Phelps’ Swimsuit Has Canadian Connection
13/08/2008 05:24
MONTREAL - U.S. Olympic champion Michael Phelps is getting a helping hand from Canada, at least in the design of the slippery Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit that many top swimmers are using at the Beijing Games.
Among the companies Speedo turned to in developing the full-body suit is ANSYS Inc., an American-based company whose office in Waterloo, Ont., helped come up with the engineering software used by the swimsuit giant to develop its full-body suit.
The swimsuit is a bit like a "girdle," said Michael Raw, vice-president of product development for the fluids business unit of ANSYS in Waterloo in southwestern Ontario.
The synthetic suit, whose seams are welded together, was introduced in February and since then close to 60 world records have been set by athletes wearing it.
"It's so elastic and tight that apparently it requires a bit of contortionism to get into it," Raw said Monday.
"It kind of squeezes you in the right way to reduce the amount of jiggling of your flesh that might increase drag," he said. "It's simply that the material is slippier through the water."
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Competitive swimming is all about speed and reducing resistance as you glide through the water, right? I wonder in the future if swimsuits will even be mandatory? Just wondering.