masters athletes I've spoken with seem puzzled by the extreme technology reversal.
Well, we all need something to be puzzled about. For example, I'm puzzled how women can call such (relatively) small changes "extreme."
(Oh, but I forgot: kneeskins are designed to make women look fat. Whoops. "No, dear, it looks GREAT on you! But the black dress looks even nicer." :bolt:)
Like them or hate them, tech suits have damages the reputation of swimming in the mind of the John or Jane Q. Public. For the good of the sport, I'm glad they're going away.
Certainly swimming attendance and viewership provides a fact based counterpoint to your suggestion.
Kneeskins are designed to make women look fat.
Let us not forget this great truth. Legions of women agree!
Changes: no girdle, no "rubber," no zipper, no back coverage, no full leg coverage, and having your knee muscles strangled to death and the girls spilling out. Nope, no change at all ... nothing to hate at all ...
Why is swimming going backwards while other sports like cycling don't seem to have a problem with new technology?
Virtually any sport that uses equipment will regulate/standardize that equipment. Cycling is certainly no exception; for example, despite your statement, it isn't true that you can use just any bike in a competition. (Seen any recumbents in competitions lately?)
The bottom line is that, for most of its history, the equipment you chose in swim competitions (cap, goggles, suit) were mostly a personal preference and just weren't much of a factor in whether you won or lost. That changed: technology became a very significant player.
So you're going to have a camp of people who think that training and talent alone should be the determining factors, and another camp who don't have a problem with technology also playing a significant role. At this point, the first camp of people have won their case (particularly on the men's side of things). There isn't really a right or wrong here.
Like them or hate them, tech suits have damages the reputation of swimming in the mind of the John or Jane Q. Public. For the good of the sport, I'm glad they're going away.
Nice try - but no dice. Article references competitors, and says nothing about damage to the sport's reputation in the eyes of the public.
Maybe you should try Bing?
Does the average John or Jane Q. Public even have an opinion on the suits? Does anybody outside the sport really care?
Probably not. Question, why do the elite athletes that win races, esp. ones where they set world records, get so emotional about the swims, if they hate the suits? If they are saying it's the suit and not them, why cry, scream, get on top of the lane lines?
Just wondering.
Probably not. Question, why do the elite athletes that win races, esp. ones where they set world records, get so emotional about the swims, if they hate the suits? If they are saying it's the suit and not them, why cry, scream, get on top of the lane lines?
Just wondering.
What a great post. You are right!
Before tech suits, I had never seen an elite swimmer, get emotional, scream, cry, and get on top of the lane lines after a swim.
Thank goodness for tech suits. Golly, now with the ban we will never see such emotion.
Wook-a ding-dong, you're the best.
Your pal
