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| Swimsuit
makers aim to make a splash
By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY
Swimsuit buzz is usually about skimpy little numbers on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But high-performance swimwear designers are making waves with new gear offering the coverage of wet suits.
The biggest makers of competitive swimwear — No. 1 Speedo and distant No. 2 Tyr (Nike ranks third) — will battle for gold with the supercharged suits when the Olympic Games begin in August in Athens. Athletes who win will help determine whether the $200 suits sink or swim in the performance swimwear category, a $1.2 billion business, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. (Photos: Not swimsuits, swimwear) Already, the companies are touting the technological wizardry built into their products. Speedo's Fastskin II and Tyr's Aqua Shift, billed by their respective companies as the "world's fastest swimsuit," both claim to improve finish times by decreasing "drag," the resistance that slows a body's movement through water. The companies spent millions of dollars over the past four years developing the suits and plan to incorporate the technology into more affordable, everyday suits. Speedo expects to apply the technology to skiing-, cycling- and activewear — part of the $41 billion performance-apparel market. But first, suitmakers need to capture the eyeballs of the millions of Americans who will watch Olympic swimming. "This is like getting on the Super Bowl for these guys," says John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence. Actually, it's bigger, according to NBC, which has aired the Summer Games since 1988. The Olympics equals "seven to eight Super Bowls over the 17 days of the Games," says Mike McCarley, director of marketing communications for NBC Sports.
With so many fans watching, Speedo and Tyr are eager to suit up the best of the best. So they're wooing elite swimmers with technical talk and results from extensive tests. Speedo says its men's suit cuts drag by 4%; women's suits cut drag by 3%. Tyr says its suits reduce drag by 10% to 15%. Speedo, the official sponsor of USA Swimming, expects to outfit 90% of the 48-member team in Fastskin FSII, the next generation of its Fastskin, out in 2000. Team members can choose whether to wear Speedo because swimsuits are considered "technical equipment." Included on Team Speedo is world record holder Michael Phelps, who gets a $1 million bonus from Speedo if he wins seven gold medals, matching U.S. record holder Mark Spitz. Tyr, meanwhile, has a smaller stable of swimmers for Aqua Shift, the follow-up to its Aquapel line, which was out in 2000. On the roster: American Erik Vendt, a silver medalist in the 2000 Games, and Yana Klochkova, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2000. How the suits stack up: R&D: Researchers towed and pulled swimmers or mannequins fitted with computerized monitoring devices to develop and solve water-flow equations. •Speedo. Speedo applied the shape and texture of sharkskin, which manages and directs water flow, to its suit. Hollywood special effects company CyberFX scanned 450 elite swimmers to create electronic blueprints for life-size male and female mannequins towed to determine drag and fluid flow. Subsequent tests included actual athletes. •Tyr. Researchers at the University of Buffalo's Center for Research and Education in Special Environments "applied the physics of fluid dynamics to the human body," says Associate Director David Pendergast. Tests included towing swimmers at different speeds around a doughnut-shaped pool. With faces down and hands latched onto a bar connected to piano wire, swimmers helped researchers gauge water flow around various body parts, calculate where and when water clings to the body, and develop a formula to break down drag components. Design: Manufacturers applied design, construction and fabric techniques to suits based on test results. A snug but comfortable fit is important to hold muscles in place and reduce muscle vibration, a source of wasted energy. Both developed pull-on sleeves to help propel arms more quickly through water. •Speedo. Different fabrics on different body parts reduce drag on the FSII. Fastskin, with little finlike cuts, helps reduce drag at the chest and buttocks. Small bumps on the chest help chop up water. Flexskin, a smoother fabric, goes in areas where water flows more slowly, such as inner legs. "This does a more aggressive job than any one fabric alone does," says Stu Isaac, senior vice president of team sales and marketing. •Tyr. Polyester and Lycra piping known as "turbulators" are positioned at shoulders and buttocks to help "trip the water." Water then re-attaches and flows smoothly along the body and smooth swimsuit fabric. Swim caps feature one turbulator across the crown. Tyr licenses the technology from the University of Buffalo. "We adjusted the mechanics of the suit until we got an optimum suit," says Pendergast. Tyr makes 20 suits with turbulators positioned according to body size. Trickle down: No matter which suit takes home the gold, the real cha-ching will be in more affordable high-tech suits for the masses. •Speedo. Fastskin II is expected to get broader distribution than its predecessor, says Craig Brommers, Speedo's vice president of marketing. "We're getting more interest from people who have not sold very-high-end suits before." •Tyr. Tyr recently applied Aquapel technology for its midprice performance line, Tyr Fusion Squared, says Chris Wilmoth, Tyr's director of marketing. "As you learn how to use technology more efficiently, you can do it in more affordable ways," he says.
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 USA's Jenny Thompson (Speedo Fastskin FSII)
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