Speedo has unveiled its new U.S. Federation Suit ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The suits that American swimmers will wear at the Games — called LZR Intent 2.0 and LZR Valor 2.0 — were developed by Speedo’s Aqualab research and development facility and engineered from Lamoral Space Tech, a coating technology originally used to protect satellites. They are refreshed and updated versions of Speedo’s popular Fastskin suits.
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The original LZR Pure Intent and LZR Valor swimsuits were introduced in 2019, and since then, 56 percent of all individual swimming world records have been broken by athletes wearing them, Speedo said. Sixty-one percent of gold medals won at the Tokyo Games were won by swimmers wearing Speedo Fastskin suits, including American Caeleb Dressel (who took home five gold medals).
The new design draws inspiration from the American flag, and with its different textures and dimensions, it aims to create the effect of a waving flag as swimmers glide through the water. The design team also included a hidden message inside each suit that states: “Home of the free, land of the brave.”
“This upgrade is driven by science and informed by our expert athletes and club swimmers across the world, retaining all of the properties that make Speedo Fastskin suits the world’s fastest,” Speedo senior vice president Simon Breckon said.
Dressel will be wearing the new suit in Paris in his individual events (50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly). So will Ryan Murphy (100 and 200 backstroke), Regan Smith (100 and 200 backstroke, 200 fly), Kieran Smith (400 free) and Abbey Weitzeil (who will be a relay-only Olympic participant). USA Swimming allows each athlete to choose the right product for them in terms of suit, cap and goggle preference.
“No. 1 for me (in a suit) is that it feels natural,” Dressel said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time we’re in a normal Speedo, like we’re just wearing a brief. That’s what most of training is. So, you don’t want anything that’s going to feel drastically different. When you’re diving into the water, you want something that’s going to work with your body. So for me, I want as natural a feeling as I can get — something lightweight and something flexible.
“I’ve been wearing the Valor a lot this year, which is the lighter-weight suit, and it just works well with my body. All it needs is that little bit of buoyancy, a little bit to keep the hips up. But other than that, I want to feel what I’m feeling in practice translate into the race.”
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Murphy said he, too, likes that the technology behind the suit remains essentially the same.
“It’s one of those look-good, feel-good types of moments,” Murphy said.
Smith, who just set a new world record in the 100-meter butterfly at U.S. Olympic swimming trials, said that the suit hugs her body well — similar to shapewear that women wear in everyday life — so nothing gathers or drags.
“It’s very form-fitting, very tight, very flattering — which is a bonus — but then I’m also able to move all my body parts, and my muscles don’t feel restricted, which is so important in a sport like swimming,” Smith said.
The pool swimming events at the Paris Olympics run from July 27-Aug. 4.
(Top photo of Kieran Smith, Regan Smith, Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Murphy in the Team USA Speedo suits: Courtesy of Speedo)
