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?
Former Member
I wouldn't say they're the demise of swimming, but I do think the sport would be better off without them.
I agree with this. But hey, I'm only top ten in a "not really masters" age group, right geek?
I like that swimming is going high tech on anything, not just suits. It's a dang boring sport most of the time, even a glimmer of excitement helps.
The excitement gets diluted. Popov went 21.64 and that's still amazing, even though a dozen guys went faster last year. Sullivan, Cielo, Leveaux, Bernard, and Bousquet, those guys are great. But how cool would it be for someone in briefs to hit 21.5? It's not likely to happen now, even though it probably could with all of the other advances in the sport. It's not a travesty or anything, it just bums me out a little.
And, setting aside potential individual differences in bodysuit help, the greatest race ever from last summer (4x100 free) would still be the greatest race ever if the guys were wearing briefs. The pro-bodysuit people have been saying that it's not about the suits, it's about the swimmers, and I agree. That's why the suits just seem so unnecessary to me.
It's competing at who can buy the supposedly "latest and greatest" from the suit makers and nothing but a "store bought" achievement.
I was in Lane 4 the other day looking for the racks where they sell technique, dry land work, and 20,000 yards of swimming/week, but they must have been sold out. Probably need to check online.
The whole sport of swimming would be better off if the so called tech suits were just dumped all together.
When there are so many variables associated with "personally applied devices", the world's records set by swimmers (such as Michael Phelps in 2008) become highly questionable as to their legitimacy. At some near point, these WRs will be considered as artificial achievments.
Considering the use of PEDs and tech suits, I really wonder if Phelps really surpassed Mark Spitz's WR set in 1972.
Dolphin 2
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Considering the use of PEDs and tech suits, I really wonder if Phelps really surpassed Mark Spitz's WR set in 1972.
Dolphin 2
So, now you are accusing him of using PED's?
It isn't a choice for serious competitors. You either use a fast suit and win or use a slow suit and lose.
Why don't you give 46 year old Dennis Baker a call about your very insightful quote above...I guess going a 4:38+ 500 yd free unrested and in a drag suit a couple weeks back pretty much flushes your credibility...not that you have actually had any but its been entertaining.
Hey Pwolf66
None of the comparisons you make have any relevant comparison to athletic swimming.
Fish do swim but you don't see them playing football, golf, tennis, or bowling.
Human swimming is such an amazing accomplishment because it requires man to adapt the mind and body to the aquatic environment.
Accordingly it should be done like a fish.
Dolphin 2
Hey Pwolf66
None of the comparisons you make have any relevant comparison to athletic swimming.
Dolphin 2
And ladies and gentleman, we now have the answer that wolf and geek have been asking for weeks now, "what does dolphin know about athletics and is he really just being a torn?"
The answer is in his reply to Wolf.
...Human swimming is such an amazing accomplishment because it requires man to adapt the mind and body to the aquatic environment.
Accordingly it should be done like a fish.
Dolphin 2
Until humans grow gills, it will never be done "like a fish".
I'm as slow as molasses in January, my 100m time is in the 2:05 range, but I have had to PULL OUT TO PASS PEOPLE WHO WERE WEARING WETSUITS OR USING FINS AND PADDLES.
If suits, paddles, fins etc., create such a difference, then why weren't these even slower swimmers able to keep up with me??? Answer: because no suit or device can compensate for really bad technique.
I have yet to hear a rational argument that, all things being equal, the man or woman in a tech suit is the superior athlete over the man or woman in a tank suit. The tougher athlete is the one wearing the least protection. And the laurels should go to the tougher athlete, not the better-protected, or the better-sponsored, or the more moneyed.
It's fine, laudable even, if you want to be "tough" in OW. But your comments make no sense in a pool setting. In the pool, the "laurels" go to the fastest swimmer. Most of the fastest swimmers wear tech suits of some kind.
