Competitive swimwear
Some swimsuits are designed specifically for swimming competitions where they may be constructed of a special low resistance fabric that reduces skin drag.
Most competitive swimmers wear special swimsuits including partial bodysuits, racerback styles, jammers and racing briefs to assist their glide through the water thus gaining a speed advantage.
Starting around 2000, to improve the effectiveness of the swimsuits, engineers have taken to designing them to replicate the skin of sea-based animals, sharks in particular.
The new policy was implemented to combat the issues associated with performance-enhancing swimsuits, hindering the ability to accurately measure the performance of swimmers.
Drag suits are swimwear with an outer layer of looser fabric – often mesh or nylon – to increase resistance against the water and build up the swimmer's endurance.
In 1999, Australian competitive swimmer Ian Thorpe signed with Adidas for an undisclosed six-figure sum, to race in their new bodysuit, although the national team was sponsored and wore outfits designed by Speedo.
[6] Thorpe's success in the 2000 Summer Olympics wearing the Adidas full-length black polyurethane bodysuit,[7] in contrast to other swimmers wearing textile swimwear (males wore legskins, jammers, or briefs, while females wore racerback maillots), led to other swimming manufacturers such as Speedo and Mizuno to create their own rival bodysuits.
Bodyskins are normally made of technologically advanced lycra-based fabrics designed to hug the body tightly and provide increased speed and decreased drag resistance in the water.
The bodyskin resembles the design of a dive skin, commonly used by snorkelers and scuba divers for warm weather climates.
[17] Other competing bodysuits include Acquablade, Fastskin, and Sharkskin, which are produced by Mizuno, Asics, Descente, Arena, and Nike.
"[19] As with most technologically advanced fabric swimwear, body skins were only commonly used at highly competitive levels of the swimming sport and are known to sell for prices over US$400.
[7] Bodyskins were banned from FINA competitions from the start of 2010 after many national swimming federations demanded the action, and leading athletes such as Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington criticised the suits.
Drag suits are meant to be worn over a long period of time to wear in the material and possibly tear the fabric.
Kneeskins are normally made of technologically advanced lycra-based fabrics designed to hug the body tightly and provide increased speed and decreased drag resistance in the water.
The kneeskin resembles a "shortie" style wetsuit only made of drag-reducing fabric instead of neoprene and commonly features a zippered back.
As with most technologically advanced fabric swimwear, kneeskin suits are only commonly used at highly competitive levels of the swimming sport and are known to sell for prices in excess of US$200.
Most legskins are made of technologically advanced lycra-based fabrics designed to hug the body tightly and provide increased speed and decreased drag resistance in the water.
[23] Suits of this type are named for the coverage that they provide to the upper thighs due to a square seam opening for the leg.
