Anything that gives a reduction in drag is a benefit to an athlete, particularly in an event like the 100m. The race that crowns the world’s fastest man is a sprint for photo finishes where hundredths of a second determine the difference between first and fourth. With 7 percent less drag than the Athens version, wearing the new Nike Swift Suit translates to a benefit of about .02 of a second in the 100m.

This year, the Nike Swift program has expanded for Beijing. In addition to the Nike Swift unitard, athletes will have the choice of a whole new system of dress that takes the Nike Swift learnings from other sports, namely basketball, to Track and Field apparel. Nike wanted to create options for athletes since competition isn’t simply about the most lightweight, aerodynamic equipment, but also confidence. It’s the essential ingredient athletes need to perform their best, and to ensure they have that, they need apparel in which they’re comfortable.

The Nike Swift unitard for Beijing has been entirely re-engineered from all new, more aerodynamic fabrics. The suit has passive cooling with Aerographics in the back. Made when select yarns in the fabric have been dissolved, the technology creates precisely placed mesh panels. As in previous suits, seams have not only moved to the back but now thanks to No Sew technology, some seams and edges have been removed entirely. Getting the Nike Swift unitard right took more than a dozen fittings with elite athletes. Now, not only is it the fastest Nike Swift Suit, it’s also made of entirely 100% recycled

polyester yarns reclaimed from soda bottles, post-consumer uniforms, post-industrial fiber and fabric scrap. To date, Nike Swift apparel across Track and Field, Swimming, Cycling and Speedskating has posted 76 medals and 25 world records.

Since Nike began the Nike Swift project in preparation for Sydney in 2000, the design team has tested well over 200 fabrics and developed a special wind tunnel, the Nike Aeromatrix. Created specifically for fabric testing, the Aeromatrix provides designers a system for analyzing fabrics at wind speeds up to 100 mph in different orientations. This process then allows designers to characterize every single fabric based on a testing protocol to ensure the materials they pick have the best performance characteristics before testing a fully completed suit. With this encyclopedic catalogue, the design team was able to decide which fabric was best for the type of wind resistance encountered not only in a particular sport, but on a particular part of the body in a particular sport. This knowledge was essential in developing the new Nike Swift Singlet and Short, typically worn in sprinting and hurdle events (and will be worn by hurdler Liu Xiang ), as well as the Nike Swift System of Dress.

Nike Swift Singlet and Short
The Nike Swift Singlet and Short were designed to give athletes alternatives to the head-to-toe Nike Swift unitard. When athletes wore a traditional singlet and split-seam shorts, the apparel billowed behind them like a sail, nearly tripling an athlete’s drag. Nike designers on the AIT, or Advanced Innovation Team, dedicated to creating the most advance apparel available for elite athletes, decided to bring Nike Swift’s aerodynamic advantage to other apparel. Designer Nate Demerest came up with the new singlet and short to keep the silhouette of garments athletes were comfortable in. Now the tank and short have a one-to-one fit, almost like a second skin.

In developing the pair, he looked at the difference in physique between sprinters and distance runners. Sprinters have larger upper bodies with broader backs and chests and didn’t need as much ventilation since they wear their singlets for far less time. So, the Nike Swift Singlet now has a new ergonomically designed racer back created specifically for sprinters’ and hurdlers’ body types. The T-back anchors behind the shoulders so the straps won’t slip. This allows for a full range of motion but locks the garment down on the body to prevent any distraction in competition. Designed with Aerographics mesh at the back, the singlet has zoned cooling, as well as minimal seams. The circumference of the arm holes has no binding, hems or seams thanks to No Sew technology to reduce any element that might chafe. The Nike Swift Short has elastic in the back, so the front is flat to reduce any extra wind resistance.

Nike Swift System of Dress
If a sprinter is running 25 miles-per-hour, their hands and feet move at nearly twice that. At such speeds cutting drag is essential. Gloves, socks and arm coverings—an entire system of dress—were developed so sprinters wouldn’t be slowed down. Anytime an athlete wears the system, they will go faster. The gloves have dimpled fabrics like a golf ball to cut wind resistance and allow arms to slice through the air faster without slowing down. In testing, the design team found that the sleeves reduce drag by 19% and the socks by 12.5%. The Nike Swift System of Dress lets athletes choose what to wear while retaining aerodynamic advantages on key parts of the body.