OMAHA, Nebraska - Behind the battle for Beijing berths at the US Olympic swimming trials another conflict was simmering: The swimsuit wars.
Speedo's sensational new LZR Racer has taken swimming by storm, playing a role in 19 of 20 long-course records set this year.
In this Feb. 17, 2008 file photo, swimmer Michael Phelps walks to the starting area prior to the start of the men's 200-meter freestyle finals during the Missouri Grand Prix swim meet in Columbia, Mo. The six-time gold medalist is entered in nine events at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials beginning June 29. [Agencies] |
"For me, wearing the suit and being faster is a total mindset," said Ryan Lochte, who seized the 200m backstroke world record last year and now has his sights set on challenging Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol in that event as well taking on Michael Phelps in the 200m and 400m individual medleys.
"The statistics say it has five percent less drag, and when I put it on I can feel it compress my body a lot more.
"When I wear it, I feel like an action hero."
But the very success of the space-age suit has sparked controversy.
Mark Schubert, national team head coach for USA Swimming is a co-defendant, along with the federation and Speedo, in an antitrust lawsuit filed by rival manufacturer TYR Sport in May.
TYR, which introduced its own Tracer Rise hi-tech suit this year, claims that Schubert improperly recommended that swimmers - some under contract to other manufacturers - wear the LZR.
Proceedings in that case have now been put off until September 15, Schubert said Saturday.
TYR has also sued US swimmer Erik Vendt, saying he broke a binding contract with TYR when he switched to the LZR.
Other organizations have been more flexible.
After double Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima set a 200m breaststroke world record in an LZR, the Japanese swimming federation relaxed rules requiring national team members to stick to products from domestic manufacturers at the Games.
Kitajima has said he will wear the Speedo in Beijing.
Nike has given some of its swimmers, including Peirsol and breaststroker Brendan Hansen, permission to wear a Speedo at the US trials.
Even that is a mixed blessing, said Hansen, who has declined to say which suit he would wear before the fact.
"Unfortunately, I've tried on every single suit, which I don't think is so good going into a meet," he said. "I'm going to go with what I feel comfortable in."
Other manufacturers have raced to come up with competitive technology.
Earlier this month swimming's world governing body FINA approved Arena's new Powerskin R-Revolution+.
But there may be no competing with the buzz surrounding the LZR in swimmers' minds.
"I know how important it is, the mental aspect of this sport, when you get up to the blocks how important it is to be confident in what you're wearing," Hansen said. "If you feel at any point that you are inferior to somebody else that you're racing against, you've already lost before you start."
That could prove deadly for some swimmers, he said.
"If they're forced to wear a suit that they feel they're not fastest in, then it will affect their performance," he said.
Stu Isaac, vice president of team sales and marketing for Speedo, said the company was making the suit available to any swimmer at the US trials who wanted to wear it. They brought a supply of 2,500 to Omaha.
The company plans to do the same in Beijing, providing the suits - which will eventually sell for up to $550 dollars depending on the style - for free.
"We feel it's a good investment," Isaac said.
