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. 2014 May 21:6:20.
doi: 10.1186/2052-1847-6-20. eCollection 2014.

Swimming performances in long distance open-water events with and without wetsuit

Sebastian Ulsamer  1 , Christoph Alexander Rüst  1 , Thomas Rosemann  1 , Romuald Lepers  2 , Beat Knechtle  3
Affiliations

Swimming performances in long distance open-water events with and without wetsuit

Sebastian Ulsamer et al. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. .

Abstract

Background: Existing literature showed improved swimming performances for swimmers wearing wetsuits competing under standardized conditions in races held in pools on short to middle distances. Data about the influence of wetsuits on swimming performances in long and ultra-long open-water swimming races are missing. It is unknown whether the benefit of wearing wetsuits is comparable in men and women. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of wearing a wetsuit on open-water swimming performances at the 26.4 km 'Marathon Swim in Lake Zurich' in Lake Zurich, Switzerland, and the 3.8 km Lake Ontario Swim Team-Race (LOST-Race) in Lake Ontario, Canada.

Methods: Race times of the fastest female and male swimmers competing with and without wetsuit were compared using multi-level regression analyses and analysis of variance.

Results: In the 'Marathon Swim' in Lake Zurich, wearing a wetsuit had no effect on race time regarding the gender where athletes wearing a wetsuit were not faster than athletes without wetsuit. However, the ten fastest men wearing a wetsuit (410.6 ± 26.7 min) were faster (32.7%, p < 0.01) than the ten fastest women without wetsuit (544.9 ± 81.3 min). In the 'LOST-Race', the top ten men wearing a wetsuit (51.7 ± 2.5 min) were faster (13.2%, p < 0.01) than the top ten women wearing a wetsuit (58.5 ± 3.2 min). Additionally, the top ten men without wetsuit (52.1 ± 2.4 min) were faster (19.6%, p < 0.01) than the top ten women without wetsuit (62.3 ± 2.5 min). The top ten women wearing a wetsuit (58.5 ± 3.2 min) were faster (6.5%, p < 0.01) than top ten women without a wetsuit (62.3 ± 25 min).

Conclusions: These results suggest that wearing a wetsuit had a positive influence on swimming speed for both women and men but the benefit of the use of wetsuits seemed to depend on additional factors (i.e. race distance). Women seemed to benefit more from wearing wetsuits than men in longer open-water ultra-distance swimming races.

Keywords: Ironman; Neoprene suit; Swim performance; Swimming; Ultra-endurance.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Annual number of finishers in the ‘Marathon Swim’ in Lake Zurich competing with and without wetsuit as well as total for women (Panel A), men (Panel B) and overall finishers (Panel C).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Race times of the annual fastest men and women competing with (Panel A) and without (Panel B) wetsuit ‘Marathon Swim’ in Lake Zurich and the comparison between race times with and without wetsuit for men (Panel C) and women (Panel D).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Race times of the annual top three men and women competing with (Panel A) and without (Panel B) wetsuit ‘Marathon Swim’ in Lake Zurich and the comparison between race times with and without wetsuit for men (Panel C).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Race times of the top ever, top three ever and top ten ever men and women in the ‘Marathon Swim’ in Lake Zurich competing with (Panel A) and without (Panel B) wetsuit as well as the comparison between men (Panel C) and women (Panel D) competing with and without wetsuit.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Annual numbers of finishers in the ‘LOST-Race’ competing with and without wetsuit and for women (Panel A), men (Panel B) and overall finishers (Panel C).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Race times of the fastest men and women competing with (Panel A) and without (Panel B) wetsuit in the ‘LOST-Race’ and the comparison of times for athletes competing with and without wetsuit for men (Panel C) and women (Panel D).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Race times of the top three men and women competing with (Panel A) and without (Panel B) wetsuit in the ‘LOST-Race’ and the comparison of times for athletes competing with and without wetsuit for men (Panel C) and women (Panel D).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Race times of the top ever, top three ever and top ten ever men and women in the ‘LOST-Race’ competing with (Panel A) and without (Panel B) wetsuit and the comparison between men (Panel C) and women (Panel D) competing with and without wetsuit.
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