Courtesy of Speedo, a SwimSwam partner.
- The all-female team comprises a variety of skill-sets and worked together with Team Speedo athletes to produce Speedo’s elite swimsuits
- The refreshed Fastskin suits feature fabric coating engineered from Lamoral ® Space Tech, inspired by material used in space exploration.
- A bold new update to the world’s fastest swimsuits, underlining Fastskin’s long-standing reputation as ‘the choice of champions’
(London: March 2024): In anticipation of the exciting summer of sport ahead, Speedo is shining a light on the global R&D team behind the Fastskin® LZR® Intent and LZR Valor, the world’s fastest swimsuits. Both suits have entered a new dimension, having been engineered from Lamoral®️ Space Tech. Utilising Lamoral’s world-leading expertise, the suits feature improved hydrophobic qualities, allowing athletes to perform at peak performance on race day. To produce the LZR Intent 2.0 and LZR Valor 2.0 the Speedo Aqualab team worked closely with Lamoral, whose original coatings were developed for use on satellites.
Speedo’s global R&D facility, Aqualab, is comprised of an all-female team of experts specialising in textile technology garment engineering, sports science, computational fluid dynamics, testing protocols and design. To produce the suits of choice for many of the world’s leading swimmers, the Aqualab team has once again taken inspiration from space travel following on from 2008’s LZR Racer, which saw NASA feed into the design of the suit that changed the course of swimming history.
Aqualab, headquartered in the UK and spearheaded by Coora Lavezzo, Speedo’s Head of Innovation, boasts an all-female team. This strategic choice holds numerous advantages, especially in the realm of designing competitive swimsuits, particularly for Speedo’s female athletes. Coora Lavezzo commented, “We work closely with our athletes to ensure technology is optimizing performance at every level. Swimming in particular presents differences in the requirements of men and women, and we take into account a multitude of factors beyond coverage. For example, the centre of buoyancy, which differs between men and women. The nature of our team allows for a perspective that has potentially not been available in the past and we’re delighted to be working with the world’s most exciting talent in further progressing the sport via the best available technology.”
Speedo’s close working relationship with superstar talent throughout the R&D process plays a siginifacant role in perfecting Fastskin as the world’s fast swimsuit. The Aqualab team worked alongside the sport’s leading female athletes to produce a suit that performs at their highest level.
Australian Champion, Emma McKeon said “The Speedo LZR Intent 2.0 is very flexible and is firm in the areas that need most support. Movement feels limitless and the water just glides off. This is the best racing suit in the world, and feels faster than ever. I can’t wait to try it in competition.”
Regan Smith (USA) added – “Mobility is so important when it comes to a suit and Speedo’s LZR Valor 2.0 provides amazing flexibility, as well as all the stability and support I need when I am racing. Learning more about the development of the suit and the materials connection with space-satelites has been inspiring”
The original Fastskin LZR Pure Intent and Fastskin LZR Valor swimsuits were introduced in 2019, and are the trusted choice of champions swimmers including Caeleb Dressel, Emma McKeon and Adam Peaty. Since then, 52% of all individual swimming world records have been broken by athletes wearing the suits, including 75% of world records set in 2023. Speedo Fastskin technology also thrived on the highest level at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, with 61% of all gold medals and 49% of all medals won in Speedo.
*Team Speedo Athletes L-R: Kaylee McKeown (AUS), Elijah Winnington (AUS), Emma McKeon (AUS), Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS), Ariarne Titmus (AUS), Caeleb Dressel (USA), Abbey Weitzeil (USA), Ryan Murphy (USA), Regan Smith (USA), Adam Peaty (GBR), Maggie Mac Neil (CAN), Tom Dean (GBR), Kylie Masse (CAN), Matt Richards (GBR), Tatjana Schoenmaker (SA), Duncan Scott (GBR) & Benedetta Pilato (ITA).
ABOUT SPEEDO
The world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, creating revolutionary new technologies, designs, and innovations, and supports swimming from grassroots through to the elite level. In the 1920s, Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo® redefined swimwear again with Fastskin® LZR RACER® – the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created. 2011 saw Speedo unveil another world first with the Fastskin Racing System – a cap, goggle, and suit designed to work together as one. Speedo® is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V and distributed in over 170 countries around the world. To find out more visit: www.speedo.com.
