Monofin

The arrival of the monofin in the early 1970s led to the breaking of all finswimming world records by the end of the decade due to the improved performance possible when used instead of two ordinary swimfins.

1949: Kurt Schaefer,[3] who invented an underwater film camera during wartime military service in Italy, designs a pair of homemade swimming fins, which he proceeds to fasten together with straps and cords to create what is probably the world's first monofin.

Although the detachable coupling converting the separate swimming fins into a monofin-like design is granted US patent 3165764A[7] on 19 January 1965, it does not appear to have entered the production stage.

[11][12] 1970: On 10 December 1970, Spanish underwater diving equipment company Nemrod-Metzeler[13] patents a monofin-like device for swimmers incorporating both feet, but it never enters production.

1971: Nadejda Turukalo (USSR) arrives at European Finswimming Championship (1970, Barcelona, Spain) with a monofin constructed from two titanium branches, joined by a "sail".

Most monofins consist of a single, wide, glass or carbon fiber reinforced composite blade with graded flexibility, attached to the diver by two rubber foot pockets.