Comments

KingFatty - to be fair, they are not saying that shoes don't make a difference, and swimsuits do. At least not the way you are comparing. The quote made is this: "Every athlete doesn't have access to this technology ... some countries have contractual obligations to other manufacturers. In ... basketball ... a pair of shoes won't make any real difference. But ... for swimming, a suit has a major impact on performance." The key is that they are comparing the field as it sits today. So in a sport like basketball, there is not much that a single shoe manufacturer can do to give them a major edge over another. Thus having a contract with Nike or Adidas won't give an athlete a significant edge over another athlete. You are right with the analogy about the old suits being sandals, though. I mean, these new suits, which have been out in some form or another since 2000, have significantly changed the sport. When you look at it, as of last year, only 3 world records exist from before the introduction of these new suits. The real question now becomes - when does technology push what a human can do too far? I would say that ultimately, if you are with a non-Speedo country, then your country is dumb, but also I would pay a lot of money for Speedo to make one of these suits for me with my country's logo and sponsor's logo (this is done a lot in other sports).