Awesome swim footage: Job Hall, Creative Director of 'TYR' quietly released this to 'Vimeo' 23-hours ago!

TYR World Champhionships from Job Hall on Vimeo.

Titled, TYR World Championships, It's very nice - fine editing too.

'TYR' Founder, Steve Furniss, featured in the 'Wall Street Journal'

I met Mr. Furniss and he is quite a gentleman. One of my high school teachers is part of his extended family.

Here is a short list of his favorite gear that Mr. Furniss uses while swimming. From the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Furniss wears a 4-inch nylon trainer swimsuit, similar to underwear briefs, which retails for $24. Unless he's testing prototypes, Mr. Furniss believes in paying for his equipment, which he buys at an employee rate. His TYR Racetech goggles retail for $11. The other equipment—the foam pull float, kickboard and plastic hand paddles—are communal at his pool.

A 34-use pass to his community pool costs $80. Monthly membership to the Olympic-size pool he uses on the weekends costs about $100.

His morning exercises, usually performed in pajamas, are free. "Last time I checked, my wife wasn't charging me rent," he says.

[Link]

I prefer the TYR Metalized Velocity goggles & a TYR silicone cap for days it is windy.

FIINA moves one year forward but swimsuits move one decade back!

Above are screen shots from TYR, Speedo and the Nike websites. Welcome to 2010, these are our swimsuit selections!

Looks like Nike is back in the swimsuit business! I guess Nike smelled blood in the water and has posted this revamped Nike Swim site in response to Speedo's epic FAIL at 2009 Worlds:

Nike Swim [Link]

I suspect Nike has a shot at becoming the number one suit brand since Speedo has apparently loss it's "street-cred" after Jaked and Arena knocked it off it's pedestal!

It took Speedo 40-years to place their brand on that pedestal too.

Welcome to 2009 - Technology in sports versus technology in swimming!

[UPDATED] Per Ted's suggestion regarding my choice of bicycles

Pictured above: Introducing the Nike LunarGlide+ :

LunarLite Foam
Nike first introduced LunarLite foam in the summer of 2008 in Beijing as the mid-sole cushioning system of the Nike LunaRacer and Nike Lunar Trainer running shoes and in the Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoe. Traditional cushioning systems only absorb energy upon impact while LunarLite foam has proven to provide superior cushioning and significant energy return.

When compared to swimming, that last sentence is the moral equal of alleged buoyancy in swimming. Energy return from a shoe makes your run easier plain and simple.

A "purist" from two centuries ago could argue that running barefoot is better for track & field since high-tech shoes make it easier for the "lesser athletes" to win.

Track & Field still adopted technology from rubber shoes to rubber tracks to draw interest to the sport and look how it grew.

Why should swimming be any different?

Here are some examples of other individual sports. Below are two bicycles, one competed in the tour de France in 1939, the other is a prototype:



Above and to the left is a bicycle ridden in the 1939 Tour de France called the Super Champion, a technological achievement due to the fact it had a derailleur so as to allow the rider to ride through the hills more effectively by choosing his gearing.

The 2009 NUIIA, designed by Bradford Wangh, is all about efficiency and reduced weight. The Super Champion on the left probably weighed as much as 35-pounds versus the potential 9-pound NUIIA on the right.

This efficiency again makes the NUIIA The bicycle to the right is Lance Armstrong's time trial bike. It is made of composite materials, aerodynamic angles and "down-bars" for better body position. It is my belief that Lance's bike is the moral equal to alleged buoyancy in swimming due to it's reduced weight and more efficient drive train.The art of peddling becomes easier.

Cycling moved into the future and the Tour de France is an epic battle between men and not machines. Yes, there are discussions regarding equipment but it is Eddy Merckx, Lance Armstrong, and Miguel Indurain who are discussed not their equipment.

The FS range of rackets uses 7000 series aluminium, a graphite reinforced throat. They are 'honker' big when compared to the vintage model.

Can you say Serena Williams? Do you know what equipment she uses? I don't and I am not asking what racket she uses when she plays, are you?

With her strength, coordination and a racket in her hand like that, she is both beauty and the beast and her games rock!

The lighter frame and enlarged area allows Serena to drill that ball with all her strength, Hence, a player of today is not a stylist but rather an athlete.

The weight reduction and larger contact area is once again the moral equal to alleged buoyancy in swimming.


Above is the TYR Titan made with the same style of fabric that the blueseventy and RocketScience suits are made from. It was banned under very mysterious circumstances. I have to leave it at that.

So unlike running, cycling, and swimming. Swimming under FINA is destined to embrace an "Amish existence" in regards to growth, technology and fun!

That must change!

Incoming FINA President rumored to favort a return to briefs!

From USA Today: Incoming FINA President rumored to favor briefs over speedsuits:

But FINA doesn't appear ready to budge.

"A swimsuit is not a device. A swimsuit is equipment," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told The AP. "They can propose whatever they want, we are in a democratic world, but a device is clearly defined in the rules."

But with the rules changing from month to month, manufacturers have been left guessing.

"I still don't know what rules to use starting in September. If the rules change for January, we need four months of time for redesigns," Arena's Musciacchio said.

Making matters more complicated is that Julio Maglione of Uruguay will take over from Mustapha Larfaoui as FINA's president on Friday.

Maglione is rumored to favor a return to briefs.

"I'm hope it's more than a rumor," Zimmer said. "The new president is going to have to clean house. That's really the only way that this can happen. And I don't just say that for us. We know that Arena is very upset, Speedo has got to be really upset about what's happening, just because we've all invested a lot of money.

[Link]

In my opinion, it's not going to happen for if FINA does not approve speedsuits, the suit companies will find someone, or create a sports governing body that will.

Adrian Proszenko of the 'Sydney Morning Herald' and Olympian Craig Stevens review the Arena X-Glide!

[Former Image Deleted]

I blacked out several portions of the article so that I don't violate fair use copyright laws. I could not find the original article online to link to so I am providing a digital copy. If you click on the image, it will enlarge.

When an online version becomes available, I will take the copy down and simply link to it.

Two readers graciously took the time to find the article for me which was very kind.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

He has agreed to be the guinea pig in The Sun-Herald's experiment. The recently retired freestyler slipped into the latest Arena one-piece, which features a titanium alloy insert in the fabric. If they were available in shops they'd retail for about $1000.

Before diving into the pool of the Sans Souci Leisure Centre, where he is now a head coach, Stevens said he would be happy to post a 50-metre time of about 27 seconds. He was stunned to touch the wall in 25.61s. After a short break, to make sure, he repeated the test in the suit, posting a 25.72.

"To go 25s and then back up and go a second one just a 10th of a second slower, very impressed,'' Stevens said.

[...]

Then it was time for step two of the experiment. After recovering from these exertions, Stevens stripped down to his Speedos and repeated the test. The discrepancy was staggering the times without the suit were about 2.6 seconds slower, while the glide result was more than a metre shorter. Superman had become Clark Kent again.

[Link]

What shocked me was the declaration that the Speedo LZR is obsolete and that the Arena X-Glide, Jaked and blueseventy were practically endorsed by the Sydney Morning Herald as being the best out there.

It's all becoming so clear why TYR is pursuing legal action in French court against FINA for the right to match or better these aforementioned suits.

Chloe Sutton is going to Rome, baby!

Congratulations to Chloe Sutton who placed second yesterday in the 400-free at USA Nationals; (I know I am a loser for being a day late). What makes this so cool is that she is a Mission Viejo Nadadore and she wears TYR.

She was just 0.43 off the winning time.

To see real time results of the US Nationals here is the link tot he Omega site: [Link]

mark Savage took the photos above of Chloe Sutton at the TYR Swim Meet of Champions held last month. Here is a link to one of his sites: [Link]

TYR Suits: Tracer Rise, Tracer Light and a suit in development were approved!

I called TYR and the cryptic names for the TYR suits listed on the FINA aproved suit list were indeed the Tracer Rise, The Tracer Light and a suit that is in development. I asked about this suit and evidently it's "top secret."

Bousquet gracious in victory speaks about the strategy he used be defeat Michael Phelps in the 100-meter free!

Michael Phelps is quoted as well and not only does Bousquet talk about his admiration for Phelps, he discuses his point of view about the Jaked possibly being banned tomorrow by FINA. From APF:

"...I don't like swimming 100s in season," Bousquet said. "The fact he was in the race and in the lane next to me helped me get my head into it and get motivated.

"I would like to get him down to the 50. I don't want to stay around too long in the 100. With the years coming, I don't think I will beat him too many more times in the 100."

Bousquet cited Phelps's stroke switches as a reason to feel he will not long be able to beat the American.

"To go 49.0 and change strokes a couple of times during the race, that's very impressive," Bousquet said. ..."

[Link]

As for our suits: My prediction for tomorrow is bleak. I suspect the Jaked and the blueseventy will be banned. TYR may be bloodied too.

Possible scenarios: TYR will be extraordinarily upset if the Tracer Rise and/or the Titan are banned. If they are, I am sure TYR will be quite polite and gracious in public; (because they are a classy company), but privately they will escalate the lawsuit against USA Swimming and Speedo and insist upon keeping their trial date with no intention of settling out of court.

The trial date is slated to start in the Spring of 2010 which will be lousy timing for Speedo and USA Swimming since it could bleed into 2012. (the Microsoft anti-trust trial took 2-years.)

I suspect other suit companies if unable to design a winning suit or forced to use a Speedo patent will jump on board that TYR lawsuit making it a class action suit.

Does FINA, USA Swimming, or Australian Swimming want that?

So, does FINA go partisan, "old school suits only" or "split the baby."

Your guess is more educated and better than mine!

Amanda Wier takes all her meets seriously! - Sets meet record in the 100-meter free in Charlotte!

That pose and that face is what a sublime work ethic will give you. From Swimming World Magazine: "...Swim Atlanta's Amanda Weir emerged from a field of Olympians with a meet-record time of 54.06 in the womens sprint event. Weir's time whacked more than a second from her meet mark of 55.11 set in 2006. .."

[Link]

I was going to post a photo of Linda Hamilton from Terminator II and ask who would win in a fight but the juxtaposition was horribly ridiculous. Amanda Weir actually has a skin tone, hydrated musculature, and stands about about a foot taller. Hamilton looked anemic and practically feeble as a result of weight loss rather than exercise.

TYR has a new speedsuit for triathletes! - Note the marketing angle!

Press Release: TYR Introduces Sayonara™ - First Triathlon Swimskin with Patented Yamamoto Technology

Funny how the marketing strategies used to get a swimmer to separate themselves from their money are far different than the tactics used to separate a triathlete from theirs.

Since Triathletes literally demand warmth on those ultra-looooooong, 400-yard, open water swims, TYR delivers the goods with a Yamamoto Neoprene product and a detailed explanation as to why the athlete will stay warm.

Then, to really resonate this idea for those who don't want to read how it works, they show a triathlete emerging from a lake of lava and lightening looking ready to beat you up with his bike!

Swimmers, are the other hand, are suckers for whoever posted the last WR! The more WRs a suit company has, we drop everything and buy!

Don't believe me? Ask yourself this: is the LZR on anybody's radar anymore?

Speedsuits: An informal FINA speedsuit meeting just happened!

I was thrilled to get a call from Lausanne, Switzerland just an hour ago from a individual who just attended the FINA swimsuit manufacturers meeting. This is a pre-meeting the manufacturers decided to have so as to be on the same page before meeting with the FINA officials tomorrow. A final announcement about the fate of speedsuits will be rendered in Dubai next month.

Here is are some snippets from a TVNZ article about the meeting that will take place tomorrow:

The manufacturers have never had it so good and they will not want any bans imposed.

Strong, persuasive argument is expected from all sides and FINA will need to be tough and unrelenting in its pursuit of the right answer. About 20 manufacturers will be present in Lausanne along with a number of coaches, athlete representatives and the FINA technical committee.

FINA will announce its decisions at a meeting in Dubai early next month so that the new laws will be introduced before the world championships in Rome in August. It would be a huge surprise if a ban on multiple suits is not imposed, along with strict guidelines on the area of the body which can be covered, but whether FINA is prepared to go much further than that is the major question.

[Link]

I was told that all the suit manufacturers are on the same page in that they want a de facto buoyancy test, suit thickness guidelines, a rule to ban multiple suits and/or duct tape "mods" and most importantly clear cut rules so that suit innovation can take place without the fear of a nebulous interpretation wiping out bundles of money in R&D expenses at the last minute.

I was surprised to hear that they are all getting along and that each company is going to make it clear that they will support FINA and will promote swim meets and open water events in the future.

Apparently Speedo is being the most vocal of the bunch and Jason Rance, the "mad scientist" who runs Speedo R&D, was interviewed by The Telegraph and made himself heard:

But Jason Rance, who headed the Speedo research and development team that produced the all-conquering suit with the aid of NASA scientists, has denied that it offers any extra buoyancy and is willing to prove it in a laboratory.

"What I can be clear on is that Speedo has always tested for buoyancy because we don't believe it's fair to have a suit that basically allows you to float on the water," he said.

"We would welcome an independent buoyancy test to make sure that our suit is not buoyant because I think that is something that people have jumped on."

[Link]

I asked about the TYR people and the blueseventy people since I really don't care about the Speedo people and they repeated that confidence is very high, each manufacturer wants swimming to do very well and all they just want are clear rules so they can support their swimmers and FINA swim events in the future.

I want to thank the person who called me, it was quite thrilling to get a call from the other side of the Atlantic especially about a subject I am very invested in.

'TYR' Swimmers have made a difinitive statement lately - 'TYR' is having a 'Tracer' equipment give-a-away drawing too!

TYR Swimmer, Mary DeScenza, has produced some totally inspired swims: DeScenza won the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke at the US Grand Prix in Columbia, Missouri . She set a meet record there in the 100 back and I believe her "worst finish"; (that is called sarcasm), was a second place to Katie Hoff in the 200 IM.

Then there was Eric Shanteau, after battling cancer just 6-months ago, was barely edged out by Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM LCM placing second in a time of 2:00.88 to Lochte's 2:00.59 but Shanteau then went on to win the 200 breast in a 2:13.74.

There was Amanda Weir who won the 100 free swimming in a time of 55.13 at the same meet and of course there was Peter Marshall in Europe and many other meet records and WRs in Tracer equipment as well.

[Link]

So, with all this in mind, TYR is having a drawing where you can win a Tracer Light speedsuit, Tracer goggles, and TYR cap. I signed up and you can to right here:

[Link]

Even if you don't win, TYR will send you a 20%-off coupon just for signing up.

I wrote 'TYR' a letter and asked how they were doing?

When Nike exited the swimsuit market I made a personal decision to avoid Speedo. I was afraid that Speedo's "marriage" with USA Swimming would drive other suit makers out of the market. I have even blogged about these feelings; hence, I wrote TYR a letter asking how they were doing and though I am not allowed to publish verbatim the contents of the letter, I do have permission to tell you that the TYR R&D techs are back in the lab trying to build even better suits for 2012.

TYR is having a factory sale - Big discounts in Huntington Beach next eekend!

For those who live in Southern California, what a great opportunity to load up on goggles and suits for the fall and winter. I myself will be picking up a bunch of TYR Fusion IIs and some Metalized Velocity goggles. (I get no compensation, discount or reward for posting this.)

Brendan Hansen is in the "lab" and he is wearing every manufacturers' suit!

Look at all that water in Brendan Hansen's hands. It looks just like cracked ice.

Here is Lisa Dillman from the L.A. Times and this article is Gold! So much info about Santa Clara but I m going to focus on this revealing fact: Nike has given Brendan Hansen permission to experiment with any suit he wants. At Santa Clara he wore a Lzr, his next race a TYR.

Snippets from the L.A. Times as to why: "... So Hansen gave Speedo a test run in the final of the 200 breaststroke, which he won in 2 minutes 10.62 seconds. Peirsol did his experimenting under quieter circumstances. "I'm not going to lie to you, I did wear something this morning," Peirsol said. ..."

"... Hansen said Sunday he plans to also test TYR's high-tech offering. Peirsol said he would consider it too. ..."

"We want to exhaust every possible option that we have," Hansen said. "If I get on the blocks and if I swim against somebody with a TYR suit, I know I've worn that, and I know what that feels like. I don't want there to be any guesswork at all about what my competitors are wearing. ..."

". . . I'm really pleased with the Nike suit I wore in the 100, so that's up there. . . . That one feels most comfortable. The one I wore tonight worked really good as well. I don't want you to think that my time had anything to do with the suit that I'm wearing."

"... Hansen wants the suit issue off the table in the next two to three weeks. "I'll have to sit down and write down on a piece of paper which one I like better, which one is more comfortable," he said. "I don't want to be telling you guys 'I don't know what I'm wearing' two days before the trials...." [Link]

LA TIMES: 'TYR' sues 'Speedo' and 'USA Swimming', Coach Mark Schubert and Erik Vendt

UPDATE: Here is the legal brief that TYR filed: [Link]

Thank you so much to the reader who sent it!

I am going to try and get the brief and post it. I am no lawyer but I think TYR has a case. A huge one and USA Swimming will be forced to capitulate or face the consequences of their "for profit" ventures presented to the public at large. Most notably that USA Swimming is not allowed to profit from the subject of their non-profit status and yet they are doing just that.

As for Mark Shubert who is coach of the USA Team - This snippet to me illustrates an ethically severe conflict of interest on Shubert's part if this allegation is true. Especially note the part in bold. Here is a snippet: "... before the LZR debuted, the court papers said. His enthusiasm extended to what was called a mandatory team meeting at the Short Course World Championships in Manchester, England in April, telling swimmers that they would "have a two percent advantage if they wore the Speedo LZR technology," according to the lawsuit.

"Schubert also arranged to have a fitting session during the mandatory team meeting where athletes were instructed on how to fit the Speedo LZR suit and position the LZR suit to the body," the complaint said. "TYR-sponsored athletes in attendance expressed discomfort at Schubert's unsolicited comments."

Speedo has long been linked to USA Swimming, in a commercial sense, and in court papers TYR maintains that Schubert "is a paid spokesman for Speedo. ..."

( Read as a PAID spokesperson for Speedo being PAID to tell the American team in Manchester, England during a mandatory meeting that the product he is being PAID to represent is 2% better than any other suit and that they should wear it.)

As for USA Swimming: Here are three reasons why they may be acting in economic interests rather than in the interests of producing good swimmers:

1) Wasserman Media Group "Marketing deal"
2) Speedo endorsement deal - Speedo Tip of the Week
3) Spanking Floswimming for actually promoting swimming.

As for Erik Vendt: If you promise to wear a suit in exchange for a salary; you wear it. Embarrassing your sponsor not only tarnishes their name, but makes you a potentially fatal brand investment down the line. Also, there is that breech of contract thingy!

Here is a link to Lisa Dillman's article at the L.A. Times: [Link]

Photo above came from non-governmental body, non-profit, USA Swimming.org

Mark Warkentin finishing seventh at the FINA 10k Open Water World Championship

Mark Warkentin, pictured above finishing seventh today at the FINA 10k Open Water World Championship in Savilla, Spain has earned the right to represent the USA in the first ever open water Olympic event.

I was curious as to what suit Mark Warkentin was wearing so I emailed TYR, the suit is wearing is called the Tracer Light Open Water, a suit designed for distance swimming of this nature. The suit has what TYR calls "Energy Cell" pockets to store nutrition/gel packets and customized compression panels. I will try and get pictures of it. Getting food at the aid stations is quite an art and takes up time. The pockets sound like a good idea.

I was told that he was wearing the tights.

Erica Rose swims 12-and-a-half miles a day!

But on slow day it is just 10-miles; but then there are the weights, the cycling, and the stretching that needs to be done. Now, imagine doing all of this while earning a BA in Psychology. Is there a swimmer out there that is more industrious? If you are a masters swimmer, her warm-down is your workout!

Erica wears TYR and has three open water national titles in the 25k, four national titles in the 10k, and four national titles in the 5k. On the international level her open water stats are just as sublime with gold medal swims at the Pan American Games, a gold medal swim at the Pan Pacific Championships and a gold medal swim at the World Championships in 1998.

Other accomplishments:

• The longest distance Erica has ever swum at one time is 88 kilometers (about 55 miles!)

• The longest amount of time Erica has ever swum at once is 10 hours, 5 minutes!

• Erica trains nearly 6 hours per day in order to be able to do these types of races!

Here is a link to her website. [Link]

Is Micha Burden wearing a prototype TYR speed suit?

Gosh, I almost feel like a car blog now trying to get preview shots of the new and improved model. Micha Burden is wearing be the new speed suit that TYR has suggested in their teaser promo? YES!

TYR press release:

On the ladies’ side of the U.S. Olympic Trials for open water swimming, 20 swimmers battled it out for just two spots.

With race conditions similar to those in Beijing, the four Olympic hopefuls broke away from the pack early on. Two of these swimmers being part of the TYR sponsored Mission Viejo Nadadores. With just 500 meters to go, Micha Burden, of TYR sponsored Mission Viejo Nadadores broke away from the competitors with her powerful, untouchable kick. Micha won the event in 2:00:47.48 and Mission Viejo Nadador Chloe Sutton took third, both wearing our Tracer Light Olympic swimsuit technology designed specifically for open water swimmers.

Erica Rose placed among the ten finishers in the 10K race. She is invited to represent the United States at the 2008 World Championship in Seville as the fastest American in the 25K.

Way to go Mission Viejo Nadadores and Erica Rose!!

Photo found here at TYR.com: [Link]