Skaters hope super suits give them golden edge
SOCHI, Russia — Top speedskaters at the Sochi Olympics are all squeezing into new high-tech suits which will either shave fractions of seconds off their times or sow enough doubt in the minds of opponents that they will start their race with a real disadvantage.
Double Olympic gold medalist Ireen Wust said Thursday that between the three Dutch suits she has used since the 2006 Turin Games, “the difference is not that big.”
But in a sport where the margin of victory is sometimes measured in hundredths of seconds, it might be just enough to make the difference between gold and silver.
Bert van der Tuuk, who makes the suits for the Dutch and Russian teams, says victory “is partly determined by clothing.”
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