Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics looked more like skindivers than swimmers, thanks to the high-tech bodysuits that have become available. Why is this swimwear so controversial?

Speedo is one of several companies that has developed high-tech material designed to make swimmers faster.

Marine scientists designed Speedo's Fastskin fabric to replicate the way a shark's skin channels water away from its surface. Speedo claims that by reducing drag, the material can reduce a swimmer's time by as much as 3%.

This claim has yet to be proven, but that hasn't stopped today's top athletes from donning the latest suits and hoping for the best. After all, swimming times are measured not only in minutes and seconds, but also in hundredths of seconds. In this competitive world, one-tenth of a second is significant.

• Take a look at the swim times below. If the times were improved by 3%, approximately how fast would a swimmer be going? Fill in the chart with your answers.

Speedo's ultratight bodysuits are available in various styles. One style covers most of the body, from the neck down to the ankles and wrists. Some suits leave the arms exposed and end at either the knees or ankles. Others cover just from the waist to the knees.

The bodysuits also work much like girdles do, squeezing in the body to make a swimmer as streamlined as possible in the water.

The new swimwear is raising more than eyebrows — it is raising controversy. A rash of world records broken by athletes wearing the new gear is causing some to question whether technology is overtaking athleticism.

Some believe that the recent record-breaking swim times stem more from psychology than from technology.

FINA, the world governing body of swimming, ruled that Fastskin bodysuits do not make swimmers any faster or more buoyant, so they can be worn during international competitions.

The coach of the U.S. men's swim team has been quoted as saying he knows his team is now faster, but he isn't sure if that is because of the suit or because team members now believe that the suits might make them faster.

• What is your opinion about the bodysuits? Should they be allowed in the Olympics? Why or why not?
  

Swimming isn't the only Olympic sport that has grappled with how and whether to incorporate technology into its competitions. As the 1998 Winter Olympics approached, speedskaters faced a similar situation. A new skate called the clap-skate had been invented. The design featured a hinge at the front of the skate, allowing the ankle to be raised from the blade. This design allowed the blade to stay on the ice for a split second longer. Skaters gained more momentum behind each push, which made them faster. When the blade snapped to the skate, it made the clapping sound from which it got its name.

At the time, European speedskaters had been practicing with clap-skates for about a year before American athletes could get them. This delay was significant because the athletes needed to learn a different skating technique in which they pushed off with their toes instead of their ankles. Learning new techniques takes time, and the American athletes worried that the competition would have an unfair advantage at the Olympic Games.

The new skates paved the way for greater performance. That year, five world records and 10 Olympic records were broken. Today, the skates are an accepted part of speedskating competitions. Bodysuits have not yet achieved a noncontroversial status.

• Imagine some technological innovations that might improve sports performance, and fill in the chart below with your ideas.

Today's bodysuits are throwbacks to earlier times when people wore bathing suits that covered most of their bodies.

Of course, it was modesty — not technology — that dictated the dress code of the early 1900s. Women wore knee-length wool dresses over bloomers and long black stockings. These wool garments weighed as much as 20 pounds when wet! Fortunately, materials have evolved over the years, going from wool to silk, and then nylon, Lycra, and today's high-tech fabrics.

Think of how heavy your clothes become when they're wet. This is because most material absorbs water. The Arena swimsuit company claims that its high-tech Arena Powerskin suit is "hydrophobic." That doesn't mean it's "afraid of water," it means that it repels water.

Because Arena's Powerskin suit absorbs a minimal amount of water (15% less than regular swimwear), it never gets significantly heavier in the pool, which only benefits competitive swimmers. The fabric is also woven instead of knit, which makes for a smoother, faster surface.

Learn More

• Read the Riverdeep article, "Better Playing through Science," to learn what researchers are doing to improve the aerodynamics of sports products.
  
  

• A healthy cardiovascular system is important for athletic endeavors. Try the Biology Gateways activity: The Circulatory System and Health: The Effect of Exercise, and the Biology Explorer activity, Fitness and the Heart. (These and the activities below require Logal Express. Get a free trial subscription.)
  
  
• The new bodysuits help reduce drag. Learn more about drag force in the Physics Explorer activity, Highly Damped Fall. Learn about frictional resistance in the Middle School Gateways activity, Force.

More Links

• Read cnnsi.com's article, "If the suit fits."

Related Resources

• Get The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics by David Wallechinsky.