The legendary 20-second barrier for a 50m short course swim remains standing after an exhibition event by Speedo explored whether it could be broken.

On Fastskin’s 20th birthday, Speedo gave the fastest man on the planet, Caeleb Dressel, the infamous Speedo Fastskin 2008 LZR Racer swimsuit, made famous at the Beijing Olympics before being banned.

Dressel remains the fastest swimmer in the world, setting a new world record time of 20.16s last month at the International Swimming League in Budapest wearing Speedo’s latest suit technology.

Speaking after the event when asked how it was to race in the suit, Caeleb said:

“I had to change a couple of things like my body position. It felt really, really good – but I’ll say this; nothing is guaranteed and the suit doesn’t make the swimmer, the swimmer makes the suit.

“I got up and I raced tough, I wouldn’t change anything about it.” When asked if he’d take the challenge on again he replied;

“Oh I would 100% do it again. It’s not about going as fast as you can all the time, it’s about learning from the sport and I think that’s the most important thing I can take away from today.”

Speaking about the event, Rob Hicking, brand director at Speedo, said: “When we first came up with the idea for this challenge we knew it was going to be really difficult to beat 20 seconds as there’s a reason nobody has ever broken that barrier – but we wanted to see how fast humans could go in water if unrestricted. It’s in our brand DNA to take risks and see how far we can push the limits of the sport.

“We had an amazing partner for the event in Caeleb – credit to him for putting himself out there, having some fun and exploring what was possible. Whilst the Sub 20 barrier remains, he is still the fastest man the world has ever seen and we can’t wait to see what Caeleb can achieve in 2021 and beyond.”

Speedo has produced a short documentary around the Sub 20 event, which can be viewed or embedded from here:  

For Dressel and Speedo, attentions now focus to Tokyo for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games, where the Florida-born star will be aiming to further add to his legacy.

When he steps on the blocks that day, it will be in the latest FINA-approved Speedo Fastskin suit. Since the launch of their Pure Valor and Pure Intent suits in 2019, 65% of world records have been broken by athletes in the suits, including three individual records by Dressel at the recent ISL meeting.

About Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer

Launched in February 2008, the LZR Racer suit was a high-tech swimsuit made from 50% polyurethane which caused controversy in 2008 as a series of world records were set by swimmers wearing it.

For three years, Speedo worked with everybody from universities and sporting institutes to NASA scientists to create the LZR Racer, whilst experimenting with over 60 materials.

The result was the LZR Racer which reduced drag, maximised muscle support and helped keep swimmers free in their range of motion.

The suit reduced drag (water resistance) by 38% compared with the ordinary LYCRA suits which were available on the market, resulting in an increase in speedo of approximately 4%.

Hugging the body up to 70 times tighter than other suits the suit was a huge success, with 94% of all swimming golds won at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games won by athletes wearing the suit.

“I feel like a rocket”, said swimming superstar Michael Phelps, who helped the test the suits and subsequently won an unprecedented eight golds at the Games.

So effective was the LZR Racer that Speedo offered free suits to any athlete at the 2008 Games that wanted one. They ended up giving away more than 3,000 – included swimmers sponsored by rival brands who all made the decision to wear them.

Suits that were not completely made from textiles were subsequently outlawed in 2010.

“Former Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel interviews two-time Olympic gold-medal winner Caeleb Dressel after the Speedo Sub-20 challenge”

About Speedo®

The world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations, and supports swimming from grass-roots through to the elite level. In the 1920s Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo® redefined swimwear again with Fastskin® LZR RACER® – the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created. 2011 saw Speedo unveil another world first with the Fastskin Racing System – a cap, goggle and suit designed to work together as one. Speedo® is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V and distributed in over 170 countries around the world. To find out more visit: www.speedo.com

Throughout its 90 year history Speedo has been at the forefront of swimwear innovations that have enabled top athletes to achieve more Olympic gold medals and shatter more World records than any other brand.

Speedo’s quest – like our swimmers – is to go faster and to achieve greater success. It has been our legacy for 90 years.