I'm having a hard time with the Blue 70.
I love it. I swam faster than I deserved to in it (I bought it until it ripped, then returned), and I had fun swimming faster again!
My question/statement is this:
It is more than obvious from my own experience, and MANY swimmers I've talked to, that you drop at least 3 seconds per 50 in any event wearing this suit. I know that last year I swam a morning race and went 38 without the suit, put one on and swam the same event and went 35. I sure as heck didn't taper in an hour! And I can't remember dropping 3 seconds in a 50 in recent decades.
Highly respected "people" in USMS that I have had conversations with say it is undoubtedly "legalized cheating". I agree. I'm not quite sure how or why FINA approved it. (And I'm not saying it should be banned. It is what it is.) But when a SUIT improves performance it is no longer necessarily the swimmer achieving those times.
My hubby brought up the cost as well. (I have a suit fund going, so we don't have to shell out $400 all at once, if I even buy one.) It definitely separates the haves from the have nots. There are many more Masters Swimmers who cannot afford this suit than those who can. Several of my teammates would love one but can't afford it. And while this may be more a "social" question, it is still a factor in our swimming races.
My thought, as I was looking at recent results was this: Because the B70 is such a factor in racing performance, I would love to see some kind of a notation (notice I didn't say the dreaded Barry Bonds asterisk!) next to results of swimmers who wear a B70 in a race. Or have a B70 division for all results? We already have a wetsuit division for OW, why not have a B70 division for pool races? (It is almost a wetsuit anyway!)
This past weekend I watched an already elite swimmer wear a B70 and annhilate their already super fast times. If I were a swimmer from another part of the country, I'd be thinking, "Good God, how much faster can they get?" When if fact they aren't necessarily much faster, they are now wearing a B70.
When is technology too much?
2cents
Karen
I was actually PMing Chris Stevenson to direct him to those results, to see I speak the truth, when the laptop died!
It was our PMS SCM Champs in Oct 2008.
www.pacificmasters.org and go to the left and click on competition and then results- scroll down to the 2008 section and click on the tab for the meet.
If you want to check: I'm 38 (and a girl!). I wore the B70 for everything, but the 1500, the 400IM and the 100 back. In fact, my first 100 of my 200 back was a second faster than just the 100, and I felt like I was going out pretty easy. (Thus my first 50 of my 100 back was a 38.6 sans suit, and when I led off a relay, with the suit, for 50 back, I went 35.4)
Also, anyone who knows me, knows I can't sprint freestyle out of a wet paper bag, yet I went 30.9 and 1:07. For me, that's really fast.
Again, I hadn't been training much at all. Maybe twice a week on average.
I was actually PMing Chris Stevenson to direct him to those results, to see I speak the truth, when the laptop died!
It was our PMS SCM Champs in Oct 2008.
www.pacificmasters.org and go to the left and click on competition and then results- scroll down to the 2008 section and click on the tab for the meet.
If you want to check: I'm 38 (and a girl!). I wore the B70 for everything, but the 1500, the 400IM and the 100 back. In fact, my first 100 of my 200 back was a second faster than just the 100, and I felt like I was going out pretty easy. (Thus my first 50 of my 100 back was a 38.6 sans suit, and when I led off a relay, with the suit, for 50 back, I went 35.4)
Also, anyone who knows me, knows I can't sprint freestyle out of a wet paper bag, yet I went 30.9 and 1:07. For me, that's really fast.
Again, I hadn't been training much at all. Maybe twice a week on average.
