Continuing to lead on innovation in swimming, Speedo launches the world’s premier tech suit designed for backstrokers today.
The LZR Pure Intent Backstroke Edition is FINA-approved and has been optimised for the stroke. It was designed by the renowned Aqualab team in collaboration with Team Speedo’s four-time Olympic Gold medallist and reigning 200m backstroke world champion Ryan Murphy.
Speaking about the launch, Murphy said: “I’m really excited to be able to launch the LZR Pure Intent Backstroke Edition. We’ve spent a long time making sure this suit is perfect and I have worked very closely with everybody in the Aqualab team to help get us to this stage.
“In every sport I see specific equipment for specific positions and that’s an opportunity that swimming has to explore. Each stroke in this sport is very different and the technical aspects for each is very different. The most important part in any stroke is body positioning and I think this suit helps me get into a really efficient body position. In backstroke, when you get tired your legs start to drop and this suit helps them to stay on the surface.”
Working in tandem across the launch of Speedo’s LZR Pure Intent and LZR Pure Valor suits, as well as on this project, Speedo has been able to combine the knowledge of the Aqualab team – which consists of experts in textile technology, garment engineering, sport science, computational fluid dynamics, testing protocol and design – with the expert feedback of Murphy to produce a suit which matches the exacting standards of one of the world’s best backstrokers.
Driven by direct insights from Murphy, the suit features new band technology and will see the power bands, traditionally on the rear of the suit, switched to the front to support powerful leg kicks, promotes a streamlined body position and drives the swimmer’s hips up – helping to reduce fatigue at the end of a race.
The Backstroke Edition suit will also feature the same triple fabric construction as the original LZR Pure Intent and Pure Valor suits which have accounted for 56% of world records since they were released in 2019. The use of three fabrics alongside bonded seams encourages greater movement and a more natural, strong and secure fit for the swimmers. It also features the same textured fabric zones will target drag reduction for optimal performance whilst the premium waistband will help to reduce water ingress.
Dr Rob Blenkinsopp, Head of Innovation, Speedo Aqualab said: “We are always looking at ways we can produce the best suit possible for our athletes and when Ryan approached us about a specialist backstroke suit, we were really excited to see what we could do.
“He already had some great ideas on how to tweak the suits to fit his needs and so along with Ryan we had designers, material experts and engineers all come together to develop the suit. We have looked at the biomechanics and the anatomy of the human body and then attributed that to backstroke swimming and taken all that knowledge, plus Ryan’s expertise, and put it in to making the LZR Pure Intent Backstroke Edition. We recognise that recognise that all swimmers and their strokes are different and this is the first step towards thinking differently about how we deliver performance suits for backstrokers.
The LZR Pure Intent Backstroke Edition is available to purchase from major swim specialists and www.speedo.com
