The swimmers who will fight for gold at the Paris Olympics will bet on state-of-the-art swimsuits that will be their weapons in the pool. Innovation in suits can make the difference in a sport where medals are often decided by millimeters.

Speedo, the swimwear brand par excellence has introduced the Fastskin LZR Racer version, powered by space travel-inspired technology and considered the most water-repellent suit in its history.

Emma Mckeon, Caeleb Dressel or Adam Peaty will wear this suit, which provides a feeling of weightlessness and may shave a few hundredths of a second off their times. “It’s my own Speedo rocket suit”, said Dressel, winner of five gold medals in Tokyo about the previous suit and about this new one he adds that “I’m sure it’s going to help me”. McKeon, winner of four golds in Tokyo also described the new suit as “faster than ever, the water glides.”

The suits use a coating technology originally used to protect satellites. “The most important factor in swimming, being a water sport, is drag, which is by far the main factor that detracts from speed. So anything that modifies the drag forces is worth its weight in gold,” Kevin Netto, an exercise science specialist at the Curtin School of Allied Health in Perth, told AFP.