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by - August 13, 2008 - 9:17 AM
For some reason every swim event in this Olympics is a record smasher. And it isn’t just Michael Phelps who’s seconds ahead of that daunting green world record line. Curious what’s making this year’s athletes so much faster? Here are 6 possible answers.
1. Tech Doping
The new Speedo LZR RACER suit, which was developed by scientists from NASA, “feels like a rocket coming off the wall,” said Phelps in a team interview. “The water just runs off the suit.” The suit has “ultrasonically welded” seams that mimics a shark skin, holds in the swimmer’s abdomen in the best position, allowing him to take in 5% more oxygen, and takes an athlete 30 minutes to get into!
2. The Pool Depth Matters
The pool in Beijing, known as the “Water Cube,” is 3 meters deep, instead of the previous depth of 2 meters. This allows swimmers to dive deeper and continue their push off “dolphin kicks” for a longer period of time. Olympic medalist and commentator Rowdy Gaines says, “It’s just deep enough to where the waves dissipate (and) the turbulence dissipates down to the bottom.”
3. Empty Pool Lanes
There are ten lanes in the Water Cube, instead of the usual eight, leaving the outside lanes open. This reduces turbulence and enables swimmers to go faster. “It’s by far the fastest pool in the world,” Gaines says.
4. More Time to Practice
Sponsorship for swimming has increased massively, which allows athletes to practice more. Mark Spitz, the Olympic swimmer with the most gold medals before Phelps, retired at 22 due to his inability to make a living as an amateur athlete. Back then, the Olympics only allowed amateur athletes to compete. Phelps, on the other hand, is now 23 has an estimated annual earnings of $5 million, and will be awarded an extra $1 million dollar bonus from Speedo if he reaches or beats Spitz’s record.
5. Old-fashioned Doping
Gary Hall Jr., previous Olympian 50-m freestyle champion, seems to think so. “Can suit technology distract from another issue?… I’m telling you this, I train with an international group of swimmers and all of them have stories and a few of them have had offers.” Hall likens today’s “blame it on the suit” situation to that of the ‘76 East German women’s Olympic swimming team. Though, he seems to be the only one speaking out about this so perhaps he’s just bitter he didn’t qualify for Beijing.
6. The Secret Benefits of Math
Professor Timothy Wei, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., helped develop top-secret, state-of-the-art equipment and mathematical techniques that USA Swimming coaches have been using to help to make swimmers go faster. He uses water flow diagnostic technologies to see how each swimmers’ motion affects the flow of water. The whole thing is explained here in this video.
See more of what Diana learned today here.
Comments (46)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
First post. and cool article
posted by Will on 8-13-2008 at 9:26 am
Not everyone uses those suits all the time. Phelps often is not wearing one in the record breaking competitions.
posted by Nerak on 8-13-2008 at 9:46 am
I’m opposed to these fancy swimsuits. Records and the Gold medals should be about skill, not what technology the swimmer’s can use. The rest of the athletes don’t get to use the fancy suits. It’s totally unfair.
posted by Jonathan Thomas on 8-13-2008 at 9:54 am
Jonathan Thomas: That’s like saying auto racing should be all about the engine, not the aerodynamics.
posted by Joanna on 8-13-2008 at 10:02 am
Jonathan Thomas: I’ve been watching alot of the swimming and it looks like everyone is wearing the same type of suits. Technology is used in all sports by all athletes. For example in gymnastics the vault today is totally different than it was years ago. I think it not only has to do with better performance but with safety. Remember, I think it was in Atlanta, when the Chinese gymnast was paralyzed on the vault?
posted by kani on 8-13-2008 at 10:20 am
Adam Carolla has been harping on this lately, reminding us that Mark Spitz had a full head of hair, a cow-catcher mustache, and was probably wearing cut-off jeans when he won his medals.
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-13-2008 at 10:45 am
Oxygen breathing before the swim does give an advantage.
posted by rafalski on 8-13-2008 at 10:53 am
As long as they continue to show Phelps and the rest of the swimmers without shirts on from time to time, I don’t care if they strap outboard motors to their backs to win races. Eye candy is so important to someone as shallow as myself, mmm-hmm.
posted by Rachel on 8-13-2008 at 11:00 am
Jonathon Thomas: Speedo offered the suits free of charge to every single olympic swimmer. You’ll notice even swimmers sponsored by nike have the suits on and have tape over the speedo label.
posted by RosePoses on 8-13-2008 at 11:09 am
As a swimmer, I believe is 1) the depth of the pool and 2) the gutter system they have around the edge that is minimizing turbulence in the water.
I don’t think #3 above really applies because of this fancy new gutter system.
But I do know that the swimmer’s starts and turns are much much longer than normal.
posted by Ed Hands on 8-13-2008 at 11:20 am
Every sport eventually advances technology sufficiently that an unfair advantage comes into question. If it is allowed to advance unchecked, it will diminish the sport.
There are endless examples. Aluminum bats, double-strung rackets, Stick-em, spring-loaded shoes, chemical performance enhancers. Golf has a long list of dis-allowed clubs and balls that give an unfair advantage.
The Speedo LZR sounds like it is close to that line to me. Making the swimmer more streamlined is fine. However, the corset-like portion that “holds in the swimmer’s abdomen in the best position” sounds like it crosses a line to me; isn’t that the athlete’s job?
What if they added a similar feature to the legs that made a swimmers legs snap back to neutral position faster? It could provide additional kicking power. Would that be allowed? I hope not.
posted by n2y2 on 8-13-2008 at 11:39 am
While there are some good possibilities here, I think that #5 (doping) can probably be ruled out. So far no swimmer actually competing has tested positive, and the records are falling across the board. If there were some new magic steroid that was secretly available you would have to explain how so many swimmers were getting it and not getting caught as well as a lack of “we were using it and only finished 4th, so the top three must have been using it” recriminations.
The fact that the one event along the top _five_ finishes were all under world record time (and a world record that was itself only a day or two old) and so few finishes were not a world record time that I can’t even recall any off of the top of my head should tell you that people are really pumped up and flying here. I am guessing that we are seeing results based on several of the stated factors combined with a strong field that is pushing each other further.
posted by evgen on 8-13-2008 at 12:02 pm
How do we know how accurate clocks and timers were back in the day???!!!
posted by Melissa on 8-13-2008 at 1:43 pm
I agree with evgen. Too many athletes are breaking the records and that tends to increase competition. The IOC doping team is keeping samples like 8 years now too, I believe. At the same time, would it be worth it for the fame now and the Marion Jones later? A lot of it is the aerodynamics, especially when you are dealing with .001s of a second. Dropping a half of second off the record is HUUUUGE, but in reality it is such a small amount of time, where one could reasonably believe that the suit could be the difference.
posted by Jason on 8-13-2008 at 1:46 pm
If indeed what RosesPoses said was true, and the suits are being handed out for free, then i dont see the complaint, all the swimmers are still equal in everything but sheer skill. If, on the other hand, they aren’t free, then i understand the complaint and i can totally agree with everyone else. Either way, as time goes on, sports science evolves and the records will be broken, there’s just nothing to we can do about that. Unless of course we make people abide to the exact specifications used in older competitions..That would be awesome.
posted by burntcookie on 8-13-2008 at 1:49 pm
Number 6 is the one you don’t hear much about, but the video was fascinating. Having just finished watching the Tour de France and seeing how they use the wind tunnels to make improvements, it makes sense that a “water tunnel” would help with form and speed.
posted by Don on 8-13-2008 at 1:49 pm
@Jonathan Thomas
All athletes at the games have access to the same equipment free of charge. It’s a personal choice whether or not to wear the LZR Racer, not a competitive advantage doled out only to the US.
posted by bob on 8-13-2008 at 1:50 pm
The only thing the pool depth affects is the amount of turbunlence in the pool – it has nothing to do with the depth of a start (which doesn’t come close to the bottom) nor the amount of time you can dolphin kick – the amount of air in your lungs determines that. Michael Phelps uses the dolphin kick better than pretty much anyone but it has nothing to do with the pool.
posted by Mike on 8-13-2008 at 1:50 pm
I’m sorry, you obviously have never competed at an elite level in swimming. A few points–
-The effect of the suits is blown way out of proportion. You are talking about fractions of seconds faster compared with traditional brief speedos. Phelps is paid by them, of course he’s going to exaggerate how well they work. I would too for a million bones.
-Most olympic size pools are more than 7 feet (2 meters) deep. duh.
-Rowdy Gaines is a moron commentator, any quotes by him should be ignored. These are the basis of multiple claims you make.
-The only novel item you bring to the table is the RPI video link at the end. The rest of the article is rehashed, over-discussed garbage.
toodles.
posted by justin on 8-13-2008 at 1:52 pm
FYI: The fancy suits are available to all competitors at no charge. The complaints are really coming from teams that have sponsorships with companies other than Speedo.
Submitted for your consideration.
posted by Ryan on 8-13-2008 at 1:59 pm
very true
posted by tom on 8-13-2008 at 2:21 pm
“This allows swimmers to dive deeper and continue their push off “dolphin kicks” for a longer period of time.”
Wrong. Diving deeper is not a good thing. Increased distance without any increase in speed. And a competent competitive swimmer can and will hit 15 meters underwater regardless of pool depth. It’s all about dissipating turbulence.
posted by Nate on 8-13-2008 at 2:28 pm
It seems like there is no limit to the record breaking. I think from now on, records will continue to be smashed. Suits will get better, and humans will get stronger.
posted by Krazd on 8-13-2008 at 2:30 pm
Hey, did you guys know that speedo made these suits available to all the athletes, free of charge?
posted by cpt. obvious on 8-13-2008 at 2:33 pm
6 Reasons Todays Olympic Swimmers are Breaking Records | nerdd.net…
\r\nFor some reason every swim event in this Olympics is a record smasher. And it isnt just Michael…
posted by nerdd.net | news and opinion on 8-13-2008 at 2:44 pm
So should we go back to ancient Olympics and compete in the nude? I doubt that the equipment or suits is the reason for winning. I think the 1000’s of hours of training make the difference.
posted by bucsfan on 8-13-2008 at 2:47 pm
@RosePoses: Don’t you think the xtra bit of tape ruins the aerodynamics of the suit?! :-P
@Jonathan Thomas: Runners have been wearing ultra-aerodynamic unitards (yeah, I said it) for at least a couple of olympics. Get over it. And I guess golfers shouldn’t use composite clubs, speedskaters shouldn’t use clap-skates… may as well go back to the all-leather-no-support ones back when my mom used to speedskate, eh?
posted by Eggpainter on 8-13-2008 at 2:55 pm
Maybe you should do a little more research on the suit topic,
its a true fact that the new speedo suit helps the swimmers reduce their times but its also true that Phelps, the man whos breaking all the world record (that are actually HIS records) is not using the suit, he has to use it on team competitions cause its the uniform of the US team, but on individuals competitions hes using a “regular” suit, so you cant blame it on the new speedo suit, and if the mans whos breaking the records is not using it the rest of your theory (the first one of this topic) fails
posted by Santamar1a on 8-13-2008 at 2:56 pm
I think everyone is too busy trying to point the finger to certain “advantages” that the modern athlete has just to justify their lack of achievement.
As a former national level swimmer, the pool depth, empty lanes, and free top-tiered swim suits have always come standard to all elite athletes. The only thing that would be new and possibly unique is the video/software integration into swimming.
Also, the old fashioned doping point is completely invalid. I’m not saying that it does not happen, but athletes like Phelps, Torres and others have volunteered to go above and beyond the necessary doping tests. You can’t lump all athletes, especially those that do incredible things into one pile of shortcut-happy athletes.
Spitz will always be one of the greatest swimmers of all time, but I think Phelps has fairly earned the title of the greatest swimmer of all-time.
30 years from now someone will be challenging Phelps’ records and his title of the greatest swimmer of all-time, and once again, everyone will point to some contributing factor other than hard work.
Maybe, just maybe, the athlete’s achievements aren’t do to anything but hard work on everyone’s part (coaches, swim suit companies, and most importantly the individual athlete).
posted by Jonathan on 8-13-2008 at 3:07 pm
Just to weigh in, I also don’t think it’s fair to just focus on the suits while discounting the raw talent of this crop of athletes. You could wedge me into one of those space-age Speedos (be thankful you don’t have to develop a mental image of that, although the use of the word ‘wedge’ may help) but there’s no way I’d be breaking any records any time soon. It’s analogous to focusing on what camera Ansel Adams used or which brand of typewriter Hemingway preferred – it’s the person behind the performance, not what they use to get their art in front of folks.
posted by Roger on 8-13-2008 at 3:11 pm
@justin “You obviously have never competed at an elite level in swimming”
Really? A blogger on an intellectually themed website has never been an elite swimmer?!?!? Shocking.
There’s a way to debate and state facts without sounding like a condescending ass. You obviously have never blogged at an elite level.
Toodles.
posted by JHop on 8-13-2008 at 3:25 pm
Phelps gots webbed toes!
posted by Scotty A on 8-13-2008 at 3:31 pm
wow, i was just speculating about this last night as Phelps won another million medals.
how about plain old evolution? people are so much more physically capable… hmmm?
posted by em on 8-13-2008 at 5:20 pm
LOL, how about the undetectable steroids? maybe bionic limbs? LOL
JT
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
posted by Jim McDosh on 8-13-2008 at 5:35 pm
How about the fact that Phelps is probably just a freak of nature like Armstrong and Indurain? He’s probably got some massive lung capacity that lets him oxygenate his blood better than anyone else which means he doesn’t tighten up over longer distances. You notice that he’s not a great sprinter. He didn’t pull away from the field in the 100m relay, he pulls away in the last 100m in his longer races.
posted by metz on 8-13-2008 at 6:25 pm
My brother says the suit really does make a difference. Since made it to trials, he got one.
posted by evo on 8-13-2008 at 7:14 pm
That’s amazing. Of course, I don’t think all of this degrades what Phelps and other athletes have been able to do. They are still tremendous athletes and deserve everything they have done.
posted by Free Xbox 360 Elite on 8-13-2008 at 9:44 pm
I’ve been watching the games and wondering this exact question…I figured it was something to do with the pool, since it seems as tho EVERYBODY is busting WR times all over the place…fast suits? deeper pool? less turbulance? maybe its a combo of it all…i’d be surprised if it was drugs, but only because I thought they were testing out the wazoo for that…still, its fun to watch, regardless of the reason why…
posted by donner on 8-13-2008 at 10:37 pm
I think evgen and others have mistakenly equated doping with the use of steroids or other performance enhancers. Blood doping — which is most likely what Gary Hall Jr. is alleging — is the practice of extracting red blood cells from an athlete well in advance of an event, and then pumping those same red blood cells back into his/her system just prior to an event. The additional red blood cells in the bloodstream can greatly enhance aerobic capacity and endurance.
Blood doping is banned in athletic competitions, but is very hard to detect, because after all, it’s just your own blood that’s going back in; offenders almost have to be caught in the act.
posted by Dave on 8-13-2008 at 11:49 pm
“Citius, Altius, Fortius” is the motto for the olympics, which literally means “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” Nowhere does it say, smarter or more technologically advanced. Given all technology today, who’s to know if we have fared better than athletes before. Truthfully, I feel the olympics is now based on more than physical performance.
posted by Mark on 8-14-2008 at 1:02 am
“wow, i was just speculating about this last night as Phelps won another million medals.
how about plain old evolution? people are so much more physically capable… hmmm? ”
Good point. Look at images of Spitz and then look at Phelps. The physical difference is striking. The technique difference is obvious (look at Spitz up high out of the water on butterfly). Spitz will always be synonymous with “swimmer” but Phelps appears to be at another level all together. Evolution of the techniques, training and physiques are the main difference.
posted by Terry on 8-14-2008 at 11:41 am
If you ask me, all atheletes ought to compete naked, the way it was in the original Olympics
posted by Vickey on 8-14-2008 at 4:48 pm
While I am sure all of these things help what we have to realize is that you cannot compare athletes of different generations to each other because to many factors change. You have to compare them to those in their era and it is no doubt that phelps is the best out there and to aquire his medals he still has to beat all the other competitors, which is the one thing that will never change.
posted by Tyler on 8-14-2008 at 9:07 pm
I snatched this from another site/poster but I liked it….
“I think this quote sums up my entire feelings on this whole controversy: “I tested it,” Markus Rogan of Austria said, according to ESPN. “I threw it in the pool, and it didn’t move at all, so I’ll still have to swim.”"
As counterpoint, 44 world records in 5 months since the LZR suit was introduced: seriousswimmer dot com slash Controversy.html
posted by Terry on 8-15-2008 at 7:32 am
The faster times come down to one thing, the training has become a science. We know so much about training the athletic body now that it just blows anything out of the water (no pun intended) that coaches were able to do years ago. I was a swimmer in high school and college and I can guarantee that ANY of these olympic swimmers wearing just a normal speedo could crush ANY elite swimmer that was wearing one of these advanced suits. They are just that good.
It sickens me that these amazing athletes are constantly accused of cheating. Just because they are better than us doesn’t mean they deserve scorn.
posted by Kevin on 8-15-2008 at 12:15 pm
I think the increased size of the athletes has something to do with it. Longer limbs equal more muscle and a greater surface area interacting with the water equaling more thrust.
Just a thought.
I think a return to all naked olympics would *greatly* increase the games television audience… rrrrow!
posted by zale on 8-22-2008 at 3:14 pm