Individual Report: Has technology been a boon or bane in the sport of swimming?

Specific innovation of interest

The Speedo LZR Racer Swimsuit was introduced in 2008 and was eventually banned in mid 2009. There was a huge controversy after the 2008 Beijing Olympics about how swimsuits were “helping” swimmers swim faster, thus resulting in numerous records being broken. The suit was introduced in February 2008, and by the end of the year, over 100 new records were set. Within 17 months of its release (till the suit was banned), more than 130 records had been broken by swimmers wearing the suit.

Although swimsuits have been around for a very long time, and full-body suits have also existed for a number of years, they were not subject to such scrutiny as the LZR Racer had. The LZR Racer was different from others because the technology used to construct the suit was much different from the usual.

Rationale for selecting this innovation

This technology was revolutionary because it caused people to look at swimsuits as the catalyst to record-breaking feats instead of an improvement of a swimmer’s skill. These suits became the focus at a competition, rather than the swimmer’s speed and strength he possessed – which resulted in the banning of the LZR Racer suit (among many others).

It has transformed the sport of swimming into something similar to F1 racing. To be able to win the Grand Prix, not only does the driver have to be good and have exceptional skill, but the car he’s driving also needs to be better than others – possessing technologies that others do not have.

Proposed approach to development of paper

-          Purpose of swimsuits in the past

-          New technology of swimsuits (LZR Racer)

-          What swimmers wearing the LZR Racer have achieved and the purpose of LZR Racer

-          How it has changed swimming as a sport