The LA Times has a great overview of the suits we can expect to see in London.
As swimmers go for the gold at the London Olympics, swimwear companies are ready to sell the latest Olympic-themed swimsuits back home.
Recreational and competitive swimmers alike can benefit from the same technologies swimsuit manufacturers are using to help the likes of Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin (all sporting Speedos), and Matt Grevers, Nick Thoman, Ricky Berens, Ariana Kukors and Amanda Weir (all in Tyr).
The controversial suits of the 2008 Olympics, which prompted accusations of “technological doping,” are no longer allowed. Those suits led to record-breaking results but also resulted in new regulations on what is allowed in competitive swimwear from FINA, the international governing body of aquatic sports.
It was Speedo’s 2008 LZR Racer series — a full-length bodysuit developed in conjunction with NASA that featured polyurethane panels and layered textiles to trap air for buoyancy — and the development of high-tech suits by other major brands, including Arena, Jaked and BlueSeventy, that prompted FINA to issue rules banning polyurethane and rubber and requiring that swimsuits must be made from knit or woven materials.