Suited to success – Athletics Weekly

Katharine Merry writes about her brushes with technology, plus the power of role models, as she looks forward to Faith Kipyegon’s attack on the mile

I remember myself and Christian Malcolm being part of the UK launch of Nike’s “Swift Suit” in London 25 years ago. It was not a garment I fell in love with and there’s a picture somewhere of me wearing it, looking less than impressed. The first time we saw it we thought: “what on earth is this?”

To those of you who might not remember, it was a sleek, full body suit – including hood – designed to make its wearer more aerodynamic as they made their way around the track. This was at a time when the development of swim suits at the elite end was also making headline news and leading the discussion when it came to technological advances in sport.

I don’t like having things on my head and face when I run so I never raced in the Swift Suit and it was a concept that never really caught on, but its place in athletics folklore was assured thanks to Cathy Freeman famously wearing it when she won the Olympic 400m title in Sydney. 

It turns out she had made an appearance in one just a few weeks previously – running 200m in the rain at the Gateshead Grand Prix – but she certainly hadn’t worn her green and gold garb during any of the qualifying rounds of the 400m at the Olympics so, when she lined up in lane six sporting it for the final, the rest of us did a double take. When you’re wearing something like that, you have to win, don’t you?

Did it make her run any faster? It might well have done but I’m not so sure. In all honesty, I think Cathy could have worn a bin bag and still won that race! I do still have my Swift Suit in my loft but the thing that makes me smile most about it is the fact that I can still fit into it.

I know there were other colourful, unusual outfits on show at track and field meetings before 2000, and of course footwear has always been evolving, but that’s the first real crossover moment I can recall when it comes to technology and an athlete’s apparel. It felt like a major turning point.

So, what prompted me to take a trip down this particular memory lane? Faith Kipyegon’s upcoming attempt at breaking the four-minute mile. Nike are going to be looking at every means necessary to find those vital fractions of a second so I wonder what special tricks will be up their sleeves when it comes to what she’s wearing for the run. I’m…