Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Daniel Kowalski, one of the most versatile freestyle pool swimmers in the world, finished third at this year’s Big Swim wearing some…nice black socks. A bit past his prime after winning 4 medals in the 200-, 400- and 1500-meter races at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, Kowalski was looking for an edge against his younger competitors. Voila … a pair Compressport socks.

“There is no drag while wearing the socks and most of all they are really comfortable. Compressport helps to increase circulation. While your swimming there is a lot of upper body movement and for most of us very little in the lower legs. The body requires fresh clean oxygenated blood during efforts and in recovery. The compression helps.”

The long sheathing calf socks, one of a range of veino-muscular compression products that are popular with triathletes and other land-based endurance athletes, helps reduce the accumulation of lactic acid in the legs and allows more efficient blood flow back from the legs to the heart. Basically, it helps reduce the discomfort when you are swimming hard, but we are just not used to seeing swimmers were…socks.

On the other hand, you can’t knock a good performance.

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