The speed skating suit has always been the technical marvel of the Winter Olympics[1]. With high-tech fabrics and unusual construction, it’s designed to eek out every bit of athletic optimization. In a sport where a thousandth of a second can determine who gets a medal and who doesn’t, athletes rely on technology to give them an edge. "We’re trying to get the body to be more aerodynamic than it is in its natural state," says Clay Dean, chief innovation officer at Under Armour, the company behind the suit the US speed skating team will wear in PyeongChang this February.
Speed skaters wage a battle with physics every time they race. As their muscular bodies cut through the air at more than 30 mph, they leave a trail of drag in their wake. The key to winning (against physics and humans alike) is to reduce the amount of air resistance a body produces. Part of it is stance—to minimize their body’s effect, skaters fold themselves over, keeping their backs flat like a table top—and part of it is suit.
"All we can do is prove through science, through construction, and through material that we’ve given them the best possible tools to do their job." — Clay Dean, chief innovation officer at Under Armour
Under Armour’s new suit is an overhaul to the Mach 39, the controversial uniform[2] that many blamed for the US team's poor performance in Sochi. In 2014, not a single US speed skater medaled, despite the high prospects going into the Olympics. Under Armour was a natural scapegoat.
In the lead up to the game, the company heralded the Mach 39 as the fastest suit ever designed. The bodysuits were made...