Equipped: How a tight squeeze helps swimmers

Energy maintenance is how they describe swimming togs these days. The new full-length bodysuit which will figure prominently in Sydney this year promises faster times over all distances and strokes.

In one of the main tests conducted in Sydney, world record-holder Ian Thorpe wore various suits, including a competitor's model, and each performance was compared to an ideal mathematical model. Measurements were taken for starts, turns, swimming speeds, stroke-length, frequency and hand-speed relative to horizontal speed. Two cameras were used and timing gates strategically placed.

What Adidas found was that performance was shown to be more closely correlated with efficiency of movement than hydrodynamics.

The full bodysuit offers the swimmer maximum comfort and fit, as well as the benefits of compression. While it follows the contours of the body, compression can be applied in different degrees to different areas. So it squeezes in bits that might otherwise stick out.

The compression, they say, also enhances the body's ability to sense changes in position, so accuracy of movement is improved, meaning more efficient strokes. But, during extreme competition the body also experiences muscle vibration, particularly in the thigh and upper arm region. This translates into a loss of energy for the swimmer.

Compressing the muscles with the suit reduces oscillation which, in turn, improves accuracy and reduces fatigue. The result is that swimmers travel through the water like a dolphin rather than a golden retriever.