Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Occasionally, the difference between winning an Olympic gold medal or a world championship in a 10 km marathon swim is so slight, the difference can come down to tenths of a second.
There are so many things to consider and decisions to make.
In 2012, Hungary’s Eva Risztov beat American Haley Anderson by 4 tenths of a second, 1:57:38.2 to 1:57:38.6 in an exciting down-to-the-wire race in the Serpentine at the London Olympics. Just a few seconds behind, Italy’s Martina Grimaldi captured a bronze medal over Keri-Anne Payne, 1:57:41.8 to 1:57:42.2.
In 2008, Great Britain’s Cassandra Patten just touched out Germany’s Angela Maurer, 1:59:31.0 to 1:59:31.9, to earn a podium position while David Davies captured a silver medal over Thomas Lurz, 1:51:53.1 to 1:51:53.6.
Besides their training, navigation, feeding, pacing, drafting and final sprint, the Olympians have to make one extremely important decision: what tech suit are they going to wear?
Like a bicycle for an Olympic cyclist or a pair of skis for an Olympic skier, the swimmer’s choice of equipment (goggles, swim cap and tech suit) can make a small difference that can ultimately lead to a big difference on the podium.
SwimOutlet gives a comprehensive review of the available tech suits here.
Mark Gangloff and Julie Stupp reviews the 2016 technical suits including the Arena Carbon Ultra, FINIS Onyx, A3 Perfomance Legend, Funky Trunks Apex Stealth, Jaked JKeel, and the FINIS Fuse.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association