The competitive swimwear men are wearing at the pools today creates a much different picture than they did even 20 or 30 years ago. Today’s custom swimsuits are designed to provide better coverage, more compression and the comfortable fit you need to perform your best at every race. Understanding the progression from the briefs of the past to the jammers of today can help you realize all the benefits today’s swimmers have that generations before didn’t have.

The Shift Timing

In the 90s, swimmers were still wearing the traditional briefs in major competitions, including the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. It was around this time that Speedo first introduced jammers to the world of competitive swimming, giving male swimmers another option to enhance their performance. After the 1998 World Championships, Speedo took the swimming world by storm again when they began constructing the jammer suits with their shark skin fabric. This fabric has grown in demand because it provides the smooth flow swimmers need to move through the water with less effort. By the time the 2000 Olympic Games arrived, a majority of the swimmers were wearing jammers instead of briefs.

Better Materials

One of the predominant reasons for the switch from briefs to jammer technical swimsuits is due to improvements in the materials from which the swimwear is made. Custom swimsuits used to be made from stiffer materials that were uncomfortable to wear. Today’s materials have shown many improvements to create a more comfortable fit and greater flexibility. This means they can offer greater coverage to help with hydrodynamics without restricting movement and making swimmers uncomfortable. In addition to the comfort factor, these materials are created to reduce drag and compress the body to help swimmers move through the water more effectively. With all of these advantages, swimmers quickly made the switch from briefs to jammers for competitive swimming.

Competitive swimwear is designed to help swimmers make the most of their training. While many men opted for briefs for many years because they didn’t create much drag and didn’t cause resistance, the movement toward jammers has been almost complete. Today, most competitive swimmers are using jammers because of the improved materials and the ability to swim to the best of their ability. With the number of records broken at world championships and Olympic Games events, it’s clear this switch has been an improvement in the world of swimming.

If you are looking for the greatest selection of competitive swimwear, contact us. We can provide the swimwear you need to stay competitive in the water.