Many people thought it was strange that swimmers competing at the 2009 Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championship meet in Rome set 43 world records. That’s right, 43 world records, almost all of which still stand today. The likely culprit, everyone knew, was the new high-tech swim suits designed to reduce drag, improve buoyancy, and compress muscles. So powerful was the suspicion that the super suits were behind the super swims that the suits were banned in 2010. Now comes a study from researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, all but proving that the suits made all the difference in the world records. A Northwestern news release reports that researchers analyzed available race data from 1990 to 2010 and compared improvements in swimming to improvements in track and field, a similar sport. The researchers also factored in improvements in training science, changes in rules and regulations, gender differences, anaerobic versus aerobic events, unique talent and membership data. What did they find? “Our data strongly indicate that it was more than just hard work that allowed athletes to set the unprecedented 43 world records during the 2009 world championships,†said Lanty O’Connor, first author of the study, published in the December 2011 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. “The swimsuits played a significant role.â€Â
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