Speedo International Ltd. is a distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England. They have roots in Australia but are no longer manufactured in Australia. Founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1914 by Alexander MacRae, a Scottish emigrant, the industry-leading company is now a subsidiary of the British Pentland Group. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wristwatches. The Speedo brand was previously manufactured for and marketed in North America as Speedo USA by PVH under an exclusive perpetual licence, who acquired prior licensee Warnaco Group in 2013. As of January 2020, the Pentland Group purchased back the rights from PVH for $170 million in cash subject to regulatory approval.
Competitive swimwear refers to the swimsuit, clothing, equipment, and accessories used in the aquatic sports of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, triathlon, and water polo.
High-technology swimwear , or tech suits, are scientifically advanced materials used for swimwear in competitive water sports such as swimming and triathlon. Materials of this type are normally spandex and nylon composite fabrics with features to reduce drag against the water. The fabrics include features that increase the swimmer's glide through water and reduce the absorption of water by the suit as opposed to regular swimsuits.
Kathryn Elise Hoff is a former American competitive swimmer, she is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoff was known for her success in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, in which she was awarded a silver medal and two bronze medals.
Ryan Steven Lochte is an American competitive swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals, behind only Michael Phelps. Lochte's seven individual Olympic medals rank second in history in men's swimming, tied for second among all Olympic swimmers. He currently holds the world records in the 200-meter individual medley. As part of the American teams, he also holds the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter freestyle (mixed) relay.
The LZR Racer is a line of competition swimsuits manufactured by Speedo using a high-technology swimwear fabric composed of woven elastane-nylon and polyurethane. The swimsuits are made in body-length; they compress the body and trap air for buoyancy. The LZR Pro and LZR Elite were launched on 13 February 2008; the higher-priced LZR Elite was replaced by the LZR Elite 2 in early 2014. The LZR X, the most recent addition to Speedo's competition suit lineup, was launched in early 2015. The technology is patented in Italy, and protected worldwide.
Richard "Ricky" Berens is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder. As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He competed in the 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter freestyle relay events, as well as the individual 200-meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). When he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps had already tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with varied distance events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. In addition to these individual events, four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle or medley relay. A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke, ordered as backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
A number of new Olympic records were set in various events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Arena X-Glide is a swimsuit from the Arena brand, made of pure polyurethane that causes a swimmer to slide through water faster when swimming. One notable example of the efficacy of this suit design is that of Paul Biedermann of Germany who wore the suit in the 2009 World Championships, breaking two world records. The design of the suit covers basically the whole torso and the legs with the impermeable polyurethane, thereby exposing less skin to the water and improving the swimmer's buoyancy and streamlined shape. This significantly reduces the drag a swimmer experiences as he or she moves through the water.
The swimming competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place from 28 July to 4 August at the Aquatics Centre. The open-water competition took place from 9 to 10 August in Hyde Park.
Yoris Grandjean is a Belgian swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He won two gold medals at the 2006 FINA Youth World Swimming Championships, and later represented Belgium at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since 2009, he still currently holds a Belgian record (22.13) in the 50 m freestyle from the national championships in Antwerp. Grandjean also trains for Liège Swimming Club under his head coach Andre Henvaux.
Daniel William Henry Bego is a Malaysian swimmer, who specialises in freestyle and butterfly events. He emerged as one of Malaysia's most promising and outstanding swimmers, winning a total of fifteen medals at the Southeast Asian Games, and breaking six national records. He was the first Malaysian swimmer to compete in three different events at a single Olympic Games.
Serhiy Mykolaiovych Advena is a Ukrainian former swimmer, who is specialized in freestyle and butterfly swimming styles. He is a two-time Olympian, and a multiple-time Ukrainian record holder in both 100 and 200 m butterfly. He also helped out the Ukrainian team to upset their American rivals and claim the medley relay title (3:38.49) at the 2005 Summer Universiade in Izmir, Turkey.
Melissa Jane Corfe is a South African swimmer, who specialised in freestyle and backstroke events. She is a multiple-time South African champion and record holder for her respective events. Corfe represented her nation South Africa at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has won a total of five medals, including three golds in the women's freestyle, at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria. She also set two national records, as a member of the South African swimming team, in the freestyle and medley relays, at the 2008 FINA World Short Course Championships in Manchester, England.
The swimming competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were due to take place from 25 July to 6 August at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. The women's 10 km open-water marathon was due to be held on August 5, with the men's race due to happen 2 days later at the Odaiba Marine Park. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games have been postponed to 2021. However, their official name remains 2020 Summer Olympics with swimming events set for 24 July - 1 August 2021 and marathon swimming set for 4–5 August 2021.
The history of competitive swimwear has been dominated by concerns over public nudity in the first half of the 20th century and by efforts to reduce water drag in the second half. Those efforts initially lead swimmers to reduce the early sagging one-piece swimsuits down to briefs only. With the development of new materials that tightly fit the body and offered lower resistance to water than human skin, this trend was reversed to a complete body coverage from heels to neck and wrists. FINA banned full-body suits from competition effective from 1 January 2010, stating that it "wishes to recall the main and core principle is that swimming is a sport essentially based on the physical performance of the athlete".
Caeleb Remel Dressel is an American freestyle and butterfly swimmer who specializes in the sprint events. He currently represents the Cali Condors which is part of the International Swimming League. He won seven gold medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest and a record eight medals, including six gold, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju. Dressel is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and currently holds the world records in the 100 meter butterfly, 50 meter freestyle, and 100 meter individual medley.
