Wearing the right suit could mean the difference between first and second place to a competitive swimmer. So how did Speedo make sure its latest Fastskin range – Fastskin LZR Pure Intent and Fastskin LZR Pure Valor – ticked all the boxes?
The Speedo and Pentland Brands innovation teams travelled the globe to find out the preferences of athletes, at all levels, in the creation of Speedo’s newest suits. The swimmers were involved at all stages of the development process, advising the brand what made them feel lightweight, streamlined and – most of all – fast.
Ariarne Titmus (AUS) – “The compression is there and I feel faster and higher in the water, which is good. The new Fastskin makes you stand out and it will be easier to change out of too. It’s awesome, I feel like a little mermaid swimming in the water!”
From world-famous Olympic names like Mack Horton, Duncan Scott and Ariarne Titmus and Paralympians like Ollie Hynd and Sophie Pascoe, to hundreds of clubs, university and county-level swimmers and coaches, the feedback process was extensive. Everything was based on the insight that competitive swimmers feel all the intricacies of their racing suits, which has a crucial impact on their performance.
Caeleb Dressel (USA) – “The Speedo LZR Pure Intent feels really good. It’s springy and it’s connected. The colours look great and I feel fabulous. You’ve got to look good to swim good, so I’m all about it. It’s my own little super suit!”
Ben Hardman, Head of Innovation at Pentland Brands, said: “Elite swimmers are tuned into their suit like a formula one driver is to their car; they are hyper-sensitive and can feel the effect of any small tweaks that are made. Getting their feedback allows us to understand how our design and engineering decisions affect a swimmer both before and during a swim and from that we can improve the suit.
“We have an unparalleled network of athletes at the highest level, which we can tap into to help us develop the best product for all levels of competitive swim.”
Jonathan Higham, Speedo Brand Manager, said: “the athletes involved really pushed things forwards to ensure we can confidently launch our best Fastskin range to date. Testing in our focus markets has also brought our key distributors on the development journey which has meant they’re fully on-board with the new products and able to credibly sell-in to their customers.”
Uniquely, Speedo has involved its athletes in the development process of its performance ranges for twenty years, resulting in a track-record for creating the best suits for those with a passion for the pool.
The new suits are available for pre-order now here.
