What Do the Male Olympic Swimmers Wear?

Olympic swimmers wear a swimsuit, swim cap and goggles while completing. The organization responsible for dictating the official rules and regulations of all aquatic sports, including wardrobe, is FINA, the Federation Internationale de Natation. FINA issued new regulations on swimwear on January 1, 2010, in response to the controversy surrounding the polyurethane and neoprene full-body suits worn by swimmers in the Beijing Summer Olympic Games in 2008.

  1. Controversy

    • FINA introduced the new regulations regarding swimwear because of the number of world records broken by swimmers in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The nearly 200 new world records set were attributed to the full-body suits the swimmers wore, which reduced the athletes' fatigue and increased their buoyancy and speed. These high-performance suits, many feel, gave the swimmers an unfair advantage over other athletes who wore suits made from other fabrics, according to ABC News report Kristina Wong.

    Swimsuit

    • According to the new regulations put forth on January 1, 2010, male Olympic swimmers' swimsuits are required to be one piece, and are not permitted to extend higher than the navel or lower than the knee. The suit must be created from a textile fabric -- that is, a fabric created from a natural or synthetic material and assembled through traditional methods such as weaving, knitting or braiding, and may not add unnatural shape to the wearer, such as scales or a fin. A maximum thickness of 0.8 mm is permitted, with no zippers or other fastening materials.

    Swim Cap

    • The swim cap should be a form-fitting cap that is soft and follows the shape of the head. No hard helmets are permitted. It may not possess any additional shaping, such as a fin, or offer other possible speed advantage. The cap should be a separate piece and not attach to goggles or resemble a hood or mask.

    Goggles

    • Goggles should be a separate item and not attach to the swim cap in any way, or be included in the swim cap to create a mask effect. All goggles are required to comply with current safety standards put forth for eyewear.