How Swimming Equipment Makes a Difference in the Pool: What Are Your Needs?
The summer sees us approach the critical point of the season where the training of the past 12 months comes to fruition and the best separate themselves from the competition. At this stage, every hundredth of a second is vital. Marginal gains are key and sought after by any means necessary at the highest level.
One way this is possible is by ensuring you have the best tools to help you do your job. This concept sounds simple, but it is more complicated than one might imagine. Developing into an elite streamliner would be an obvious place to start, and being a master of certain skills is undoubtedly a major factor. However, one must also consider comfort, fit and personal swimmer preferences. If any equipment used by an athlete generates doubt, it can be even detrimental.
Here are some considerations when selecting primary racing equipment.
Historical Debate
The most obvious, most important, most expensive and most controversial piece of swimming equipment historically has been the tech suit. These suits present a significant outlay for athletes who will only use them sporadically throughout a season, but are an absolute necessity.
During the late 2000s, swimsuit technology took an unprecedented leap forward. Competitors began racing in full-body suits, which were a striking contrast to what is emplyed today. These tech suits utilized technology such as non-textile materials like polyurethane that increased buoyancy. The flagship for this movement was the Speedo LZR Racer, developed in collaboration with NASA in February 2008.
Following the development of the LZR Racer, other companies took the tech level of the sport further, with Arena, Jaked and BlueSeventy developing polyurethan suits that acted as a motor of sorts, and gave athletes never-before-seen endurance late in races.
How much of an athlete’s performance was skill and how much was technological doping was impossible to determine. Furthermore, the hefty cost of these suits sewed controversy, as it priced out those who didn’t have the financial means as others. The Speedo LZR cost between $300 and $550 (£250-£400) and updated models, with even more advanced technology, such as the Jaked-01 and Arena X-Glide released in 2009, could cost up to $800 (£550-600).
The suits were eventually banned on Jan. 1, 2010.
The Evolution of This Debate
This debate, which had stood dormant in the public conscience, has re-emerged due to current events. Summer McIntosh’s incredible swim in the 200-meter butterfly at the recent World Championships saw her post a time of 2:01.99. This swim was just .18 off of Liu Zige’s world record, set in 2009, when ‘super suits’ were still legalized. In fact, it is the only female world record – long or short course – of the super suit era that remains as of 2025. This begs the question: Should these records count if they were established in equipment that has been deemed unfair for competition?
On the men’s side, more records stand from the years of the super suit – the 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 800 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 400 and 800 freestyle relays. Eventually, these records will go by the wayside. When? Well, that will be a process.
Modern Swimsuit Rulings
The ban on super suits was a step toward leveling the playing field. However, modern suits remain expensive and the margins of what is affordable between athletes can be steep. These suits consistently cost $500. Especially at younger ages, where children grow quickly and competition is less significant, these prices can seem exorbitant.
In some areas, measures have been taken. In September 2022, Scottish Swimming banned tech suits for all swimmers aged 13 and under. This approach led to more equitable competition for younger swimmers at meets which are intended to spark passion into the sport rather than instill a winner-takes-all mentality.
What Difference Do Modern Suits Make?
Some athletes and parents may still believe this cost is worthwhile if an advantage is gained. So, one must ask: How much of an advantage is truly gained?
Studies are conclusive to the fact that an advantage is gained. However, the degree of the advantage is debated. A general range of between 2% to 6% is generally observed by various studies. These figures are significant, especially in elite competition, where a hundredth of a second can be critical to a career. Therefore, at higher levels, the cost of tech suits is obviously worthwhile.
Beyond the physical aid provided, there is a psychological impact of wearing tech suits. Obviously, this impact cannot be measured quantitatively, but what a suit offers mentally can be a major benefit. This psychological impact can stem from a swimmer being in ‘race mode’ and, therefore, in the frame of mind to perform. More, an athlete knowing he/she is not limited in any way by equipment will calm nerves and allow a swimmer to have faith in the work they have done in the pool.
Caps and Goggles
While swimsuits are the most prominent element of optimizing performance through equipment, caps and goggles are advancing in the same way. Traditional swim caps have been replaced by bullet caps, which hold a spherical shape and are made with advanced hydrophobic materials in comparison to regular caps. This is where the least gain tends to be made, as many swimmers prefer the fit of regular caps or simply do not feel the need to make the upgrade. However, at the elite level, you will see all swimmers donning a bullet cap.
Goggles operate on the same spectrum. You can buy a cheap pair for next to nothing. However, they will not offer you anything close to the fit or streamlining that a pair of high-end racing goggles will. Some swimmers choose to have different models for training and racing, while other utilize the same pair for all of their time in the water. The impact of goggles will be in the decimals of a singular percentage but this can still be vital when every swimmer is fighting for every hundredth. A more important consideration than streamlining when concerning goggles is leakage, as this detrimental effect would outweigh any potential benefits.
Conclusion
The advantages in performance that modern equipment can bring tend to be somewhat minute. However, at the absolute highest level, every microscopic detail can make the difference and, therefore, constant upgrades are being made, even to the extent where companies will go too far and see them outlawed.
This demand, coupled with the research and development needed to produce cutting-edge technology, ramps up the costs. While this is unquestionably worth it for those striving for international gold, many of whom will be sponsored anyway, at a junior, localized level, we should strive to bring costs down to lower barriers of entry to the sport.
Really, it’s about what you seek in the sport. Options are aplenty.
