Olympic Influences

Suiting up for Salt Lake

By Sylvi Capelaci, Sun Media

When Canada's speed demons go for Olympic gold in Salt Lake City, their skinsuits will get top marks for technical merit and artistic impression.

The Spiderman-like uniforms to be worn by Canada's alpine and speed-skating superheroes has everyone talking -- possibly more than when Roots launched their official Olympic uniforms and famous red-wool poor-boy cap.

The cutting-edge racing designs combine the technological know-how of Descente sportswear company with the aesthetic eye of American Oscar-winning costume designer Eiko Ishioka, of Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Cell fame.

"When you are coming down the hill and your body is cutting through the air at a high speed for over 11/2 minutes, this is where the suit can make all the difference. We're talking one one-hundreths of a second," says veteran "Crazy Canuck" Olympian skier Ken Read.

Canada's downhill skiers will wear the Vortex C1 suit, technically engineered to maximize stability and reduce drag.

The suit is designed in a patriotic metallic red with shaded yellow areas to highlight the body's natural heat zones. The front and back features the names of 600 Canadian cities while the names of each ski team member run down the right arm.

Equally as innovative are Descente's Vortex C2 speed-skating uniforms. "They are designed to control and reduce turbulence through the use of silicon strips forming a spiral pattern around the thighs and lower arm," says Dr. Ruth Morey Sorrentino director of research and technology at the Calgary Olympic Oval. This "Muscle Suit" is made from a red featherweight filmy fabric with iridescent shading around the muscle groups to make them stand out.

Tiny Trends

The Vortex C1 Alpine suit will be turning heads at the Winter Olympics, which start Feb. 8.

"The suits were tested in wind tunnels last summer at the National Research Council in Ottawa, the same tunnels used to test Formula One cars and airplanes," she says.

Catriona LeMay Doan thinks the suits are going to wow at the Olympics. "I feel that we are going to be intimidating to the rest of the countries. They are very different and pretty daring. Eiko wanted to bring out the beauty of our bodies and our muscles -- emphasizing what we've spent 20 years working on."

Sun Olympic sports writer Steve Buffery says the suit will not make or break Doan's performance, "You could put Catriona in a pair of shorts and a sweat shirt and she's still going to beat everybody."

Canadian designer Brian Bailey thinks the suits look amazing: "They have a shock value. These suits are totally intimidating. They make me think of Spiderman or a sci-fi movie."

Bailey says when it comes right down to it, "It's all about theatrics. The uniforms are going to create a whole new level of excitement around speed skating."

Bailey likens their inevitable popularity to what Katarina Witt's costumes did for competitive figure skating. "They'll be turning speed skating into a fashion event just like figure skating, which means more people will watch it."

Bailey questions why the sportswear technicians have not yet streamlined hockey uniforms to enhance player performance, "Just imagine Team Canada in second-skin aerodynamic suits with built-in airbags that inflate on impact."