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The difference between winning and not winning in some Olympic events can come down to a thousandth of a second. With so much at stake, no detail can be overlooked. The uniforms worn by athletes during their performance of a lifetime are not designed for looks, but for performance enhancement, no matter how slight.
Nike developed uniforms for Team USA’s track and field competitions. The multi-part outfits are called the Nike Swift System of Dress. Athletes choose which accessories they feel will be advantageous. There are socks, gloves, and arm coverings built to reduce drag. Wearing arm covering while running in the August heat may seem counterproductive, but tests show that the sleeves reduce drag by 19% over bare arms, and the long socks reduce drag by 12.5%. Nike figures the improvements in the garments since the 2004 Olympics in Athens will mean a benefit of .02 seconds in the 100 meter race.
Team USA athletes wear various forms of the Nike uniforms designed for different events. Continue reading for innovations in uniforms for swimming, basketball, and the heat of Beijing in August.
The USA basketball teams will also have lighter uniforms.
The new Nike designed uniform for the USA Men’s and Women’s teams eliminates 25 centimeters of material and reduces the weight by 31 percent when compared with current uniforms.
Nike is supplying uniforms to China’s Olympic team as well, for sports from BMX to basketball. Pictured is NBA star Yi JianLian in his Olympic uniform.
Adidas is providing Olympic uniforms for Australian athletes. Uniforms for certain sports will feature Thermoplastic Urethane Powerbands for muscle compression in selected areas of the body, depending on the sport.
Working in unison with the muscles they function like springs and testing using the new technology has resulted in significant performance benefits including a 1.1% increase in speed, 5.3% increase on average power output and an 0.8% decrease in oxygen consumption resulting in increased efficiency and endurance.
The Australian uniforms will also feature a complex system of mesh and vents to regulate body temperature.
Swimmers wearing Speedo’s new LZR Racer swimsuits have already broken three dozen world records this year. Developed with technology from NASA, the full-length suit is made from extremely lightweight but strong elastic material. The form-fitting panels are bonded, which eliminates seams and the drag they cause. They will be available for sale to the public later this summer.
Japan, Australia, and the USA are among the nations who will wear the LZR Racers. Countries that have contracts with other suppliers protested the suit, saying it gives swimmers an unfair advantage, but those other suppliers have since developed their own high-tech swimsuits.
The Powerskin R-evolution swimsuit from Arena boasts fabric even lighter than the LZR Racer. It is made of a single piece of fabric, with no seams in the front. The Italian and Russian Olympic swimmers will wear this suit.
Swimsuit company Tyr developed their own full-length Tracer swimsuit, with extreme water repellency, lightweight fabric, and targeted muscle compression. Olympic swimmers from France will wear the Tracer.
Uniforms make less of a difference for artistic sports such as diving, gymnastics, martial arts, and equestrian competition. In those events, you’ll see more traditional styles with a slight distinctive flair for each country.
See also: 2008 Olympic Team Uniforms for a look at what athletes from some nations will wear in Beijing for the opening and/or closing ceremonies.
Shhh…super secret special for blog readers.
Comments (13)
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This is a cool article! But one thing that it left out was the controversy over these kinds of performance enhancing uniforms. For one thing, they’re very expensive, especially the swimsuits, so really they give a competitive edge to wealthier nations and disadvantage athletes from country’s that can’t get sponsorships, or require the athlete to be self funded. Kinda sucks.
posted by Julia on 7-10-2008 at 8:33 am
Good point, Julia. The controversy you hear about is the protest from nations who are contractually obligated to use other suppliers. Those who must self-fund don’t get much publicity.
The LZR Racer is supposed to retail for about $550.00.
posted by Miss Cellania on 7-10-2008 at 8:45 am
I am a swimmer, and it’s so amazing the technology swimwear has gone through since lycra was first used in it. I have been following news of the LZR, and some are saying that it is the same thing as when the dolphin kick was introduced for the underwater push-off in strokes other than the fly. It’s just another technique, basically. Those who choose to use it have the advantage. The East German swim team was the first to use lycra suits in competition in the 70s, and they did break records. If people are found doping, they’ll get caught (just like the East Germans)!!
posted by Lelah on 7-10-2008 at 9:11 am
The thing that always confuses me is the difference between the men’s and women’s shorts. Why are the men’s almost to the knee and the women’s are not much bigger than underwear? I mean, one or the other should be athletically superior, so are the men’s shorts needlessly modest or are the women’s being sexxed up?
posted by Lisa H on 7-10-2008 at 11:26 am
Good point, Lisa H.
My guess is that the women’s configuration provides the bigger advantage. But then everybody remembers what Sammy Davis Jr looked like when he pioneered the short-shorts look so they just make the men’s outfits longer.
posted by n2y2 on 7-10-2008 at 3:22 pm
“Pictured is NBA star Yi JianLian in his Olympic uniform.”
Uhh no, he is not an NBA star. More like a benchwarmer.
posted by kevin on 7-10-2008 at 7:16 pm
kevin, the original story said “superstar”, but I wasn’t willing to go that far!
posted by Miss Cellania on 7-10-2008 at 7:49 pm
They’re making a big deal about reducing the weight of the basketball uniforms by using less fabric – but the “shorts” still go down to their knees. They could really cut the weight down by going old school.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 7-10-2008 at 8:43 pm
If your country is “so poor” or even the individual that you can’t fork out 500 dollars, then you probably shouldn’t be wasting your time going to the olympics and probably should be at work.
posted by Adam on 7-11-2008 at 9:16 am
The only competitions I’m really concerned about are the so-called “artistic” equestrian competitions (I could see artistic in dressage, but in jumping it’s all about how fast and clean you can go). Black coat with tails, white breeches, top hat for dressage, red coat, white breeches, black helmet for jumping. Totally traditional. Unless you’re a weird country like Brazil that wears forest green instead.
posted by Kate on 7-11-2008 at 7:30 pm
I say they take out the unfair advantage of the new swim suits, and go back to a naked olympics!
posted by Dawn on 7-19-2008 at 8:40 pm
i think there really good and i think that it’s a good boost for the teams and athletes.
posted by dominic on 8-13-2008 at 3:25 am
I thimk the pictures are great, but what about pictures of Italian Uniform?
posted by Helene Carter on 8-28-2008 at 3:11 am