Fastskin
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-->Fastskin is a highly advanced competition swimsuit that dramatically reduces the surface drag of the wearer. In late 1996 Australian manufacturer Speedo began research on a type of technical suit that would help competitive swimmers gain an advantage over the water through which they swim.
The Fastskin is a one of a kind fabric which was engineered to do just that. It has miniature denticles on the suit's surface, just like on a shark's skin, which aid in muscle compression and in reducing drag and turbulence. Even its strangely placed seams are special, localizing muscle groups, and being very light to reduce the irritation often caused by swimsuit seams.
These suits are designed to work with laminar flow. Laminar Flow is basically how a fluid (in this case water) passes over and around an object. Anything that resists the flow slows things down, it’s like friction, but a little different. The key thing with water is that interruptions in the flow causes ripples and eddies that sap power as well. The Fastskin material helps actively channel the water over and around the suit and the body of the swimmer.
The material is a blend of 74% Polyester and 26% Lycra/Spandex.
Success
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics 28 of the 33 Gold medals won at the Olympics were won by athletes wearing Speedo Fastskin, making it the most successful suit in the entire history of swimming. At the 2006 Torino Olympics Speedo unveiled the Fastskin Ice; a version of the fastskin designed for use by members of bobsled, luge and skeleton teams.See also
Fastskin 2External links
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