James Guy relishes challenge of FINIS Rival race suit development
- 2 Jul 2018
Swimmers will leave nothing to chance during the four-year journey to an Olympic Games.
The thousands of hours in the pool and the gym, the 5am starts, the strict diets – all these sacrifices are made for the sole purpose of putting in the performance of a lifetime on the grandest stage of them all.
But for James Guy, his meticulous preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics does not end with training and nutrition.
In partnership with FINIS, the 22-year-old British swimmer has been equally as hands-on in developing an elite race suit and full kit that can make a real impact in Japan.
Guy has been instrumental in the development of the new FINIS Rival tech suit released in December.
He's already worn it at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, where he picked up four silvers and one bronze in his five-medal haul, and he's relishing the challenge of continuing this progress.
"I've had my own ideas about what I wanted to put into the suit," said Guy, who is almost one year into his partnership with FINIS. "How it should feel, what it should look like, and the most important thing – how it will do in the water.
"I know how a swimmer thinks, and how they would like a suit to feel in the water, and I've been putting as much energy as I can into that."
Guy was hand-picked by FINIS to be part of the project. "A great person and a driven inspiring elite partner – we have that in James, no doubt about it," was how FINIS sports marketing lead CJ Fiala announced the partnership last August.
As a brand, FINIS are known for their exceptional range of training aids and equipment. Guy is adamant their racing swimwear should be held in the same high regards.
"FINIS have just brought out the Vapor Pro as well," he said. "I wore that at the Commonwealth Games, along with the Rival suit.
"They're building and building. They are very well known for the fins and the snorkels, and having myself and Olivia Smoliga adding our ideas into the racing suit, it's going to get stronger and stronger.
"We want the whole package, the suit, the cap, the goggles. We're kind of taking one thing at a time, and getting it right, getting everything in the right place. As long as its right, that's the most important thing."
Available as kneesuits or jammers, the FINIS Rival suit has been designed to lock and lift the hips into perfect body alignment while in the water.
It has been constructed using two fabrics – a one-way stretch fabric to increase compression, and a two-way stretch fabric to allow a full range of motion.
In addition, a textured surface helps the water to move freely over and around the suit without breaking flow.
"The most important thing is it not being too tight," added Guy. "I like my legs to be quite free when I'm swimming. If it's too tight, you're restricting your movement.
"The second thing is not being too high. I like the suits that aren't higher-waist. I prefer lower-waisted ones, and these are right in the middle of that. So you're getting as much as you can from the knee length right up to the hip, and it suits me perfectly."
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