Olympians suit up in high-tech apparel to shave seconds

For the Rio Olympics, Nike used 3-D printing technology to develop small silicone protrusions for redirecting air flow around the runner. Body scanners helped Adidas design suits to keep swimmers in ideal form. Innovations in suits and shoes have sped up, thanks to advancements in how clothing is designed and tested — all as manufacturers get creative in working around rules enacted to prevent the apparel equivalent of doping. The shoe fabric eliminates seams to reduce the risk of blisters, while rubber rings on the bottom boost traction in slippery terrains and serve as barriers to contain and propel energy back up, according to the company. Under Armour uniforms for the Canadian rugby and the Swiss and Dutch beach volleyball teams borrow NASA spacesuit technology to reduce body temperature. Because the rules allow Adidas to place the bands only over seams where pieces of fabric meet, Adidas moved the seams over to where it wanted the bands to be. [...] that it had bands, Adidas also took the unusual step of designing a model just for the breaststroke to account for the way a swimmer's legs move outward in the frog kick, rather than up and down in the more traditional flutter kick. Omar Visentin, chief operating officer and former research chief at Assos, said clothing manufacturers now have more sophisticated ways to tests fabrics and the way they are cut and measure minute differences in performance. For the Vazee Sigma track shoes that U.S. sprinter Trayvon Bromell will wear, New Balance turned to 3-D printing technology to test multiple configurations to improve traction and energy transfer.