TOKYO, May 31: Three Japanese sportswear makers on Friday introduced new versions of high-tech swimsuits intended to compete with Speedo’s new LZR Racer at the Beijing Olympics.

Mizuno Corp., Asics Corp. and Descente Ltd. presented their new products to the Japan Swimming Federation, which requires national team swimmers to wear the domestic companies’ products for contractual reasons.

Japan’s Olympic swimmers will get a chance to test the new products as well as the LZR Racer at the Japan Open in Tokyo from June 6 to 8.

“I’m grateful that all three companies did their best in a short period of time to develop such products,” said JSF Executive Director Kazuo Sano. “Now we’ll see how the swimmers respond.”

Since Speedo introduced the LZR Racer mid-February, 37 world records have been set by swimmers using it compared to just four by swimmers wearing other suits.

Mizuno, which has supplied its suits to reigning Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima, developed a new suit using materials that put tighter pressure on the body in order to decrease water resistance.

Asics presented two types of suits, which both make the pressure on the legs three times tighter than its conventional models, while Descente launched three different types including one manufactured by Italian maker Arena.—AP