Yes this is another thread about the suits.
I think Speedo completely shot themselves in the foot with the LZR Racer suit. If you look back at the history I think they've shown a tremendous amount of arrogance and I, for one, am glad to see karma come back to bite them.
Here's a short history as I see it:
1. Speedo develops the LZR suit and begins an unprecedented marketing blitz at the start of 2008. We're talking TV ads, appearances by Phelps and Coughlin on the Today Show wearing the suits. It was pretty clear Speedo wanted the LZR to be the story of the Olympics, and for the most part they got their wish...
2. Top athletes start wearing the LZR and records fall in droves. Speedo has seemingly accomplished their mission of designing the suit that every serious swimmer needs to have to compete. Paid shill and USA Swimming National Team coach Mark Schubert talks about how the suit is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The suit, however, is not available to the general public.
3. The Olympics go just as Speedo intended. Phelps wins eight golds wearing the suit. The average Joe on the street even knows about the suit. It still isn't available to the general public, though, and demand continues to grow.
4. At the same time, somewhat surreptitiously, several other manufacturers come out with new suits. These fly completely under the radar for a while, but the serious fan can see that the LZR isn't the only fast suit out there. Also, these other suits are actually available to everyone AND are cheaper than what the LZR will cost!
5. The Speedo suit finally becomes available to the general public. I'm sure demand was high initially, but I just never saw it gain huge acceptance outside of National level athletes, college teams endorsed by Speedo, etc.
6. The Blue Seventy Nero emerges as a worthly contender to the LZR and sells like hot cakes. People initially buy it because Speedo attempted to manipulate the market and drive up demand for the LZR. This strategy fails when people realize the B70 is probably just as fast, available, and cheaper.
7. Speedo runs crying to FINA. They convince FINA to impose news rules on suits that will lead to the B70 suit being banned, while allowing the pure, snowy white LZR to remain legal.
8. The Jaked suit from Italy first comes to the attention of the U.S. market when Auburn swims lights out on the final day of men's NCAAs to nip Texas. It's star rises further when a largely unknown swimmer from Spain destroys the 50 meter fly world record and nearly takes down what is considered one of the greatest records on the books--Crocker's 100 fly--which, incidently is one of the few remaining records set without the aid of the latest generation of suits.
9. Speedo's paid shill Mark Schubert flip-flops and is now against the suits.
"It's totally out of control... Now we're into speedboat driving.'' (newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/.../ioc-must-stop-swimming-from-sinking-in-its-leaders-stupidity.html) Or maybe he's only against non-Speedo suits. It's not really clear! :)
I think that about sums it up. The bottom line is Speedo thought they could corner the market with the LZR. They failed because they didn't see other manufacturers coming in to fill the void with cheaper and maybe better suits. I also think they made a big gaffe by pricing the LZR just a little too high. Most people were not willing to shell out $550 for a swimsuit especially one that's only good for a few swims .
Am I missing anything?
Another thing to note is, even if B70 Nero Comps don't make FINAs phase 1 list, the Blue Seventy point zero's will be legal till 1/1/10
Nero Comps came out in Oct 2007
Point Zero's came out in Sep 2006
Masters Swimming’s official interpretation of Swimwear rule 102.14
I think that Blue Seventy actually started the whole mess at the 2006 Ironman -- they came out with swim "legal" suit and blew away the competition. I think Speedo may have started their new design research at that time.
From 2006 Ironman:
at the morning swim today sporting the new Blue Seventy pointzero3 Swimskin. The eye-catching skinsuit is built for the swim from Lycra and a 0.3mm fabric that yields the same surface properties as neoprene—but the compression means there's no buoyancy. It's crafted using Blue Seventy's Helix pattern, essentially a figure 8 turned on its side, with Lycra used in the Helix portions of the suit. Blue Seventy's Tim Moxey brought the spanking-new suits over from the Mainland for athletes including Stadler, Heather Gollnick, Bryan Rhodes, Mitchell Anderson, Karen Smyers and Linda Gallo. "There are 18 of them in the world, and 16 of them are here," he said this morning. Of the fabric, Moxey said: "It's over 50 times more slick than skin and four times more slippery than the other swim skins on the market."
Another thing to note is, even if B70 Nero Comps don't make FINAs phase 1 list, the Blue Seventy point zero's will be legal till 1/1/10
Nero Comps came out in Oct 2007
Point Zero's came out in Sep 2006
Masters Swimming’s official interpretation of Swimwear rule 102.14
I think that Blue Seventy actually started the whole mess at the 2006 Ironman -- they came out with swim "legal" suit and blew away the competition. I think Speedo may have started their new design research at that time.
From 2006 Ironman:
at the morning swim today sporting the new Blue Seventy pointzero3 Swimskin. The eye-catching skinsuit is built for the swim from Lycra and a 0.3mm fabric that yields the same surface properties as neoprene—but the compression means there's no buoyancy. It's crafted using Blue Seventy's Helix pattern, essentially a figure 8 turned on its side, with Lycra used in the Helix portions of the suit. Blue Seventy's Tim Moxey brought the spanking-new suits over from the Mainland for athletes including Stadler, Heather Gollnick, Bryan Rhodes, Mitchell Anderson, Karen Smyers and Linda Gallo. "There are 18 of them in the world, and 16 of them are here," he said this morning. Of the fabric, Moxey said: "It's over 50 times more slick than skin and four times more slippery than the other swim skins on the market."
