Swim like an Olympian

Skysports.com were invited to feel like an Olympian for the day and test out Speedo's Fastskin3 swimming system.

Speedo were forced back to the drawing board after the Beijing Olympics when the swimming federation FINA outlawed the full-body, impermeable suits which many felt gave the swimmer an unfair advantage.

The designers at Speedo went into a totally different direction and looked at designing a swimming system that would combine the cap, goggles and swimsuit into one unified system. The Fastskin3 system was born.

"The technology is totally different to Beijing - there has never been a race system developed before," explained Joe Santry, the Research Manager for Speedo's Aqualab

"We had to move in a very different direction and we have done that with the compression material and creating the system that all work together.

"The really clever thing about this suit is it's shaping capabilities. What we want to do is turn quite a shapely figure into a very streamlined bullet-like form.

"What we have done is create a fabric called Hydro-K Zone compression fabric, which changes compression as it goes up and down the body. In the women's suit we have more compression in the chest are as well as around the bum and around the waist. That allows us to really squash those areas down and create a tubular form."

The suit is just one part of the =Fastskin3 system with the cap and goggles playing a very important part too.

"The whole idea of this system is to look at the whole flow of water from the top of the body over the face through the suit and off the toes," added Santry.

"Our cap has been designed using a 3D head mapping data. We recorded the size and dimensions of just about every head shape and size possible. There are three sizes to choose from and we believe you won't find a more comfortable cap out there - plus it's designed to deliver optimum hydrodynamic performance."

Goggles for all

Goggles have always been a problem for me. I have spent a small fortune on trying to find ones that not only fit but are comfortable too. Swimming 100m with uncomfortable glasses may be okay but in a 10km race comfort is crucial.

Five-time world champion butterfly swimmer James Hickman is now the global marketing manager for Speedo and believes that I may just have found what I am looking for with their Fastskin3 Super Elite Goggles.

"There are nothing like these on the market," says Hickman.

"The seal is based on the same average head scan we used for the cap so they should be a revelation for you. Also they have a very flat profile which is good for water moving over the whole head a lot quicker."

It is a rather surreal conversation as James is talking to me while fitting me out. That means taking two measurements of the head - diameter and over the head from ear to ear - a measurement for the goggles and a measurement around the waist for the jammers.

"Fitting is crucial, it is a very close fitting suit and it is very important to get your measurement taken correctly," adds Hickman.

"That is something that we really enforce with our elite swimmers they should be re-measuring themselves every couple of weeks to make sure they are in the right suit - if you are in the wrong size it is going to slow you down."

It's then into the pool to try out the Fastskin3 system - well before that it's an attempt to get the jammers on. These take about fifteen minutes and at one stage I am convinced I have the wrong size. Each pair comes with a pair of rubber-tipped rubber gloves to help you grip the material and get them on properly. This is not a case of just pulling them up. Instead it is a slow process of pulling the material inch by inch until it sits in the proper place. Even when I think they are on, I need some help to get them sitting just right. On land they feel uncomfortable and restricting but they are something else once I am in the water.

Firstly they feel light - very light and I have to check that I do actually have something on! But when I start to swim I really feel the difference. I am not sure I am quite the tubular shape they were hoping for but I am much more aware of my core and how it should work in the water. My proprioception is on high alert too and the goggles, as promised, are comfortable and do not leak.

The proof is in the swimming though and as I do not have time to warm-up properly, I do not expect too much from my first 100m. However I came in four seconds faster than my personal best.

Over the week that I have been able to test the Fastskin3 my times have drastically improved. Not just at getting them on (which is down to about 8 minutes!) but more importantly in my 800m and 1500m times. Wearing the jammers has also made me think more about my stroke which has made me a better swimmer.

The Fastskin3system is not going to replace hard work in the pool. If you want to go faster then you need to be focused and dedicated to your training. However it may help you shave off time on your pb and in my case made me rethink my stroke and my training.

The system may not have me swimming like an Olympian, but for a brief moment I did get to feel like one - thank you Speedo!

Skysports.com attended the Speedo Fastskin Racing System Clinic.