The LZR Racer Swim Suit Introduction The LZR (pronounced laser) Racer suit was the first suit of its kind meant for the world s elite competitive swimmers. It is also the first in the LZR line of swim suits from Speedo. The evolution of racing suits has been astonishing over the past 10 years. The introduction of the LZR Racer Suit in early 2008 would change the swimming world forever. During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing 33 of the 36 gold medals were won by swimmers wearing this suit and 23 of the 25 world records broken were done so by swimmers in this suit. These suits were so good that they were banned by FINA (International Swimming Federation) for giving too much of an advantage to swimmers. At this point it was obvious that these new high tech suits were making an undeniable impact on the swimming world and that suits of this nature had to be worn in order to compete at the highest level. Research Fabric Research Michael Phelps in the LZR Racer Suit Image from <https://www.kastawayswimwear.com/blog/index.php/tag/speedo/page/4/> In order to create these suits there was a great amount of research involved to find the correct materials and methods to make the suit. The original suit was developed by Mectex (an Italian company) and NASA s facilities were used to conduct research. The use of NASA s wind tunnel testing centers and their fluid flow analysis software aided greatly in deciding on the materials to be used to create the suit. The testing began by trying to identify the fabric with the lowest amount of drag. This was done by testing a hundred fabrics on geometries taken from scans of hundreds of top swimmers. The goal of these test were to find two fabrics that they were looking for. One of the fabrics would be the base of the suit and it needed to be water repellent, strong, low drag, and lightweight. The other fabric would be bonded to the base in certain areas of high drag and would be made of a polyurethane (flexible organic compound that has many uses one being a surface coating/sealant) that was strong and had low drag.
Swimmer Simulation The testing done to simulate a moving swimmer is extremely complex, thus extremely difficult. In order to do these simulations, Speedo partnered with ANSYS, one of the world s leading engineering simulation software providers. By using some of the best technologies in the world they were able to decide on materials to use. The material they call the LZR Pulse would be the base material of the suit and the material known as the LZR panels will be used in the areas of concentrated drag. Simulation from ANSYS (Image from <http://www.rdmag.com/articles/2011/02/high-performance-innovation>) Design Similarities to Other Suits These suits were designed to hold the swimmer in a more hydrodynamic position, allow better oxygen flow to muscles, and increase flexibility much like other racing suits. Also like these other suits the LZR racing suit was meant to be repellent to water, but unlike these other suits due to the vast amounts of research that went into finding the correct fabric, this suit performs much better at repelling water. This is about as far as the similarities go when compared to earlier racing suits, even the way the suit looked had not been seen before. Unlike other suits, these suits were designed almost synonymous for men and women. While they did have minor differences in some sizing in different areas of the suits, they overall looked extremely similar.
Design Advantages While it had some of these similarities to the suits before it, the new advantages of this suit were unbelievable. These suits were 100 percent resistant to chlorine and quick drying due to their material makeup. Also where the LZR panels were placed was of extreme importance. These were placed mostly on the chest and lower abdomen which led to even lower drag for the swimmer. The suit was able to compress the body and entrap air in the suit giving increased buoyancy to the swimmer. This led to swimmers wearing multiple suits to have a more desired effect, but all things come to an end this was almost immediately banned. Michael Phelps in the LZR Racer Suit (Image from <http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/8919_large_lzr.jpg>) Design Disadvantages Even though this suit had so many advantages in the pool, there were some disadvantages that came along with it. Putting this suit on is unreasonably difficult and it is something I can personally speak about. I have watched groups of four to five people trying to get one person into the LZR Racer suit, which speaks for itself. These suits also do not have the greatest lifetime. Due to the corrosive nature of swimming pools and the stretching pulling necessary to get these suits on, it would lead to tears in the suits. The costs of these suits made it difficult to buy when these design flaws existed and Speedo had to even offer replacement suits if you tore your suit.
Conclusion Influence on Future Suits While these specific suits were banned for a couple of reasons including the body coverage of the suit and some of the buoyancy advantages it gave, many new designs were made in order to harness many of the original attributes of the suit. The LZR Racer Suit was originally followed by the LZR Pro, then the LZR Elite and now today by the LZR Elite 2. The LZR Elite 2 is still the top of the line racing suit and incorporates many of the materials and research from the original design of the LZR Racer Suit. LZR Elite 2 (Image from <http://djsports.com/speedo-lzr-elite-2-high-waist-jammer/>) Effects on Racing Suits The LZR Racer Suit changed the landscape of competitive swimming. The never before seen design backed by top of the line research, resulted in a unique fabrics being constructed into a design that would increase buoyancy and drastically reduce drag. This suit was said to reduce a racers time by 1.9 to 2.2 percent and in a sport of hundredths of a second, everything counts. These suits were so optimally designed and made that they had to be banned, giving too much of an advantage to swimmers.
References Bramall, Leigh. "Simulating Swimwear for Increased Speed." ANSYS Advantage II.2 (2008): n. pag. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. "LZR Racer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. "Speedo LZR Racer Technology." Speedo LZR Racer Technology. Speedo, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.