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’m an experienced OW swimmer who has to consistently workout hard in order to place well each summer. I can win my age group and sometimes be the first woman overall in a swim, but I have to do the work. This past weekend, wearing a conventional suit, I placed more poorly than I can remember placing, being beaten by women who I have been beating the last few years. A spectator told me I was the third or fourth woman with a “normal suit,” but everyone else who finished before me had a Blueseventy. I mentioned to the race director that Blueseventy suits were cheating and should be in the wetsuit category and he said that was my opinion, they were legal and walked away. (Oh, and he was wearing one.)
Are you kidding me? Why are people wearing them if not to get a faster time? Just because FINA decides to call them legal doesn’t mean it’s not cheating. FINA made a big mistake. There is no way around it. The Blueseventy suits are enhancement. (Can I wear long fins for the next swim? Maybe I’ll start doping or some other drug enhancement that Masters Swimming doesn’t test for. A lot of guys would like to wear pull buoys. If you can afford the suit, then it’s OK to wear it? Everyone else is wearing one. If you can’t beat them, join them…)
Some companies just want to make as much money as possible. Blueseventy and the people who wear these suits to get a fake fast time are corrupting swimming. I think it’s pathetic, disgusting and immoral.
I’m an experienced OW swimmer who has to consistently workout hard in order to place well each summer. I can win my age group and sometimes be the first woman overall in a swim, but I have to do the work. This past weekend, wearing a conventional suit, I placed more poorly than I can remember placing, being beaten by women who I have been beating the last few years. A spectator told me I was the third or fourth woman with a “normal suit,” but everyone else who finished before me had a Blueseventy. I mentioned to the race director that Blueseventy suits were cheating and should be in the wetsuit category and he said that was my opinion, they were legal and walked away. (Oh, and he was wearing one.)
Are you kidding me? Why are people wearing them if not to get a faster time? Just because FINA decides to call them legal doesn’t mean it’s not cheating. FINA made a big mistake. There is no way around it. The Blueseventy suits are enhancement. (Can I wear long fins for the next swim? Maybe I’ll start doping or some other drug enhancement that Masters Swimming doesn’t test for. A lot of guys would like to wear pull buoys. If you can afford the suit, then it’s OK to wear it? Everyone else is wearing one. If you can’t beat them, join them…)
Some companies just want to make as much money as possible. Blueseventy and the people who wear these suits to get a fake fast time are corrupting swimming. I think it’s pathetic, disgusting and immoral.
