Speedo's new LZR Racer swimsuits promise to boost the times of the fastest swimmers in the planet at this year's Olympics, but they won't be the only high-tech suits to reach for the finish line. On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee approved new high-tech swimsuits designed by Arena, Adidas and Mizuno, all considered to be on par with the high-tech Speedo design credited with 37 world records since its release earlier this year.

The $550 Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit uses ultrasonically bonded seams that fit a swimmer like a true second skin, as opposed to the stitched-up suits of the past. With low-drag panels embedded within the fabric, the suit was designed in conjunction with NASA scientists in order to find the best performing fabric. However, the design also led to a controversial feature: potentially illegal levels of buoyancy (due to a mix of polyurethane layers.) There are several studies on the importance of buoyancy in competitive swimming, one of which is found here.

When Speedo-sponsored athletes began setting an inordinate number of records immediately after using the new suit, several rival companies (as well as the national delegations they sponsor) protested that the tech had gone too far and the competition had become unfair.

At that point, only one other company (TYR) had managed to create a suit with similar breakthroughs. If the other companies’ suit designs had not been accepted, Olympians would have faced a tough choice: Either swim with a LZR Racer and face a substantial fine (about $5K), or swim with your own and face the prospect of losing the race because of the competition’s substantially better equipment.

Still, the accusations against Speedo’s potential illegal maneuverings are not going away. A couple of weeks ago, TYR sued Speedo and accused the company of conspiring with the U.S.

Olympic team to suppress the competition and force all competitors to wear their suits. This, of course, would have looked good for Speedo – millions of eyeballs will be watching the games and many of them will end up buying the gear the athletes use.

Because the other manufacturers took almost three months to catch up to the Speedo suits, the whole issue may still affect the results of the races. The athletes that were not sponsored by Speedo started to use the high-tech prototypes of the competitors only recently.

But despite the ongoing controversy, you can definitely count on one thing at the Olympics this year: Record-breaking times in the pursuit of athletic history – even if it takes a few layers of space-age plastic to do it.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, ESPN, Shanhai Daily