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Speedo's Super Swimsuit Breaks Records, Creates Controversy
This summer, a space-age swimsuit could help Olympic swimmers shatter world records. But does the suit give some swimmers an unfair advantage?
The super suit is made by Speedo. The company got help from NASA to develop its LZR racer suit, which looks more like a superhero costume than a swimsuit. Drawing on the same expertise they use to make airplanes and rockets fly, NASA scientists figured out how to design a swimsuit that would allow swimmers to move faster through water.
Normally, even the most muscular Olympic swimmers are slowed down by the "drag" of their moving skin against the water. The LZR racer works by squeezing swimmers' bodies into an aerodynamic shape, with perfect posture, and by repelling water away.
Swimmers wearing the suit have already broken 44 world records - an eye-popping trend that should continue at the Beijing Olympics.
However, some swimmers who are sponsored by other companies won't be allowed to wear the Speedo suits. Critics say that isn't fair to let some swimmers use superior technology to take home the gold. People have even compared the suits to performance-enhancing drugs, like steroids, saying that they give some athletes the same kind of unfair advantage over their competitors.
With the Olympics just five weeks away, stay tuned for more record-shattering times in the pool, as well as more controversy.
I'm Lucy and that's what happened in sports this week!
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