The ability of technology to lift elite athletes to even higher levels of performance is nothing new, but the way gear makers keep ahead of the rule creators remains, in some ways, a true marvel.
Records were famously — or infamously — obliterated by skintight body suits at the 2008 Games. Just because those suits were banned doesn’t mean suit designs put their tails between their legs and headed home.
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And it’s not just swimming. There are some simply stunning, “I wouldn’t have thought of that” stories coming ahead the games.