swimming

The Score

Can a Swimsuit Be Too Good?

Officials muddle over their options for fairness as records begin falling due to a single high-tech suit

Even we didn’t guess it would be this good. When I wrote last month about Speedo’s latest swimsuit—an extremely high-tech full-body wonder—three world records had already been broken by LZR-clad swimmers. Coincidence? Maybe. But, after eight more records fell in the past month, the suit is causing some serious waves.

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The Score

Britain's Swim to the Top

A top-of-the-line motion tracking technology may give British swimmers an edge come summer

British swimmers are known for their good form, and they’ll enhance that reputation this summer as they train for the Beijing Olympics using novel motion tracking technology. Research funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), in collaboration with UK Sport, will use water-resistant markers drawn on the swimmers’ bodies to provide real-time feedback to coaches and athletes. Unlike the spherical markers used in other motion tracking, the Brits’ markers are painted on to eliminate any effect they might have on drag.

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The Score

Suiting Up for the Olympics

The world's most advanced swimsuit shaves time so swimmers don't have to shave limbs

Shaving your legs just isn’t enough to give swimmers an edge anymore. With a combination of computational fluid dynamics, aerospace engineering and a bit of help from NASA, Speedo has launched its latest swimsuit built to shatter records at the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing—or before.

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What's Really in Swimming Pools?

Start with water. Add chlorine, sweat and urine. What you get may be a soup of nasty byproducts

Do you smell chlorine when you swim in an indoor pool? Maybe it's not chlorine after all.

Researchers at Purdue University have identified "volatile disinfection byproducts" that can form when chlorine in pool water reacts with sweat and urine. When enough of these byproducts form, they can cause problems for breathing, skin and eyes.

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