PARIS– It’s usually not a good sign when a swimsuit needs instructions on how to put it on. More worrying? When you learn that even Olympic athletes need about 10 minutes to get into the new Speedo Fastskin LZR Intent and LZR Value suits.
Determined to suit up in the latest polyurethane compression suit, I grabbed a pair of red Pure Valor 2.0 openback pants and walked into the crowded women’s locker room at The Molitor Hotel to see what the big deal is with the newest version of the suit that many swimmers will be wearing. during the Paris Olympics.
Stuck inside the locker room, I followed the instructions and rolled up the leg openings to get around the rubber gripper at the bottom, designed to help the suit adhere to your skin. Those who didn’t listen to instructions grunted, tugged, and wiggled as they tried to shake the suit now strapped to their calves.
I was ahead of everyone and had the suit down to my thighs! The race has begun!
And then the problem started.
I pulled and the suit moved less than an inch. I took a little more and the same result. There’s no chance that thing was going past my hips.
The Fastskin is not like a normal swimsuit. It looks more like a t-shirt worn by a wrestler and should be above the knee and worn as a full body suit. A very, very tight jumpsuit.
Introduced earlier this year and developed by Speedo’s Aqualab research and development facility, Fastskin is designed from Lamoral Space Tech material used in satellites. High-level competition suits have been improving for years, and this version is more aerodynamic and water-repellent to help swimmers stay buoyant.
I was getting into this thing – the most expensive swimsuit I’ve ever worn, costing about $550 – no matter what. But now I was sweating – really sweating – as I tried every dressing room trick I’d ever learned.
“It’s too tight,” said one woman.
“They gave me the wrong size,” grumbled another.
No, all costumes are sized correctly. They are actually very difficult to wear. I finally discovered that my best approach was to take the suit inch by inch, pulling out any accumulated material with each tug. Foolishly, I forgot to set a timer, but it’s fair to say it took me over 10 minutes to get into the costume.
Still, I felt like a gold medalist when I finally finished the task – a complete workout in itself. Drenched in sweat, I went to the Molitor indoor pool, considered one of the most popular natural pools in Paris and opened in 1929.
I was eager to get in the water, but was stopped by Kate Wilton, Aqualab’s senior director of competitive products. She wanted me to notice the suit’s absorbency, and sure enough, as I splashed water on myself, it ran down the suit in little droplets. Speedo claims that version 2.0 of the suit has the lowest water absorption and is the most water repellent of any of its previous products.
Finally it was time to swim.
Led by Cullen Jones, the first black swimmer to hold a world record, we were instructed to “speed up” the wall and see how far we could travel underwater with our arms crossed above our heads and without kicking. It’s been two decades since I’ve done any “real” swimming, but in this suit, I covered a decent distance by getting halfway across Molitor’s 33-meter pool.
Then it was time to test buoyancy, which I did floating on my back. This suit was like a life preserver, as I could float without moving a muscle and stay almost on top of the water.
This is one of the main benefits of the suit – the fabric zone on the back aims to reduce drag, making swimmers feel as if they are on top of the water. I felt this immediately when I started swimming. I didn’t have to think about shape or wonder if my torso was dipping lower into the water than my head and arms. I felt perfectly aligned as I swam several freestyle laps.
Around 80 world records have been set since the first version of these suits was introduced at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where 83% of medals were won by swimmers wearing them. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals wearing the LZR Racer at the Beijing Olympics.
Did the suit make me faster? While Olympic athletes believe so, I can’t be sure because I haven’t swum competitively in years, but after slowly getting dressed, the suit left me feeling comfortable, floating above the water and believing I could take on Katie Ledecky.
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