Do wet suits affect swimming speed?

Abstract

A randomised cross-over trial was conducted to see if wet suits increase swimming speed--a question which has been fiercely debated in the fat-growing endurance sport of Triathlon. Sixteen swimmers volunteered to undertake two 30 minute swims, one with and one without a wet suit. With wet suits the subjects swam an average of 24.9 lengths of a 66 m pool. Without wet suits they swam 23.2 lengths. A 95% confidence interval for the difference is from 0.8 to 2.6 lengths (p less than 0.001). This result suggests that regulations about the use of wet suits must be agreed internationally to ensure equal competition whilst promoting the health and safety aspects of sport.