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
Former Member
Presumably they would have noticed if he were floating but motionless.
Good point. Floating bodies have a way of holding up the meet.
Hi,
Not to get too far off topic, but I don't think so. I had had Finnian in January and swam these times in Oct. I quit nursing in June when my dad passed away. (And speaking of that, I thought of two things last night about that Oct weekend: my dog died that Sat night, and I went to the doctor that following Monday and I had bronchitis!! I forgot about the bronchitis. I was coughing SO much after every race...)
Anyway, the only time I felt "super" when I was pregnant was between 6 and 9 weeks. I went a 1:03 100 back in practice and had some really good pace 100s free. That was all. I remember Mike Heaney saying to me after that 100 back, "Nice swim fraulein," referring of course to the East German doping scandal. I laughed, but then realized that there is something to those hormones...
Also, Finnian was almost 10 pounds (9-13) so I was SUPER miserable the last two months. I did no swimming. I think I blogged getting back in after he was born, but I was so slow. I did swim a lot the end of July and August until we went to CT where I swam twice. September, school started and maybe swam twice a week. So really, I didn't train much, that's why I think it's the suit. Also I'm still 20-25 pounds too heavy (mostly all in my stomach) and I wonder if the suit helped with "compression". :D
I will be honest I really wasn't paying that much attention at FOG City. I was with the youngin's most of the time on the field when I wasn't swimming. The only reason I know Laura was wearing one is b/c I was asking her about it in the locker room (in my quest for more knowledge about the suit!).
To know that Laura and Jim are wearing them really makes me think it's "OK" as I really respect them as swimmers, and plain ol' people.
:cheerleader:
Chris: I was just being dramatic when I said "I speak the truth." I didn't think you were saying I was lying. But I did want to be able to show that I did have that experience. Maybe it was just a freak thing. I guess I'll find out soon!
Karen,
Not having had kids, I wanted to ask (and I thought of this after seeing your adorable profile pic) - do you think that having had a healthy child/ pregnancy recently has helped boost your swimming performance? I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question.
I wanted to ask b/c your awesome performance made me think of one of my close swimmer friends who had a baby and she was able to practice very little and still get #1s in the nation in the 400 IM and 200 back (she's a Back/ IMer). She swam college as a kid and was able to pull out some killer times after her son was born. She told me that she felt like superwoman (she's a nurse) and she felt the high influx of RBCs really gave her a boost in energy. Dara also comes to mind. Just wanted to ask how you've been feeling lately.
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.
