The Jaked has been accused by many has being hyper-buoyant but Spaniard Rafael Munoz says it is not:From the ChinaDaily:
"... Some competitors said the suit had nothing to do with their displays.
Spaniard Rafael Munoz, who broke the 50 butterfly world record wearing a Jaked suit earlier this month and set a 100 butterfly European record on Saturday, said: "My times don't depend on the suit because if you throw it into the water it doesn't move by itself.
"It also has less buoyancy than others. It repels the water and could give some advantage but my times can only be achieved with a lot of work." ..."
[Link]
What also seems quite scandalous is that Bernard was wearing a suit without official FINA approval though Arena, his sponsor, say they submitted the suit well before the suit deadline! What does that mean before the suit deadline? Submission and approval are to different concepts.
Urethane is apparently the "new" Chloroprene; (The Jaked is all polyurethane), but now there is a rule in place for January 1st which states that only 50% of a speedsuit can be covered in polyurethane. The Speedo LZR and the TYR Tracer Rise make use of the urethane plates and they would seemingly be legal whereas the Jaked and others will have to undergo a major design retool.
What a coincidence that the two largest suit manufacturers happen to all ready meet that requirement well before that rule was even suggested in Dubai. (I am being sarcastic.) Could a person assume that both Speedo and TYR used their political leverage to game FINA? I don't know, but they both seemed better prepared design-wise heading into January 1st.
For instance: TYR has a Chloroprene suit; (TYR Titan), a polyurethane paneled suit; (Tracer Rise), and a "nylon" suit; (Tracer Light). They will certainly have one or more legal suits come 2010 whereas Jaked, Blueseventy, Rocket Science, and Arena may have some hefty R&D costs if FINA decides to reject what they have already approved.
As for Speedo, their urethane panels currently meet the 50% rule all ready out of the gate. It almost seems like some "psychic" alerted them to this rule two years in advance since their suit absolutely meets the "letter of the law" so thoroughly. It's almost creepy!
13 comments:
arena has also developed with alain bernard and other swimmers a lot of suit with different material and composition to meet the new requirement.
I feel the same way you do about the new rules possibly being written to protect speedo and cause problems for the others. I even linked to one of your former articles in one of my blogs, here:
http://swimviking.blogspot.com/2009/04/bernards-record-and-fina-process.html
and here:
http://swimviking.blogspot.com/2009/04/mark-schubert-becoming-purist.html
keep up the good work.
I think it's funny how consistently biased you are against Speedo. Do they do anything correctly in your mind?
Currently I wear Speedo low profile gogles; (I forgot their name. They are the best I can find at this time), and I use a Speedo workout bag.
This is what I want to make perfectly clear. Speedo makes good products but I do not like the way they do business with USA Swimming and FINA.
I appreciate your viewpoint on Speedo, but it is unrealistic. Most best of breed corporations throughout the world do exactly what Speedo does.
Yes, companies like Microsoft, Coke, Nike, et al, do business the same way Speedo does. I don't like it and I won't buy their products. (I have never bought a Microsoft product or PC)
If USA Swimming and Speedo jointly said, Speedo is a proud sponsor of USA Swimming rather than paying Coach Schubert to say, "We did the tests, if you want a medal you gotta wear the LZR" [paraphrased]
I do have a TYR bias. They are from California, they support California pools in Orange County and I like their craftsmanship.
It sounds like you have bought the Speedo googles as it is a product that works for you despite your stated stance against the companys. Do you drive a Ford (Domestic car)?
The Speedo goggles have worked the best so far and I wear them till another manufacturer steps up and makes something better. In workout I wear TYR metalized Velocity with are really comfy on my eyes.
I spoke with TYR about my Goggle issues and I am taking photos of them and suggesting a simple design change to the Tracer goggles which will cost no extra money.
I drive a German car that was designed by J Mays and Freeman Thomas in a California design studio in Simi Valley. I didn't know that it was designed 30-45 minutes away from my house till after I bought it. I love the design but I am getting really pissed off at both German and European electronics. I wish they would steal a page from the Japanese and dumb them down.
I will not drive an American car till they have a track record. I like the Cadillac CTS but the engine is too big; (500 horsepower), and I don't like oil companies.
My thoughts on the speedsuit debate:
1.) It is patent nonsense to think that these suits are not playing a significant role in the whole obliteration of records since their introduction in Feb. 2008. Any list of best times, records, etc. shows it. Countless coaches have studied the suits and their effect, including Brett Hawke (Bosquet's coach.), and have noted that they are performance enhancing.
2.) The amount of performance enhancement seems to vary, depending on body type and event. The suits seem to have the biggest effect with larger swimmers, swimming shorter distances. (Men's sprints.)
3.) The suits also seem to allow swimmers with "power-strokes" (Straight-arm freestyle) to sustain that stroke for longer. As such, it seems the suit is changing stroke mechanics, especially in the sprints.
As a "purist", I hate to see the sport I love move away from briefs and goggles but progress is - I guess - progress. What needs to happen though - and it needs to happen fast - is FINA must stabilize what is and what is not acceptable in suit design.
If that does not happen, then swimming will become farce, where the deciding factor will be who has the "latest & greatest" suit.
And, FYI, the relationship between FINA, the national associations and Arena, Speedo & Tyr, have
been good for the suit guys: It's also been good for the governing bodies, though. The traditional suit guys have plowed millions back into the sport. How much skin does Blueseventy,Jaked, et. al., have in the game?
I think you need to look a bit deeper.
If you don't like the way Speedo does business why do you continue to buy their products (googles and swim bags)and support their "dreaded bottom line."
Respectfully, I don't think I do need to look deeper. I use to wear nothing but Speedo and now I am slowly replacing out my equipment.
In fact I found the OEM that makes the bag that Speedo slaps their logo on and that bag will be my next bag purchase.
As for the goggles, they too will be phased out once I find something equal or better.
The Cadillac CTS does not have a 500 hp engine The CTS has a 3.6L direct injection V6 engine with 305hp. The CTS-V is a different animal that has a much powerful V8 engine.
Whoops-a-daisy! I meant: "...the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V which will Get 505 HP V8 From Corvette Z06. ..."
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/GeneralFuture/articleId=121300
;-)
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