I am just back from the SPMA meet where all the top finisher were wearing the latest generation tech suits,mostly B-70s(or were named Jeff Commings.)I have here to for been in favor of the suits,but now I am not so sure.First,they eliminate the old bench marks.I went my fastest 100m BR in 5 yr in my LZR,but it was only .3 sec faster than I did untapered 5 wk earlier in my first swim in the LZR.So was my swim good or not,I'm not sure.Also,instead of focusing on technique or pace I found myself ruminating over aspects of the suits,how many more swims did the suit have,is it the right size,was the reason I didn't get better results from my B-70 because it was too big?etc.The B-70 has somewhat mitigated the "too expensive,not durable" problem,but for how long.
Lets say a company comes up with a suit that is much faster,say 4 sec/100.Further that it is very expensive(say $1000) lasts 4 swims and is very hard to make so that quantities are always limited and the fastest way to get one is to bid up to $3000 on ebay. Now lets say your nemesis has one,or that getting one is your best chance to get TT or AA or a ZR or WR,or that your child is close to making JO cuts,or finally beating his/her nemesis etc. Is it worth it and where does it stop?
The suits have brought increased excitement, exposure and revenue to the sport. I hope they're here to stay.
Not that I generally disagree with what you are staying (I own a B70 and am not ashamed of it) but you could make the same argument for steroids' impact on baseball. Just because a thing brings excitement, exposure and revenue to a sport doesn't make it "right".
I'm frankly not convinced that the suits have that great of an impact on performance (over shaving down). It's almost impossible to prove this, right? A myriad of factors are probably responsible for the huge number of records that fell last year (such as the confluence of recent improvements in training and technique coupled with the fact that everybody was training to peak last year for the Olympics, not to mention the explosion of "professional" swimmers). I don't think the suits deserve all, or even much, of the credit.
The suits have brought increased excitement, exposure and revenue to the sport. I hope they're here to stay.
Not that I generally disagree with what you are staying (I own a B70 and am not ashamed of it) but you could make the same argument for steroids' impact on baseball. Just because a thing brings excitement, exposure and revenue to a sport doesn't make it "right".
I'm frankly not convinced that the suits have that great of an impact on performance (over shaving down). It's almost impossible to prove this, right? A myriad of factors are probably responsible for the huge number of records that fell last year (such as the confluence of recent improvements in training and technique coupled with the fact that everybody was training to peak last year for the Olympics, not to mention the explosion of "professional" swimmers). I don't think the suits deserve all, or even much, of the credit.
