AN OLYMPIC PROBLEM

When I first saw the new LZR Racer, I thought for a moment it was the G-suit for pilots in the U-2 program, where they fly above 70,000 feet. Then I noticed the name, LZR Racer. That sounded like a new automotive addition to the NASCAR fold. But the full name gave it all away. Speedo's full body LZR Racer swim suit, holder of more than a dozen swimming World Records.

The Olympic problem? The LZR Racer may not be available to all swimmers in the Beijing Olympics this summer. For the latest in the world of swimming I checked in with John Naber winner of 4 Golds and 1 Silver swimming medal in the Montreal Games in 1976.

John said the problem for the 2008 Olympics is that, right now, only Speedo has created this new full body suit where you feel you are riding higher on the water. Many think it is the fastest swimming suit ever created.

This is the key. When you wear the LZR Racer you FEEL FAST, and at the World and Olympic level, swimming is as much a mind game as an athletic game. If you feel fast when you are on the starting blocks, then you'll swim fast.

The LZR Racer will in fact be available from Speedo, free for all Olympians. And there in, lies the problem. Many world class swimmers are under contract to other swim wear companies, such as Nike or Arena. Thus they would have to break their contract to compete in a Speedo. The one shinning light is that all of the other swim wear companies are furiously working to create their answer to Speedo's LZR Racer. If they do, then, no problem. If they don't, will those swimmers signed by Speedo have a large advantage at the Games?

Believe me, when the other swimmers are on the starting blocks and they look around and see their competitors in Speedo's LZR Racer, they'll feel it's not a level swimming pool. Then the ultimate question, is that the true Olympic spirit?

John Naber then presented one other side to this equation. When he swam in Montreal in 1976, Speedo (his company) had just come out with a new swim suit made from lycra. But John swam in his old suit made from nylon. His reasoning? He didn't want anyone to believe that it was his swim suit that won his medals. Naber again emphasized the importance of your mind set when you are on the starting blocks in the finals of the Olympic Games.

At that moment he was always reminded of the comic Steve Martin who once said, “Before I go out on stage, I always put a piece of baloney in my shoes. It makes me feel funny."