Sports Clothing – New Technology Advancement
Written by: Dan Ben Zvi
Why would we watch sports if not to see the basketball player fly sky high on his way to rock the rim? Or the swimmer cutting through water like knife through butter? Audiences want to see improved performance and athletes want to improve their performance. Improvements often require the implementation of new technologies. However, when technology lead to unfair competition its use become limited.
In swimming – Speedo was on the cutting edge of the swimsuit wars with its revolutionary LZR Racer, which was developed with help from NASA's wind tunnel testing facilities and became the go-to attire heading into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The suit’s fabric and construction helped swimmers stay higher in the water and minimize resistance – essentially mimicking the effect of a dolphin gliding through the ocean.
In the 17 months since the LZR Racer hit the market and spawned a host of imitators, more than 130 world records have fallen. In the Olympic individual events, only four world records remain from the pre-2008, pre-polyurethane era: the men's 400- and 1,500- meter freestyles, and the women's 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly.
Michael Phelps was wearing the LZR when he won a record eight gold medals in china, famously capturing a $1 million bonus from speedo, but also leading to the governing body FINA banning the suit in 2010.
In basketball – For the first time in its 64-years history, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has banned a new line of shoes based on the league's rule against an "unfair competitive advantage" that increases a player's vertical leap.
Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) advertised its Concept 1 shoe, released in March 2010, as using "proprietary Load 'N Launch Technology to accomplish something never before achieved in the athletic footwear industry: a product that makes you jump higher instantly". The ban implied that the shoes were unfair performance enhancing weapons.
However, for every new technology banned there are many more that become standard. It remains unclear as to what distinguishes legal from illegal technologies, or what the inherent moral concern is with new technological advancements in sport.
