Are Technology & Olympics a Sour Mix?

With the Olympics in full swing most media attention is drawn to the medal race of Michael Phelps and the powerhouse American swim team. Among all the glory and the smashing of world records, justifications have been made over the seemingly disproportionate number of records set verses previous Olympics.

To some, it is obvious that improved training, better health, and new technology has made for better athletes, but others point to technology as a drain on the purity of the sport.

The latest fervor in swimming is the development of the LZR Racer which molds your body into a better stance and reduces drag. These  improvements bring in to question the legitimacy of technologies role in modern sports. Should we go back to loincloths and dirt tracks or do you welcome technological improvements?

The New York Times writes:

Fauquet has called for more debate about the use of Speedo’s LZR Racer, the latest advance in the full-body suit craze popularized in the last eight years. The Racer has been worn in the setting of about four dozen world records since its introduction in February. The corsetlike suit is made by ultrasonic welding instead of stitching, can require a half-hour to put on and shoehorns the body into a more streamlined position.

Critics suspect that the suit aids buoyancy in the water, in violation of performance-enhancing rules set by the international swimming federation, known as FINA. Alberto Castagnetti, the Italian national swim coach whose team wears a rival brand, has equated the Racer with “technological doping.” Some say the suit can boost performance as much as 2 percent; that can mean the difference between a gold medalist and an also-ran.

[New York Times: As Swimming Records Fall, Technology Muddies the Water]