New Nike Swift Long Track Skins Debut With Team USA
December 08 2005 - 10:59AM
PR Newswire (US)
The Swift Revolution Continues BEAVERTON, Ore., Dec. 8
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In long track speedskating, ice friction
isn't the major factor. Air is. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051208/SFTH111-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051208/SFTH111-b
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO ) Nike
continues to evolve its successful Project Swift -- a project that
is lead by Nike's 35-member worldwide Advanced Innovation Team. It
started prior to Sydney 2000 and helped put many athletes on the
medal podium in Salt Lake City in 2002, Athens 2004 and the Tour de
France with innovative designs in high-performance athletic
apparel. For the fiercely competitive sport of long track
speedskating, Nike's Advanced Innovation Team has combined even
better aerodynamics with an increased focus on thermoregulation,
fit and freedom of movement to help further improve the performance
of Team USA's long track speedskaters in 2006 at the XX Olympic
Winter Games. Nike is a proud sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team and
USA Speedskating. Aerodynamics While about 25 percent of a skater's
energy is spent fighting the friction of the ice, 75 percent of his
or her energy is spent overcoming air resistance. The new Nike
Swift Long Track Skin draws on the team's further study of zoned
aerodynamics to advance the Nike Swift Skin concept for long track
skating, offering even more efficient airflow and drag reduction.
Nike has spent more than 900 hours in the wind tunnel developing
Project Swift, and for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, research
showed that Nike's Swift Skin helped improve athletes' skating
speed by more than one percent -- a huge advantage of just over one
second in a 1500-meter race. Recent wind tunnel testing has shown
that the new Nike Long Track Swift Skin for 2006 is even faster.
The wind tunnel testing has shown that though smooth surfaces can
reduce friction drag and are appropriate for use on larger
horizontal areas like the torso, on cylindrical body parts like
arms and legs, they may not reduce pressure drag, thus creating a
large wake behind the athlete. Counter- intuitively, a textured
surface (much like a golf ball) can reduce pressure drag by
reducing this wake. Applying the right texture to the right body
part is the key to Nike's patented Zoned Aerodynamics technology.
Based on testing some 64 materials in the wind tunnel, Nike has
completely re-fabricated this Nike Swift Skin for '06, offering
even lower drag. Whereas past efforts have utilized unbreathable
rubber coated materials for the smooth sections, this evolution of
Nike Swift Skin has come 180 degrees, using a newly-developed
high-stretch/high-recovery/high breathability fabric. Improved
textures using Nike Sphere technology are incorporated in the
critical forearm and lower leg areas to complete the Zoned
Aerodynamics overhaul (a total of four different fabrics are used
in the Nike Swift Skin). Improved Fit and Comfort Additionally, the
Nike Swift Skin has eliminated seams wherever possible, to improve
aerodynamics, fit and comfort. Overall, if a seam is needed it will
first be placed out of the airflow or in an already turbulent body
zone. In speedskating this would be behind the arm, and the back of
the legs. Where seams in the airflow are necessary, they are
aligned with the direction of the airflow to reduce interruption.
The Nike Swift Skin is also built in the body position of the
skating athlete, using articulation at the waist and joints.
Articulation reduces fabric creasing, increases freedom of
movement, and eliminates excess material. The Nike Swift Skin also
features Nike's patent-pending No-Sew hood facing and ankle cuffs,
and a low-friction panel at the inner thigh for efficiency in the
skating motion. The Nike Swift Skin's body-hugging fit and
aerodynamic superiority will be found on national teams from The
Netherlands, China, United States Belgium, South Korea and The
Ukraine in the coming 2005-06 season, and will each feature strong
country color designs and iconography. Nike's 35-member worldwide
Advanced Innovation Team has conducted extensive research to
produce superior apparel performance and design, helping
world-class athletes achieve 57 Olympic medals (17 in Athens
alone), 15 world records, nine Tour de France stage victories and
overall increased athlete performance in a variety of sport
disciplines since the program's inception in 2000. About Nike, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse
Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear,
apparel and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer
and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan (R), which designs,
markets, and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and
accessories; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and
distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and
accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets
athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051208/SFTH111-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051208/SFTH111-b
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Nike, Inc. CONTACT: Dean
Stoyer of Nike, +1-503-532-6018 or Web site:
http://www.nikebiz.com/
Copyright