Nike's USATF Olympic
uniforms feature new Nike Swift materials, reducing weight to achieve
less drag and faster times, and also include Nike Aerographics and the "We the People" graphic. With seven percent less drag than the Athens
version, wearing the new Nike Swift Suit translates to a benefit of
about .02 of a second in the 100m.
The
Nike Swift System of Dress lets athletes customize what they're wearing
while increasing aerodynamic advantages on key parts of the body.
Gloves, socks and arm coverings, an entire system of dress, were
developed by Nike so sprinters could run faster. For example, the Nike
Swift Suit gloves have dimpled fabrics like a golf ball to cut wind
resistance and allow arms to slice through the air faster. In testing,
the design team found that compared with bare skin, the sleeves reduce
drag by 19 percent and the socks by 12.5 percent.