Been reading about the Speedo LZR swimsuit that has been worn by almost everyone who's set a new WR in this Olympics and in the Olympic trials.
Pretty cool technology. Material repels water and is extremely low-drag. Compresses muscles and midsection. Stiffer panels (which you can see in pics) over the chest, stomach, thighs are even lower-drag than the fabric. Ultrasonically welded with no stitching or seams. Shrouded zipper.
Supposedly 5% less effort to go the same speed. Phelps' coach said the suit is cutting 2% off times. Since suit's February release, 48 world records were set in it - then appx 12 more set during the Olympics so far. I have read that almost every new swimming WR set this year has been by someone wearing a LZR.
Many swimmers from many countries are wearing LZRs in the Olympics, even if their team has a contract with a different suit maker. Sometimes the Speedo logo is covered with tape.
http://swimming.about.com/od/swimsuits/qt/speedo_lzr_race.htm
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2008/jul/olympics.shtml
http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=689271667382713