Speedo unveils Fastskin swimsuits which will play key role at Paris 2024 Olympics
The Aussie swim team already have their sights set on a record campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and look set to be aided by the newest innovation in swimming which could change the game.
The secret weapon that iconic swimwear maker Speedo thinks will propel Australia’s champion swimmers to unprecedented heights at next year’s Paris Olympics has been unveiled worldwide.
And if the early signs from the sleek prototype are anything to go by, the already unsinkable Dolphins could turn out to be the greatest swim team Australia has ever produced.
The Dolphins won a record nine gold medals in the pool at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but are on track to surpass that total after bagging 13 golds at this year’s world championships in Fukuoka.
Three-quarters of the world records that were set in 2023 were by swimmers wearing Speedo Fastskin swimsuits but the latest upgraded range, using cutting edge space travel technology that was originally designed for satellites, has some competitors believing they will go even faster when the Olympics take place in Paris in just over eight months.
“The suit feels faster than ever,” Emma McKeon said. “I can’t wait to try it in competition.”
McKeon won a staggering seven medals in the Japanese capital, including four gold, to surpass Ian Thorpe as Australia’s greatest Olympian, but will be surrounded by plenty of golden teammates in France.
The unstoppable Kaylee McKeown, recently named female swimmer of the year, set world records over 50m, 100m and 200m in 2023 as well as winning the backstroke treble in Fukuoka.
Teenage sensation Mollie O’Callaghan won five gold medals at the world titles, breaking the oldest world record in women’s swimming – over 200m freestyle.
O’Callaghan’s training partner Ariarne Titmus, who lit up the Tokyo Olympics with her spine-tingling victory over American superstar Katie Ledecky, regained her 400m free world record while the Dolphins’ men’s team is also rebuilding.
Breaststroker Zac Stubblety-Cook was the only Australian male to win gold in Tokyo but a new wave of stars, including Sam Short, Flynn Southam and Kai Taylor, have added new depth to the older brigade.
“Speedo’s Fastskin is known for being the best in the world and this suit is no different,” Stubblety-Cook said. “The design is amazing, and I feel that added power when I’m in the water. I can’t wait to show what I can do wearing it!”
While not all the Dolphins share the same swimsuit sponsors, the team’s Speedo-backed swimmers will start racing in their new suits in the major lead up races to the Olympics, including state championship and the trials, before a special bespoke green and gold Australian design is released just for Paris.
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