How the Tech Suit Reshaped Competitive Swimming
- Ian Kim
- Oct 27
- 3 min read
Ian Kim
In a sport where medals are won and lost by hundredths of a second, swimmers must take advantage of every tool available to them. While improving technique and maintaining a healthy diet are certainly essential, the defining innovation of the past two decades in competitive swimming has been the tech (racing) suit. Designed to be hyper-streamlined, water-repellent, and capable of providing advanced muscle compression to improve oxygen flow and body stability, these suits have radically reshaped the sport. The so-called golden age of tech suits saw a wave of world records shattered at a single meet, sparking heated debates regarding regulations on the role of technology in swimming. Since then, tech suits have only continued to improve under their new restrictions, helping swimmers reach heights never achieved before.
Before analyzing the current state of tech suits today, it’s important to first trace the history of competitive swimsuits back to the 19th century. During that time period, swimmers wore woolen suits that covered the entire body area from hips to shoulders. The next generation of swimsuits, made of silk which did not absorb as much water, was invented in the early 1900s. By the end of the 20th century, manufacturing companies realized that the key to reducing drag was compression suits made from synthetic waterproof materials, including nylon and polyurethane.
Speedo’s “LZR Racer” full-body swimsuit serves as one notable example. Built with nylon, lycra and non-textile polyurethane, it was extensively used to win races in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including during Michael Phelps’s famous eight gold-medal events. The suit proved to be extremely effective in increasing buoyancy and reducing drag: studies showed it could increase a swimmer’s fluidity by up to eight percent. This performance boost led to the shattering of 43 world records during the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
As a result, these “supersuits” were called into question as the line between technology and an athlete’s own effort became more blurred. In response, in 2010, FINA (now known as World Aquatics) decided to ban non-textile materials in competitive swimsuits and full-body swimsuits for men. With the ban, FINA hoped to re-emphasize the importance of the athletes’ physical ability in swimming competitions. However, previous records that had been set using the full-body tech suits weren’t invalidated.
Fortunately, such bans did not stall the creativity of tech suit manufacturers in any way. They immediately followed up with new designs that matched the regulations. For example, one new suit by the company A3 Performance, called “PRANA,” features a single-layer design, which contrasts with the traditional layout of outer and inner linings. A study published in the Journal Of The American College of Sports Medicine found that, in general, the newly created lines of suits after the FINA ban “[could] reduce drag by 4.4% to 6.2% and reduce the amount of energy needed for swimming by 4.5% to 5.5%.”
For the first few years after the ban, the breaking of world records considerably slowed down as swimmers adjusted to the new textile suits. Though these new suits may not offer as much water resistance in the pool, records set from the 2010 golden era of tech suits have already started to be broken. Notable examples include French swimmer Leon Marchand’s new record in the 400m IM and China’s Pan Zhanle in the 100m freestyle. The future of tech suits in swimming remains uncertain, but it is clear that athletes have yet to reach their peak, with continuous improvements on the horizon.