Individual sports require highly specialized apparel. As a professional athlete, your career could depend on how well your clothes fit you. Runners, for example, have specific clothing needs different than those of ice hockey players, swimmers and gymnasts. Top sports apparel is made out of appropriate textiles and is designed to fit your body properly to enhance your performance.
Running Gear
The best cold-weather running apparel is water resistant, yet allows for body heat to escape. Gore-Tex, developed in 1978, became a fast favorite among runners because of water proofing and breathability. Top running companies, such as Saucony, New Balance and Asics, routinely incorporate Gore-Tex in jackets and pants, sometimes adding mesh panels for direct ventilation. The companies also produce running apparel constructed with fabrics that "wick," or pull moisture and sweat away from your skin. Top running apparel also includes compression shorts that reduce leg muscle oscillation and energy loss.
Ice Hockey Apparel
Top ice hockey clothing protects and insulates your body from the cold. Bauer, CCM and Easton, three of the world's top hockey clothing vendors, sell apparel designed for professional and amateur players. High-quality ice hockey apparel includes: a skin-tight bottom layer to reduce friction between the skin and protective gear; shoulder, elbow, hip and shin guards; leg hose that cover the shin guard; long pants with leg and tailbone padding; and, a loose-fitting top jersey.
Swimwear
Long-time swimwear vendor Speedo made the news during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics swimsuit controversy. Speedo's LZR Racer body suit contained sharkskin-like, neoprene materials and superior design technology that conferred unfair buoyancy advantages. Banned as of 2010, these speed suits influenced swimsuit design forever. Today Speedo and other manufacturers such Nike, Athleta, Tyr, The Finals and Arena sell rip-resistant swim caps and competition suits, which range from full-body single piece uniforms to half- and high-leg cut unitards.
Gymnastics Outfits
Gymnasts perform the sport wearing flexible, close fitting, aerodynamic apparel. The best gymnastics pants and tops for men incorporate Lycra, a stretchy, form-fitting material. Women's leotards incorporate tightly woven Lycra and Spandex blends that compress muscles to facilitate high-speed maneuvers that generate significant vibration. Top gymnastics apparel makers include Adidas and GK Elite Sportswear, the company that supplied uniforms to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
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