By: Theodore Tong

In the competitive world of swimming, even a fraction of a second could mean the difference between gold and silver. While practice and skill is essential to win, some better accessories could also help.

For the Paris 2024 Olympics, Speedo has invented a new iteration of its Fastskin LZR Pure Intent and Fastskin LZR Pure Valor. Speedo assures that swimmers wearing their swimsuits have broken 52 percent of swim records. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, swimmers wearing the Fastskin LZR swimsuits achieved over 61 percent of gold medals in the swimming event.

Their newest invention, the Fastskin LZR Pure Intent 2.0 and Fastskin LZR Pure Valor 2.0 were engineered with Lamoral Space Tech. The lightweight swimsuit material was originally used for protecting satellites in space, so it’s extremely water repellent.

The two LZR swimsuits were made for different purposes. The LZR Pure Intent swimsuit was made for sprint competitions. Featuring dual compression and textured fabric zones to reduce drag, these water-repellent suits could destroy world records. The LZR Pure Valor is made for long distance swimmers. It offers moderate compressions and six times more water repellency.

There’s a lot of discussion about how much swimsuits can actually help, but in swimming, even the smallest change can make a huge difference. Ryan Murphy, another top swimmer, points out that in races where every tiny fraction of a second counts, any little improvement can be crucial.

So, next time you watch the Olympics, keep an eye out for those high-tech swimsuits—they just might be the secret to swimming super fast!

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