Speedo LZR – April 11, 2008

What’s faster and smoother than human skin? Speedo’s new LZR (pronounced laser). suit of course!

Back in the day, I was a big time swimmer, so much in fact that I can still smell chlorine in my hair. After retirement (yes I can say retirement since I did swim for 13 years competitively), I’ve taken a back seat to staying in tune with developments in the world of swimming. However, recently Speedo launched this kick ass new suit called the LZR.

The LZR was designed in coordination with NASA. Yeah, that’s right, freaking NASA. It’s caused quite a ruckus in the swimming community, so much in fact that some are calling it “technological doping” or “drugs on a hanger.” Why all the fiasco? Basically, the suit is made of this ultra light weight material that is water repellant and steamlines water off the body. Additionally, the panels that make up the suit are designed to serve as a support harness of the athlete’s body, as to reduce muscle oscillation and vibration that causes muscles to tire faster.

Check out the video:

This is huge improvement from when I first started swimming, when all we had was a triangular shaped lycra or nylon speedo. I’ve seen several advances from the infamous paper suit (shrinks on you when in the water) to the Aqua Blade (striped suit that channels water off the body) to the Fastskin (lighter weight special fabric that also channels water off of the body).

I can’t wait to see how these perform in the Olympics.