The US speedskating team went into Sochi touting their secretive skinsuit as the fastest in the world. But after a week in which the Dutch have skated the Americans into the ground, there are concerns within the team that the suit is to blame.
The suit, made by Under Armour with help from the defence giant Lockheed Martin, is called the Mach 39. It was unveiled just before the team arrived in Sochi. But now, after two-time Olympic champion Shani Davis failed to make the podium, team officials are scrambling to test a new suit.
Earlier: the Under Armour suit touted as the fastest in the world
Today: Shani Davis practises in an unbranded prototype
So far, no US skater has finished higher than seventh in six of 12 Olympic events. As well as Davis, female stars Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe have failed to make their mark, leading to questions over the suit.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday quoted sources in the team complaining that vents on the back of the suit, which are supposed to allow heat to escape, are creating drag. The WSJ quoted Kevin Haley, the senior vice-president of innovation for Under Armour, as expressing confidence in the suit. But he added: “We’ll move heaven and earth to make them better.”
US officials are already making contingency plans, attempting to get the International Skating Union to allow American skaters to switch back to their previously approved suits if they wanted.
Richardson: alterations ‘had no effect’
The Dutch team have dominated
Testing, testing: Davis tries out an alternative suit
Richardson made some low-tech alterations to her new suit on Thursday. “They did adjust one part on the back, but it was just putting rubber over the mesh there,” she said after a hugely disappointing performance in the 1000m, a race she dominated during the World Cup season. “It had no effect, really.”
On Thursday, Richardson finished seventh and Bowe eighth over the same distance for the women, a stunning result given Richardson had won three World Cup events this season and Bowe took the other with a world-record time.
All eyes on are on the men’s 1500m – Davis is a two-time silver medalist in that race. “I’m optimistic,” Davis said after a workout Friday. “I didn’t come all this way to start having doubts. I trained really hard. I’m focused. I’m feeling good. I’m going to go out there and do the best I can. That’s all I can do.”
As a US speedskating media official tried to hustle Davis out of the mixed zone, he stopped to answer another question. “It’s not their fault,” he told the official, indicating he didn’t mind the reporters’ questions on the suits, which clearly have become a major issue within the team.
“The human factor is by far the largest piece out there,” said coach Kip Carpenter, a former skater and Olympic medalist. “There’s not an athlete out there who is slowing down a second per lap because of the suit they’re in. What is it: a parachute on their back?”
While the Americans haven’t come close to the podium, the Dutch have captured 12 of 18 speedskating medals, including four golds. Michel Mulder, who led a Dutch sweep of the medals in the men’s 500m, said: “It could also be that they were just outclassed here.”
The Associated Press in Sochi contributed to this report
