Technical Swimsuit Benefits:

An Examination to Determine if Technical Swimsuits Make Collegiate Swimmers Significantly

Faster

By Kaleb Wylie

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Education

December 2018

Graduate Programs in Education

Goucher College
 Table of Contents

List of Tables i

List of Figures ii

Abstract iii

I. Introduction 1

Statement of Problem 2

Hypothesis 2

Operational Definitions 2

II. Review of the Literature 3

Technical Swimsuits 3

Body Alignment / Position 4

Compression 4

Buoyancy 5

Drag 5

Placebo Effect and Self-Confidence 6

Summary 7

III. Methods 8

Design 8

Participants 8

Instrument 8

Procedure 8

IV. Results 10

Section Heading 1 #

V. Discussion 12
 Implications 12

Theoretical Consequences 12

Threats to Validity 13

Connections to Previous Studies 14

Implications for Future Research 14

Conclusion 14

References 16
 List of Tables

1. Mean Time in Seconds for Upper Class of Swimmer and Suit Type 11

i
 List of Figures

1. Mean Time in Seconds to Complete the 100-Yard Freestyle by Type of Suit 10

2. Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle at the 2016 Olympics 13

ii
 Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if technical swimsuits provided a significant

advantage over swimmers wearing a traditional team suit. The measurement included a timed

100-yard freestyle swim. Results showed that there was no significant advantage for swimmers

wearing a technical suit. There was no statistically significant relationship between technical

swimsuits and upperclassmen.

iii
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Winning races and achieving a personal best time reflects the nature of competitive

swimming. Over time, technical swimsuits have become more prominent, and at the elite level,

every swimmer competing has this type of swimsuit. Although it is common to see elite

swimmers wearing these technical swimsuits, younger swimmers are wearing them as well.

Training and competition swimsuits can range in price, but high end technical swimsuits can cost

up to $400 on the SwimOutlet website. When the elite athletes are seen wearing these technical

swimsuits, it causes others to wear them as well. However, the elite swimmers that wear these

high end technical swimsuits are more advanced than the average swimmer. Therefore, should

the focus be on becoming more technically sound as a swimmer rather than relying on a

technical swimsuit? Also, does the technical swimsuit offer a significant advantage over a

regular team suit or practice suit?

Traditional swimsuits are typically worn during practice. Traditional swimsuits are

cheaper than technical suits because they do not provide the same amount of performance

advantages that a tech suit has. Traditional swimsuits are also common at specific swim

competitions. Some examples of swim competitions where a traditional swimsuit is common are

swim meets that take place at the beginning of the season, swim meets that do not have fast pools

and swim meets that do not have strong competition. In all of those situations, a traditional suit is

likely be worn when the swimmer has not had enough training or the swim meet is going to have

slower times from the participants. The Goucher College swim team does not wear technical

swimsuits until the championship meet, which is the last meet of the season. Occasionally, the

team might wear an older tech suit at the meet prior to the championship meet.
1
 When swimmers put on the technical swimsuits, they have more compression, which

reduces the amount of drag in the water; the tech suits also help a swimmer achieve better body

position in the water (Ishikura et al., 2014). that lead them to believe they are going to swim fast.

These swimsuits are designed in a way to maximize the swimmer’s performance; technical

swimsuits today are made with water repellant fabric and compression. Technical swimsuits are

worn at championship meets, which means the swimmer will be in their best condition of the

season. Therefore, with both of those combined, it can increase a swimmer’s self-confidence,

which can also contribute to a good performance.

Statement of Problem

The purpose of this study is to determine if technical swimsuits worn by the female

swimmers of the Goucher College swim team will provide a significant advantage over regular

swimsuits.

Hypothesis

Technical swimsuits will not provide a significant advantage over regular swimsuits.

Operational Definitions

The dependent variable was speed. Speed is defined as rate of motion. The speed was

measured by having the participants swim 100 yards of freestyle for time, which was recorded

using a stopwatch.

The independent variable was the type of swimsuit. Swimsuits were assigned to the

control group and experimental group. The control group wore the Goucher team swimsuits. The

experimental group wore technical swimsuits.

2
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Ninety-four percent of all gold medals won at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 were won by

swimmers wearing the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit (Speedo International Limited, England)

(Ito, 2008). Tech suits are designed to help swimmers achieve maximum performance. The price

of the technical swimsuits range from 100 US dollars up to 400 US dollars, which was found on

the Swim Outlet website; SwimOutlet is a website that sells swimsuits, swim equipment and just

about everything pool related. The design of the swimsuit is what makes you swim faster. This

literature review seeks to determine if regular swimsuits are outperformed significantly

compared to technical swimsuits because of the technical swimsuit’s beneficial features, which

include: body position, compression, buoyancy, drag. Although the placebo effect is not one of

the materials used to create a technical swimsuit, the placebo effect may be correlated.

Technical Swimsuits

With today's technology, swimsuits are made with water-repellent fabric, which helps the

swimmer move through the water. With most tech suits, when they are wet, you can see the

water bouncing off of the fabric. In addition, repellency of the suits helps the body with

buoyancy. Technical swimsuits are designed to help place the swimmer on the surface.

Buoyancy is one of the many factors that determine swim times. A buoyant swim suit that has

less drag improves swimming performance (Ishikura et al., 2014).

In addition to providing buoyancy, technical swimsuits also provide compression. The

compression from the technical swimsuit reduces drag in the water (Ishikura et al., 2014).

Compression also helps the body with recovery. According to Ishikura et al. (2014) the new

model swim suit allowed for better body position in the water compared to the older models. The
3
new model swim suit had compression, water repellant fabric and the other aspects that are

similar to a technical swimsuit. Because technical swimsuits help the body to float, uses water-

repellent fabric, provides compression and improves body position, it becomes the ultimate

swimsuit. On paper, this swimsuit is a must-have for competitions.

Body Alignment / Position

Determining body alignment and body position is a novice level skill for swimmers that

is critical in determining swimming ability. Poor body alignment and poor body position can

cause a swimmer to increase drag, which will cause a swimmer to swim at a slower speed.

Ribak, Klein, Weihs & Arad (2006) did a study on birds and examined buoyancy. The article

talked about the importance of horizontal position and how it is related to swimming. They found

that

“when more weights are added and the birds become negatively buoyant, these vertical

forces changed direction to prevent sinking; this, by adding the tilt of the body, the birds

may dynamically control their buoyancy to maintain straight horizontal swimming,

despite changes in buoyancy.”

As stated previously, technical swimsuits helps the body achieve better body position, which is a

horizontal position (Ishikura et al., 2014).

Compression

Technical swimsuits provide compression, which is one of the advantages of using this

type of swimsuit. Regular racing suits and practice suits also have compression, but technical

swimsuits have more mechanical pressure being applied to the body as compared to regular
4
swimsuits. Studies have shown that compression is an advantage because it helps the body have

a positive effect on performance. Compression enhances blood flow and is related to blood

lactate (Sperlich, Born, Kaskinoro, Kalliokoski, & Laaksonen, 2013). When a compression

garment applies pressure, it affects the muscle blood flow in the deeper parts of the muscle

tissue. Potential compression benefits are mediated via physical, physiological or psychological

effects (MacRae, Cotter, & Laing, 2011). This means that compression could have an impact on

someone’s mindset. This could also be a psychological benefit to wearing a technical suit.

Buoyancy

If a swimmer is able to effectively use his or her buoyancy, the swimming performance

will improve (Watanabe, Wakayoshi, & Nomura, 2017). Buoyancy can be described as the

vertical force acting on a swimmer, and the difference between the upward force of buoyancy

and the downward force of gravity (Cook, Kato, Tanaka, Ropert-Coudert, & Bost, 2010).

Buoyancy helps a swimmer stay on the surface and float. If a swimmer is able to float, they are

able to attain better body position. Technical swimsuits provide buoyancy, which can lead to a

better body position. As a result, faster swimming times can be achieved because a swimmer can

move across the water easily. Not only will the swimmer move faster due to buoyancy, but less

energy will be spent, which can make them swim for a longer period of time. Buoyancy can also

have an effect on drag. The better the buoyancy, the lower the drag.

Drag

There are various kinds of drag, such as wave drag, profile drag and skin friction drag

(Ishikura et al., 2014). Profile drag is influenced by a swimmer’s form and underwater posture,

wave drag is generated due to the swimmer’s movement through the water’s surface, and skin

friction drag occurs between a swimmer’s body surface and the water. Drag can be defined as a
5
hydrodynamic force that acts in the opposite direction to that of swimming and buoyancy, which

acts in a constant vertical direction. Technical swimsuits help reduce drag, which can lead to a

faster swim time. Adjustments of vertical forces during the bottom phase are crucial to

swimming at low energetic cost during shallow dives. The bottom phase is time dedicated to

prey search and capture in a benthic forager.

Placebo Effect and Self-Confidence

The placebo effect is an inactive substance that a person believes to be active. In this

study, the swimmer thinks the technical swimsuit is the active substance. Because a swimmer

thinks that they are going to swim faster because of the swimsuit, they are at an advantage to do

so. According to Sheldon and Opie-Moran (2017), facilitating-positive emotions are expected to

help performers in originating energy and organizing functions; facilitating-negative emotions

would serve more in energy production than in energy utilization. Although someone can gain

more in energy production from negative emotions, having a regular swimsuit would not

facilitate that feeling. However, wearing a technical swimsuit can give you a positive emotion

because in swimming, tech suits are used for fast times. For example, the Goucher College

women’s swim team’s season started in September and there were swim meets from October

through February. Technical swimsuits were not worn until January or February because that

was the peak of the swimmer’s ability. During this time, it was common for swimmers to achieve

best times because they were in the best shape since the start of the season. Therefore, technical

suits can associate with positive emotion. As a result, the swimmer has an advantage of

performing well with the technical swimsuit over the training swimsuit.

6
 Summary

Swimmers often purchase technical swimsuits for big competitions. These swimsuits

vary among cost, but in general, they are very expensive. These swimsuits are made to provide a

competitive advantage because of buoyancy, water-repellent, body position and compression.

Each of those individually plays a factor in swimming ability. Therefore, technical swimsuits are

being created with material that contributes to swimming faster in the water. The water repellant,

compression and buoyancy contribute to the effects of wearing a technical swimsuit. In 2010,

Fédération internationale de nation (FINA) banned a fast skin because of the advantage it gave to

swimmers that wore it. Since then, the materials have been altered to meet criteria and the prices

have increased as well. If the technical swimsuits did not provide an advantage, the elite

swimmers would not wear them. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing while

wearing a technical suit, which was later banned by FINA (Dillman, 2009). In addition, the elite

athletes can wear technical swimsuits because they can afford them through sponsorships or

personal resources.

7
 CHAPTER III

METHODS

This study measured and compared the difference in swim speeds between high tech

swimsuits and the Goucher team suits.

Design

This study utilized an experimental design. The independent variable of the study was the

use of high-tech swimsuits. Participants were randomly placed in either the control group,

wearing low-tech suits, or the experimental group, wearing high-tech suits. The dependent

variable was performance of the swimmers on the 100-yard freestyle. The study was conducted

at the Goucher College swimming pool, which is a 25-yard indoor pool.

Participants

Participants for this study were ten female athletes of the Goucher College Women’s

Swim Team. The participants ages ranged from seventeen to twenty-two years old and included

athletes from every class year. Three of the participants were freshman. One participant was a

sophomore, three were juniors and three were seniors.

Instrument

The swimmers times were recorded via stopwatch and collected on the same day as the

experiment. Each swimmer received their own time.

Procedure

Each swimmer from the control group was paired with a swimmer from the experimental

group based on similarity of abilities seen during the swim year leading up to the study. The

participants showed up to the swimming pool at their assigned time. Following their arrival, they

changed into a low-tech or high-tech swimsuit and began to warm up. Five athletes wore high-
8
tech suits, and five athletes wore non-tech suits. Each swimmer did their own warm up as

preparation for their timed swim. After their warm up was complete, the experiment was ready to

begin. The participants positioned themselves on the diving block, and the researcher gave them

commands before they began. The athletes swam the 100-yard freestyle, which consisted of

swimming four lengths of the pool as fast as possible.

9
 CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

The purpose of this study was to determine if a technical swimsuit provided a significant

performance advantage over swimmers wearing a traditional swimsuit. This study measured the

time of a 100-yard freestyle by ten members of the Goucher College women’s swim team. The

experiment was orchestrated when the women’s swim team season was over, out-of-season.

Figure 1 compares the swimming performance of the swimmers wearing technical suits and the

swimmers wearing traditional suits. Swimmers using the tech suits took longer to complete the

event with a mean score of 70.46 seconds compared to 68.00 seconds for those who used the

traditional suit but that difference was not significant t(8)=.29, p=.78

Figure 1

Mean time in seconds to complete the 100-yard freestyle by type of suit

Results
71

70.5

70

69.5
Time in Seconds

69

68.5

68

67.5

67

66.5
Traditional Suit Tech Suit

10
 Type of Swimsuit
The analysis supported the null hypothesis and indicated that there was no significant

performance advantage when wearing a technical swimsuit. Table 1 shows you the performance

of an upperclassman wearing tech swimsuits.

Table 1

Mean time in seconds for upper class of swimmer and suit type

Type of Suit Class Mean N Std. Deviation

Tech Upper 58.2450 2 0.51619

Traditional Upper 70.2675 4 8.72986

The analysis’ showed that the difference is not significant between the upperclassman

based on the type of suit, based on the type of suit, t(4)=-1.84, p=.14.

11
 CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to determine if technical swimsuits provide a

significant advantage over traditional suits. Chapter IV indicated that the null hypothesis was

supported. The participants with technical suits did not swim significantly faster than participants

with a traditional suit. The results showed that there was a pattern of these suits having more of

an impact on swimmers that were upperclassmen. However, this breakdown by class was not

statistically supported. Swimmers with the traditional suits swam faster than those in a tech suit.

Implications

The experiment took place out of season, which may have influenced some swimmers to

be motivated and others to not be motivated. The motivated individuals wanted to see how close

they could get to their personal best time. The unmotivated individuals just wanted to get the

swim over with. Also, some members of the team may have swam more than others because

once the season is over, it is up to the swimmers to continue training. Allowing the swimmers to

create their own warm up could also have had an impact. Some swimmers may have done too

much during the warm up, others may not have swam enough.

Theoretical Consequences

This study suggests that technical swimsuits do not provide a significant advantage over

traditional suits. Although the tech suit may not provide a significant advantage, swimming is a

sport where every tenth and hundredth of a second makes a huge difference. In the highest level

of competition, the Olympics, it is common to see the top eight swimmers all within one second

12
of each other in the 100-yard freestyle. Below are the results from the women’s 100- yard

freestyle at the 2016 Olympics (Rio, 2017).

Figure 2

Women’s 100- yard freestyle at the 2016 Olympics

Threats to Validity

The variety of warm ups that were done is an internal threat to the validity of the study

because this threat was something that could be controlled. Instead of all the swimmers

completing the same warm up, each swimmer warmed up in their own way to best prepare for

their timed swim. It is possible that some participants were not fully warmed up, which could
13
result in a slower performance. The experiment took place after the Goucher College swim

season was complete, so another threat would be if some swimmers continued work out while

other swimmers did not. This is an external threat because some swimmers could have had better

conditioning than others, which is out of the researcher’s control. This could also result in an

unfair advantage as the swimmers who are in better shape would be better prepared for the timed

swim, regardless of which suit they were wearing.

Connections to Previous Studies

There are not many studies that measure the comparison of technical swimsuits and

traditional swimsuits. However, there are studies that measure the advantages of a technical

swimsuit. Technical swimsuits provide the swimmer with buoyancy and compression, both of

which help with body position in the water due to less drag (Ishikura et al., 2014). Effectively

using buoyancy will improve swimming performance (Watanabe et al, 2017).

Implications for Future Research

The experiment could be done in season so that each person has had the same amount of

training offered. In addition, the swimmers could be selected and placed in groups according to

ability and class year. After grouping the swimmers based on ability and class year, the

swimmers could be chosen as to who would wear a technical and traditional suit. The current

groupings were based on convenience. Therefore, the treatment group did not mirror the control

group. Another change that could be made for future research would be to give everyone the

same warm up. If all participants have the same warm up, the amount of the warm up may not be

an uncontrollable factor in performance.

Conclusion

14
 No significant advantage was provided to swimmers wearing a tech suit. However, with a

larger sample size, the results might change. When breaking down the swimmers by class year,

there was a relationship between experience and performance when wearing a tech suit. This

makes sense because technical swimsuits are not common at the novice level and smaller

competitions. In order for this study to be done correctly, more access to tech suits would be a

key component.

15
 References

Beliard, S., Chauveau, M., Moscatiello, T., Cros, F., Ecarnot, F., & Becker, F. (2015).

Compression garments and exercise: No influence of pressure applied. Journal of Sports

Science and Medicine, 14, 75+.

Cook, T. R., Kato, A., Tanaka, H., Ropert-Coudert, Y., & Bost, C. (2010). Buoyancy under

control: Underwater locomotor performance in a deep diving seabird suggests respiratory

strategies for reducing foraging effort.

Dillman, L. (2009, July 25). FINA bans controversial full-body swimsuits. Retrieved March 22,

2018, from http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bal-

sp.swimming25jul25002016-story.html

Gatta, G., Cortesi, M., & Zamparo, P. (2016). The relationship between power generated by

thrust and power to overcome drag in elite short distance swimmers. PLoS ONE, 11.

Harnisch, M., Klepser, A., Classen, E., Beringer, J., & Schmidt, A. (2015b). Influence of sports

compression textiles on endurance running performance. Extreme Physiology &

Medicine, 4.

Ishikura, K., Yoshimi, J., Matsuda, A., Yamashita, K., Katsu, M., Otsuka, S., & Tkakagi, H.

(2014). Influence of a newly-developed triathlon suit on the passive drag and body

position//doi-org.goucher.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.059.

Ito, S., 2008. Science of a Speedo swimsuit, LZR racer -A Comparison of the Calculated New

Records and the Actual World Records in Beijing Olympics- (in Japanese). symposium

on sports engineering : symposium on human dynamics. 2008, 181-184.

16
Keisuke Ishikura, Joe Yoshimi, Akihiro Matsuda, Kento Yamashita, Makoto Katsu, Shinichiro

Otsuka, Hideki Tkakagi, Influence of a Newly-developed Triathlon Suit on the Passive

Drag and Body Position, In Procedia Engineering, Volume 72, 2014, Pages 338-343,

ISSN 1877-7058, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.059.

MacRae, B. A., Cotter, J. D., & Laing, R. M. (2011). Compression garments and exercise:

Garment considerations, physiology and performance. Sports Medicine, 41, 815+.

Mizuno, S., Arai, M., Todoko, F., Yamada, E., & Goto, K. (2017). Wearing lower-body

compression garment with medium pressure impaired exercise-induced performance

decrement during prolonged running.

Ribak, G., Klein, N., Weihs, D., & Arad, Z. (2006). Adjustment of submerged swimming to

changes in buoyancy in cormorants.Canadian Journal of Zoology, 84, 383+.

Rio 2016 100m freestyle women - Olympic Swimming. (2017). International Olympic

Committee. Retrieved 20 November 2018, from

https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/swimming/100m-freestyle-women

Sanders, R. H., Fairweather, M. M., Alcock, A., & McCabe, C. B. (2015). An approach to

identifying the effect of technique asymmetries on body alignment in swimming

exemplified by a case study of a breaststroke swimmer. Journal of Sports Science and

Medicine, 14, 304+.

Sheldon, R. & Opie-Moran, M. (2017). The placebo effect in cardiology – understanding and

using it, Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 2017, ISSN 0828-282X.

Sperlich, B., Born, D., Kaskinoro, K., Kalliokoski, K. K., & Laaksonen, M. S. (2013). Squeezing

the muscle: Compression clothing and muscle metabolism during recovery from high

intensity exercise. PLoS ONE, 8.

17
Watanabe, Y., Wakayoshi, K., & Nomura, T. (2017). New evaluation index for the retainability

of a swimmer's horizontal posture.

18