Peak of Fluid Mechanics: A Review on the Banned Speedo LZR Racer Suit

Do you remember the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in swimming? 25 world records were broken. Since then, no other Olympic has ever been even close to reaching that feat. Many of these records from 2008 actually remain unchanged to this very day. But how did this happen? This record breaking competition happened all thanks to one swimsuit—the LZR Racer. All but one record breaker from the 2008 Olympics wore the suit to race. In fact, the LZR Racer made swimmers so fast that the international governing body of water sports, FINA, had to ban it in future swimming competitions. But what made this swimsuit so effective?

For decades, the swimming industry had been trying to figure out the best ways for swimmers to swim even faster through the water. Most advances in swimming technology had to do with aerodynamics and minimizing drag on the body with textiles. By compressing the body and creating a more aerodynamic body, a smaller v-shaped wake would be left behind the swimmer, causing them to glide through the water faster. By reducing skin friction, less was would be dragged along the swimmer’s body. Actually, according to Speedo’s Aqualab’s study on computational fluid dynamics in 2004, viscous drag was discovered to be the cause of 25 percent of the total resisting force of a swimmer in the water.

After discovering this, Speedo teamed up with scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, to create the most fluid dynamic swimsuit in history. During this process, Speedo tested almost sixty different materials and a hundred different fabrics and materials coatings in the NASA Research Center wind tunnel in Langley, USA. Finally, the LZR Racer was born. Speedo launched the LZR Racer back on February 13, 2008, and marketed it as “the world’s fastest swimsuit.” Because the Olympics were just on the horizon that summer, almost every single Olympic swimmer used this suit for the competition.

Source: NASA and Speedo

The LZR Racer was made from a special fabric that Speedo called the LZR Pulse. This special fabric created the base layer of the LZR racer and was made of tiny microfibers of nylon and spandex. The microfibers were combined together in a high density weave, meaning that the fibers were woven very tightly and much closer together than normal. It was also extremely light in weight, water repellent, and had high-performing elastic properties. The LZR Pulse fabric was so incredible that it actually reduced skin friction drag by an additional 24% compared to Speedo’s previously most advanced fabric, FastSkin II. The fabric also used the Hydro Form Compression System, allowing the swimsuit to meld with the swimmer’s body shape, almost like a corset of sorts. This form of compression reduced the entry of water between the suit and the body and was actually found to improve swimming efficiency by up to 5%. 

Source: NASA and Speedo

On top of the LZR Pulse fabric, Speedo implemented panel fabric stabilizers to increase the freedom of movement for swimmers. In traditional racing suits, only a single layer of fabric is used with low profile seams. However, this method causes the suit to become super tight because of the high tension in the fabric, ultimately obstructing the swimmer’s movement. So, Speedo decided to implement composite layers on top of the base fabric, utilizing materials of various elasticity properties. These patches or panels of fabric consisted of thin polyurethane sheets, a material firmer than the LZR Pulse fabric. These panels were also customized in shape and size depending on the movement of the strokes in swimming: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. For example, the fabric panels on the arms were shorter for breaststrokers and longer for freestylers. The polyurethane layer was also used for the core stabilizer to tighten the abdomen and lower back, molding the body into a more aerodynamic shape.

The LZR Racer was also the first fully bonded, full-body swimsuit with welded seams. To exemplify, instead of overlapping fabrics being sewn to one another, they were ultrasonically fused together to create a smoother surface of the suit by eliminating any bumps that would be on the suit if it was sewn. This actually reduced drag by up to 8%. Another significant factor that made the LZR Racer so effective was the positioning of the zipper. The zipper for the suit faced the body instead of the outside so that it wouldn’t cause any resistance in the water. It was also ultrasonically welded into the fabric and reduced drag by up to 8%.

In the Olympics, the suit proved to be a game changer. From the 2008 Olympic games, 94% of race winners and 92% of world record breakers wore this suit. In fact, Michael Phelps would set a new record for number of medals one by an Olympian with this suit. The LZR Racer suit went on to be used in many more competitions throughout 2008 and 2009, setting far more records than anyone could ever imagine. It was so impressive and effective at improving a swimmer’s performance that the suit was soon regarded as “technological doping.” Ultimately, FINA, or now World Aquatics, were forced to ban the use of the LZR Racer in any future competitions. It was argued that the suit enhanced the swimmer’s performance and diminished the swimmer’s natural swimming abilities. It was similar to why steroids are banned in any competition—enhancing performance. 

This ban was implemented in 2010 and stated that swimmers had to wear swimsuits from permeable materials that are woven, knitted, or braided. Furthermore, full bodied suits were also banned. Now, male swimmers can only wear suits from the waist to the knees and female swimmers can only wear suits that go from the shoulders to the knees.

Because of this ban, many records remain unbroken back from 2008. This caused those records from LZR Racer wearing swimmers to be regarded almost like “fake” records. This raises the question on whether we will ever see new high-tech swimsuits in the future.

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References

Betuel, E. (2020 Aug. 5). Olympics Flashbacks: How a NASA-designed swimsuit rocked the 2008 games. Inverse. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://www.inverse.com/innovation/olympic-glory-week-lzr-swimsuits

Perez, D. (2020 Dec. 2). The Technology Behind Speedo’s High-Tech Swimsuits That Challenged the Olympics. Engineering.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://www.engineering.com/the-technology-behind-speedos-high-tech-swimsuits-that-challenged-the-olympics/

Valeur, I. (2020 Sep. 2). Material Marvels: High-technology swimwear. IOM3. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://www.iom3.org/resource/material-marvels--high-technology-swimwear.html