History of competitive swimwear

FINA banned full-body suits from competition effective from 1 January 2010, stating that it "wishes to recall the main and core principle is that swimming is a sport essentially based on the physical performance of the athlete".

[3] At those Games British women wore full-body silk suits of such a volume that they could be passed through a wedding ring.

[6][10] In 1956, Speedo became the first company to introduce nylon[11] and in the 1970s elastane to their swimsuits that improved their elasticity, durability and water drag – 21 out of 22 records at the 1972 Olympics were broken using nylon/elastane suits.

[6] At the same Olympics, East German swimmers adopted suits that were tightly following the body shape, the so-called "skinsuits".

Those championships became the turning point for the world to adopt the skinsuit, modified with novel synthetic materials, as a standard competitive swimwear.

Their surface contained bumps and ridges that channeled the water over the swimmer's body approximately 3% more efficiently than traditional materials.

The suit was developed by Italian company Mectex with the Australian Institute of Sport and NASA, which provided wind-tunnel testing facilities.

[18] Like other suits used for high-competition racing, LZR Racer allows for better oxygen flow to the muscles, and holds the body in a more hydrodynamic position, while repelling water and increasing flexibility.

[23] Other companies offered their own alternative non-textile suits in 2008, including the 100% polyurethane Arena X-Glide, Jaked01 and Adidas Hydrofoil.

FINA also ruled that the fabric used must be a textile or a woven material and that a suit may not have any fastening devices such as a zipper (drawstrings on male jammers are allowed).

When the first commercial goggles were introduced to competitive swimmers in 1968 they were met with limited success because of their fixed and rigid shape.