The swimming records at the Beijing Olympics are falling like dominoes, and as such, the shattering of world records continues to add more fuel to the fire regarding the use of the High-tech swimsuit, the SPEEDO LZR in this Olympic competition. The technologically advanced swimsuit was designed by NASA engineers to enhance buoyancy and to reduce the drag-coefficient and surface tension of the water has some critics complaining about “competitive advantage.” Of course, civilization has come a long way from the first ‘OLYMPIAD’ held in Elis, off the peninsula of Peloponnesus in 776 BCE; the very first Olympic champion was a naked runner named Coroebus who completed a run of 192 meters (210 yards). A lot more is known about body mechanics, nutrition, and Sports Physiology than the ancient Greeks but the one thing that hopefully will continue to be part of any athletic and competitive sports participation, and that is, to ensure the ‘integrity’ of the sport and to make sure it is “pure.” If champions are to be crowned and records broken, and as athletes continue to improve from advances in the newest and more rigorous training methods, discipline, sacrifice, their accomplishments cannot be tarnished by the slightest doubt that they earned it by nothing but hard work and dedication.
In the 1984 LA Summer Olympics, a barefoot South African named Zola Budd entered the 3,000 meter race amid claims that she competed unfairly by not wearing track shoes. This is an interesting point because what if other athletes decided to compete barefooted? Or better yet, let’s say, ‘NIKE’ scientifically engineered and designed a track shoe with materials which ‘significantly’ reduced the torque and stress on the ankle and knees, as well as the surface tension between the sole of the foot and the running track or pavement, dissipating the heat and perspiration from inside the shoe, and was so lightweight that wearing the shoe feels like ‘walking on air’? And as a result of adding this feature, new world records in track, the high jump, and the broad jump were occurring in almost every national and International meeting.
In the 2008 Olympics from Beijing, China, there is one named that is ‘LARGER-THAN-LIFE,’ towering above the rest, namely, swimming ‘phenom’ Michael Phelps (a.k.a. “Aquaman”). There is no question that Michael Phelps is one of the greatest swimmer’s, if not one of the greatest athletes in the history of Olympic competition; and if Michael competed in the glory days of Greece, he might have received a wreath of victory from one of the gods of Olympus themselves, most notably, the Father of the Seas, Poseidon. It is also true that in all the races that Michael Phelps competed in so far, he was the best of all the swimmers. The question is not so much about his athleticism or any of the other extraordinary swimmers from all the countries, but rather, does wearing the SPEEDO LZR allow the wearer to experience less ‘natural’ drag from the water, thereby enhancing performance even if it’s by fractions of a second, leading to breaking a record that the individual might not have achieved otherwise.
The I.O.C. approved wearing the swimsuits but one wonders if they had ever thought as many world records in swimming would be broken at a single competition by several different competitors; let alone by some of the expected favorites. The athletes are tested for ‘doping’ or illegal performance-enhancing substances after every event but what about “technology,” how do you test for that? Even the State-of-the-Arts 200 million dollar Water Cube and swimming pool at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing, is scientifically engineered to produce faster swim times. No doubt the controversy about wearing the new swimsuit won’t go away, at least for now, but it will be interesting to see what other scientific improvements will be introduced into sports in general as well as the next Olympics.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 13, 2008
pbks@hotmail.com
