The Evolution of Swimsuits (Part two)
(3) Rapid development stages: the evolution of swimwear from the 1960s to the present
During this period, the accelerated development of society, politics, economy, culture and other aspects has driven the fast development of high-tech and bright-tech sports. People's continuous exploration and innovation of science and technology, especially the invention and application of high-tech fabrics and sewing technology, has promoted the combination of sports and high technology, and the improvement of swimwear is one of the most obvious innovations. Swimsuits were developed from only for comfort and beauty at the beginning to practical effects. With the rapid influence of the Olympic Games, the scientific and technological competition in the sports field has also become more and more fierce. Since the results of swimming are calculated in hundredths of a second, to strive for a score of 0.01 seconds, the world's major institutions, companies, and manufacturers are working hard to research low-resistant swimwear to reduce the resistance of athletes in the water.
From the 1960s to the 1970s, man-made fibers such as polyester, polypropylene, and spandex appeared, which are elastic, and do not hinder the movement of the human body. Swimwear has been actively developed in terms of function and style. However, the breakthrough is not great. After the 1980s, competitive sports began to break the framework of being non-professional and non-commercialized, and appeared to the world with a new look. People began to focus on those projects that can greatly improve the performance of sports with the help of sports clothing, especially swimming. For the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, the cut of shoulder straps and crotch of the swimsuit was improved, and the performance was further improved. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a company in the US launched a Hercules swimsuit containing polyurethane fibers and ultra-fine nylon fibers, enabling American athletes to win gold medals in this Olympic Games. In the 1990s, swimwear entered a new period of rapid development in terms of texture materials and design concepts. Australia's Speedo specially produced the S2000 swimsuit made of polyester microfiber and Lyca elastic fiber for swimmers, which helped swimmers win medals and break records at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1998, British athletes used the new swimsuit for the first time in the Commonwealth Games. The material is spandex fiber, and the style is also innovative. Except for the exposed hands and feet, the rest is fully covered. It is said that it can reduce the resistance of the water and increase the speed by about 1 second in the 100-meter freestyle. In October 1999, FINA officially allowed this swimsuit to participate in the competition and gave support for the improvement of swimsuits.
In the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, known as technological doping, the truly epoch-making swimsuit shark skin swimsuit appeared, making this Olympic Games a show of the first generation of shark skin swimsuit FASTSKIN, and it became popular all over the world. Spcedo's first-generation shark skin uses fibers to imitate the structure of shark skin, which can guide the surrounding water, reduce water resistance and increase swimming speed by 3% to 7.5%. In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Speedo company researched and innovated the second-generation shark skin, and 47 people got on the podium wearing this swimsuit with granular spots, reducing 30% of water resistance. The overall function is 7.5% higher than that of the first generation. In 2007, Speedo developed the third-generation shark skin made of oxygen-proof elastic yarn and ultra-fine nylon yarn, and helped swimmers from all over the world break 21 world records in one year. Its elasticity is 15% higher than that of similar products. It can reduce muscle vibration and energy loss.
In 2008, the research and development of the fourth generation of shark skin excited the whole swimming world and made breaking records focused. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a sharkskin swimsuit made Phelps who is also known as fly fish won 8 gold medals and broke the record. Zige Liu, China's only gold medalist in swimming, also wore shark skin swimsuit for the Olympic Game. The fourth-generation sharkskin is composed of extremely light, low-resistance, waterproof and quick-drying LZR Pulse. It is the world's first competition swimsuit with high-tech fusion and without wrinkles, which can enhance the athlete's body streamline and reduce resistance in the water.
During the 13th World Swimming Championships held in Rome from July 17th to August 2nd, 2009, Speedo fell behind, and was replaced by Arena and Jaked. These high-tech swimsuits made this Swimming Championships completely in a crazy state. It is particularly worth mentioning that in this World Swimming Championships, most Chinese swimmers also changed their swimsuits. They changed into Jaked swimsuits and created the best results in nearly five World Championships, winning 11 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 11 bronze medals. Except for Zige Ke who still wears the shark skin swimsuit in the Olympics, other personnel wear the Jaked swimsuit which is said to be faster.
During this period, the accelerated development of society, politics, economy, culture and other aspects has driven the fast development of high-tech and bright-tech sports. People's continuous exploration and innovation of science and technology, especially the invention and application of high-tech fabrics and sewing technology, has promoted the combination of sports and high technology, and the improvement of swimwear is one of the most obvious innovations. Swimsuits were developed from only for comfort and beauty at the beginning to practical effects. With the rapid influence of the Olympic Games, the scientific and technological competition in the sports field has also become more and more fierce. Since the results of swimming are calculated in hundredths of a second, to strive for a score of 0.01 seconds, the world's major institutions, companies, and manufacturers are working hard to research low-resistant swimwear to reduce the resistance of athletes in the water.
From the 1960s to the 1970s, man-made fibers such as polyester, polypropylene, and spandex appeared, which are elastic, and do not hinder the movement of the human body. Swimwear has been actively developed in terms of function and style. However, the breakthrough is not great. After the 1980s, competitive sports began to break the framework of being non-professional and non-commercialized, and appeared to the world with a new look. People began to focus on those projects that can greatly improve the performance of sports with the help of sports clothing, especially swimming. For the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, the cut of shoulder straps and crotch of the swimsuit was improved, and the performance was further improved. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a company in the US launched a Hercules swimsuit containing polyurethane fibers and ultra-fine nylon fibers, enabling American athletes to win gold medals in this Olympic Games. In the 1990s, swimwear entered a new period of rapid development in terms of texture materials and design concepts. Australia's Speedo specially produced the S2000 swimsuit made of polyester microfiber and Lyca elastic fiber for swimmers, which helped swimmers win medals and break records at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1998, British athletes used the new swimsuit for the first time in the Commonwealth Games. The material is spandex fiber, and the style is also innovative. Except for the exposed hands and feet, the rest is fully covered. It is said that it can reduce the resistance of the water and increase the speed by about 1 second in the 100-meter freestyle. In October 1999, FINA officially allowed this swimsuit to participate in the competition and gave support for the improvement of swimsuits.
In the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, known as technological doping, the truly epoch-making swimsuit shark skin swimsuit appeared, making this Olympic Games a show of the first generation of shark skin swimsuit FASTSKIN, and it became popular all over the world. Spcedo's first-generation shark skin uses fibers to imitate the structure of shark skin, which can guide the surrounding water, reduce water resistance and increase swimming speed by 3% to 7.5%. In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Speedo company researched and innovated the second-generation shark skin, and 47 people got on the podium wearing this swimsuit with granular spots, reducing 30% of water resistance. The overall function is 7.5% higher than that of the first generation. In 2007, Speedo developed the third-generation shark skin made of oxygen-proof elastic yarn and ultra-fine nylon yarn, and helped swimmers from all over the world break 21 world records in one year. Its elasticity is 15% higher than that of similar products. It can reduce muscle vibration and energy loss.
In 2008, the research and development of the fourth generation of shark skin excited the whole swimming world and made breaking records focused. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a sharkskin swimsuit made Phelps who is also known as fly fish won 8 gold medals and broke the record. Zige Liu, China's only gold medalist in swimming, also wore shark skin swimsuit for the Olympic Game. The fourth-generation sharkskin is composed of extremely light, low-resistance, waterproof and quick-drying LZR Pulse. It is the world's first competition swimsuit with high-tech fusion and without wrinkles, which can enhance the athlete's body streamline and reduce resistance in the water.
During the 13th World Swimming Championships held in Rome from July 17th to August 2nd, 2009, Speedo fell behind, and was replaced by Arena and Jaked. These high-tech swimsuits made this Swimming Championships completely in a crazy state. It is particularly worth mentioning that in this World Swimming Championships, most Chinese swimmers also changed their swimsuits. They changed into Jaked swimsuits and created the best results in nearly five World Championships, winning 11 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 11 bronze medals. Except for Zige Ke who still wears the shark skin swimsuit in the Olympics, other personnel wear the Jaked swimsuit which is said to be faster.
