Running shoes that deflect heat and sweat. Swimsuits that imitate the flow dynamics of shark skin or airplanes. “Cool” woolen clothing that can keep athletes comfortable between events in 100-degree heat. The Olympic Games in Athens promise to spotlight not only superb athletes, but also the latest sports science and technology.
The ancient Greeks, who used science to help organize their world, would probably approve. And while the debate continues about whether the impact of “smarter” body wear can be measured in gold medals, athletes and sporting-goods makers agree that if using such items makes athletes feel more comfortable and confident, it can help them achieve peak performance.
Olympic contenders already have been testing experimental versions of high-tech suits and shoes, especially in high-speed events like sprinting and freestyle swimming.
“I think technology is helping improve swimming times, but ultimately it’s about the swimmer and what you feel best wearing,” said Martina Moravcova, a silver medalist in 2000, who in Athens will wear a shoulder-to-ankle suit by Tyr Sport of Huntington Beach, Calif. “You can’t judge if you are one-tenth of a second faster or slower, but you do feel much slicker than if your body wasn’t covered.”
The “long-john” swimsuits have become popular since Australian medalist Ian Thorpe made a big splash with his full-body Adidas JetConcept suit during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Thorpe, who won three gold and two silver medals in Sydney, reportedly was able to convince Games officials that the suit was not merely swimwear, but a crucial piece of equipment because of its hydrodynamic qualities.
Most freestyle swimmers are expected to wear some version of them in Athens, said Mary Wagner, spokeswoman for USA Swimming, the national body for competitive swimming based in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“These suits aren’t magic bullets,” added Steve Furniss, an Olympic medalist in 1972 and cofounder of Tyr. “But they can increase performance through lower drag coefficients.”
In devising the new suits, companies must be careful to adhere to the rules of the Fédération Internationale de Natation, the world governing body for water sports, which state that no swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device – such as webbed gloves or flippers – that may aid in speed, buoyancy, or endurance during a competition. The long-john suits allowed so far simply represent swimwear, it has ruled.
Another innovation for this Olympics: sprint suits for runners. In July, Adidas introduced its “Formotion.”
The company had studied top sprinters to see how they move, according to James Lamont of Adidas’s innovation team.
Then it designed the suit to complement those movements by applying compression in key areas with Lycra power bands. The bands are wrapped around the lower thigh just above the knee, for example, and encircle the leg to harness power, essentially by pushing the runner’s body together so he or she can use the momentum coming from the legs in the upper body as well.
“We link that power through the back of the thigh following the abdominal muscles, through the real power center of the body, and drive the athlete forward,” Lamont explained in a written statement.
Five U.S. runners wore the suit during the recent U.S. trials, including reigning Olympic medal winner Maurice Greene, who is expected to wear the suit at the Athens games as well.
Although sprint- and swimwear typically attract a lot of attention at the Olympics because of the sports’ popularity, other sports are also benefiting from high-tech gear.
For example, Canada’s national rowing team will wear a new red-and-white, hooded “Swift Suit.” The unisuit, designed in Nike’s sport research lab, uses technology in its seams to support the motion of rowing.
“The unisuits are intended to reduce even the smallest amount of drag so the team can maximize their performance,” said Raegen Salchow, the suit’s designer at Nike Global, in a written statement.
Working closely with rowers, the designers at Nike pushed the seams in the suit to the front in order to make it as aerodynamic as possible. Nike claims the hood helps eliminate drag by 3 percent, equivalent to 8 feet in a 2,000-meter race.
One of the biggest challenges Athens poses is heat. With sweltering temperatures routinely topping 100 degrees in the summer, several companies are developing “beat-the-heat” athletic wear.
Strange as it may sound, the Australian Olympic Team hopes to conquer the heat with wool. The nation’s sheep-centric powerhouse, Woolmark Co., will provide all-natural wool garments that breathe, absorb moisture and stay dry against the skin.
Because shoes trap so much heat in track and field, research continues to make them more breathable. Adidas, for one, has added venting under the foot through the midsole. And the company has developed new shoes that reflect away different wavelengths of light and heat coming from the surface of the running track, even before they get absorbed in the shoe.
Consumers eventually will see derivatives of high-tech athletic wear in sporting goods stores.
Most items produced for the Olympics basically are a giveaway, said Tom Doyle, vice president of information and research at the National Sporting Goods Association in Mount Prospect, Ill. He added that recognition of the item helps in sales of consumer versions later. The association figures retail sales of sporting goods will rise 2 percent in 2004 to $46.6 billion.
Only a small fraction of that is swimsuits and other gear for world-class athletes, he said.
