Ryan tested the Jaked & Arena suits, but is sticking with the Speedo LZR

Below is an excerpt from an article published by the Washington Post's swimming column, http://reachforthewall.com/. The article identified what suits the swimmers were wearing at the US nationals and found that the majority wore the new Jaked and Arena suits. Nevertheless, the article concluded that "swimmers wearing older models — in most cases because of contractual obligations to the company Speedo — won more gold and silver medals than athletes in other suits and therefore earned more qualifying spots for the upcoming world championships in Rome."

Ryan Lochte was interviewed and revealed he tested the new Jaked and Arena suits but decided to stick with the Speedo LZR. The portion of the article pertaining to Ryan is quoted below:

Despite being a Speedo-sponsored athlete, Lochte said he had tested out all of the new suits. The Jaked, he said, worked particularly well on the underwater portion of races, such as starts and while coming off the walls. The Arena, he said, was the opposite, doing more to keep the swimmer above the water.

But Lochte, who won the 200 and 400 medleys in the LZR, said he actually preferred his old suit to the newer models.

“Everybody’s all hyping the new Arena, the new Jaked” suits, he said. “I’m kind of trying to stick it to them.”

Source: http://reachforthewall.com/2009/07/14/high-tech-suits-favored-at-usas-but-old-suits-won/

I'm glad Ryan tested the suits...this way he knows exactly what he's up against when racing someone wearing a Jaked and Arena. I'm also glad he stuck with the LZR, even if at the end of the day it was strictly for contractual reasons. Ryan does not need a rubber suit to help him perform well in Rome. If FINA allows the rubber suits to continue after 2009, then Speedo will improve the LZR and come out with something even better to compete with the Arena and Jaked suits. Ryan is better off sticking with Speedo and showing his loyalty.

In the videos for the 200 & 400 IM at US nationals, you can see that Ryan is the only one wearing a Speedo LZR, with all the other swimmers in Jaked, Arena, TYR in the 200 IM and the Jaked, Arena, TYR and Blueseventy in the 400 IM. Moreover, Ryan is wearing the LZR legs in the 400 IM and not the full body suit.

200 IM

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090710/nationals_men_s_200_im_a_final-16846.html

400 IM

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090707/nationals_men_s_400_im_a_final-16794.html