. This item allowed swimmers to greatly increase the amount of time they were able to spend training in the pool. Consequently, big drops in times were seen when this item came into widespread use. The item is...
GOGGLES.
Were goggles in widespread use in 1968? (I'm too young to remember, but all of the photos I've seen of Mark Spitz show him swimming goggle-less.)
Are goggles considered part of the "costume"? Or are they "equipment"?
I would argue that they are definitely "performance enhancing." Should they be banned?
