TSP21: My First Wetsuit. My Favourite Wetsuit. One I’d Like To Get Hold Of. And Some History.

Written By Ross

Check out the video above of the 1985 Nice Triathlon. From 03:40 to 06:50.
They talk about wetsuits. The main topic of this episode.

I’m back on the mic because a few weeks ago I finished my 37th consecutive triathlon season. I’m planning to do a season review soon. 

But in summary. I raced 11 times. 5 Olympic Distance races and 6 Sprint Distance races. This included 8 local events. A 2 race UK swing. And a train trip to Berlin for a race. Although my training is kinda minimalist. And my equipment is very simple. I still like to race gun to tape. This resulted in me winning my Age Group 9 times. And getting 2nd twice. 

At the first race of the year in Oberschleissheim the water was 15.2°C. That’s pretty cold. But once I got moving it was fine. However the conditions did get me thinking about wetsuits. My first one. My favourite one. The one I’d love to get hold of. And the history.

I bought my first wetsuit. A sleeveless Triathlon Pro from Total Fitness in Swindon at the end of 1989. See it below. The one with red sides. And the 2nd image is a Triathlon Pro ad from 1987. Also, take a look at those Terrapin suits. Wasn’t it great when not all wetsuits were black? 

At the bottom is a blurry photo of me wearing the tiny Triathlon Pro. Taken by my brother at the 1990 Swindon Triathlon. The image quality is not really there. As I’m in frantic motion. And he took the shot on a waterproof disposable camera. But solid positioning at the swim exit.

Images:

Tri-Athlete (UK) May 1988
Tri-Athlete (UK) May 1987
Ross at the 1990 Swindon Triathlon

1989 was my first season in the sport. I did 9 triathlons that year. 4 in a pool. And 5 open water events without a wetsuit. Including the British Junior National Championships at Holme Pierrepont. This venue has some vital UK wetsuit history. That I’ll discuss later.

I didn’t get to Total Fitness very often. So on the day I bought the Triathlon Pro, I also picked up a copy of Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete. And then walked down Swindon High Street to Our Price. And bought But Seriously by Phil Collins on cassette.

Total Fitness was owned by triathlete and fishing enthusiast Trevor Gunning. With John Lillie, the founder of 220 magazine, Trevor also formed Total Promotions. To put on events. They organised the Swindon Triathlon from 1988 onwards. In 1991 the race was absorbed into the 220 Triathlon Series. See TSP16 for loads of info about that first year of the 220 Series. A game-changer for British Triathlon at the time.

The first version of Total Fitness opened on Gorse Hill in Swindon in 1985. The one I visited for the first time at the end of 1988 was at 30 Morley Street. Which had a handy car park just opposite. The retail unit where Total Fitness was is now the Red Dragon Tattoo shop.

In May 1993 Total Fitness Swindon moved to 109/110 Commercial Road. The new shop was only 50m from the old one. So you could still use the same car park. By then they’d also opened stores in Bath and Nottingham. I was a regular at the Bath shop when I was a student. Reading magazines without buying them. And touching equipment that I couldn’t afford.

Total Fitness were also present at events. They’d set up a tent near transition. With plenty of everyday and exotic stuff. The 220 and Total Fitness crew used to travel around in an enormous Winnebago.
Was that Trevor’s or John’s? I need to find out.

The business was a big deal in the late-80s. The first triathlon shop? I’m not sure. There were a few. Especially in and around London. But definitely a must visit venue for the young ambitious triathlete back then.

I wore the Triathlon Pro wetsuit for maybe 3 seasons. Until I grew out of it. Triathlon Pro was started by British triathlete Paul Robinson. With help from established Cornwall-based wetsuit manufacturers Sola. 

They also did some cool leisure wear. Below. I had one of their t-shirts. I also mentioned Paul Robinson in TSP3. As he co-invented an aero bar called the MB bar. Named after his collaborator, Martin Burley.

Image: Tri-Athlete (UK) March - April 1988

The British Triathlon Association first officially allowed wetsuits of any kind in 1986. And they had to be sleeveless and with legs only as far as the knee. They were known as shorties. This was despite the fact that the European Triathlon Union. For their first championship races in 1985. Allowed long-john suits. These suits were sleeveless but with long legs.

Not mirroring the ETU rules was a crazy decision by the BTA. Especially as the 1986 ETU short Distance championships were due to be held in Milton Keynes. Yes. Correct. The Buckinghamshire new town was to host Europe's most important triathlon of the 1986 season. 

Milton Keynes was pretty much the UKs triathlon capital for a few years in the 80s. For the volume of triathlons organised locally, the cool facilities for training and for hosting several championship events. As the town also hosted the 1987 Le Coq Sportif Grand Prix final.

But on 22nd June 1986 the water at Willen lake was a super-chilly 13°C. And the British athletes found themselves feeling even colder than their rivals. As continental European athletes turned up with their long-john suits. While the BTA would not budge and stuck firm by their shortie rule for home athletes. Here’s a quote from the race report in French.

“The British athletes were cursing their federation. As the BTA doesn’t allow the wearing of wetsuits with full-length legs. Just a detail? Most definitely not. As going against what other national federations have agreed can only damage the recognition the sport receives in the UK; while putting their athletes at a competitive disadvantage”

But why weren’t the BTA allowing suits with full-length legs? Here’s Dave Bellingham, a triathlete since 1983 and who also held many posts in British Triathlon, writing in 220 magazine in November 1992.  

The 1986 BTA AGM was held in February at West Bromwich where the main debate of the day was wetsuits. Much of the discussion centred on whether they were fair or not. Remember, in the early days of the sport, the element of toughness remained an important tenet of the sport’s appeal.
The aspects of safety were raised and the end result was to allow wetsuits. But they were to be limited to the shape of tri-suits (i.e. shorties) to reduce buoyancy.

Note also. This decision came after the shock of the 1985 British Long Distance Championships at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham on 4th August 1985. The water had been 14°C. And of the 120 athletes that started. 50 people were hauled from the water. And less than 50 finished.  

Martin Lee told me that race organisers in the UK had started to crack in 1985 though. As he wore a shorty when representing Great Britain at the first ever ETU Short Distance Triathlon Championships at Immenstadt in Germany. And then slipped it on again the week after. At that race in Nottingham. Maybe due to extra warmth and buoyancy. He had a great race. Finishing second. I’ve also seen pictures of athletes wearing basic wetsuits at the 1985 Silver Spoon Ironman in Peterborough.

Things did change officially in 1987 however. As Dave Bellingham again wrote. About the 1987 BTA AGM at Nottingham University.

Wetsuits, helmets and drafting continued to dominate discussions. With full wetsuits now to be allowed. With a maximum thickness of 3mm. To come into line with the ETU and the USA.

I think this means sleeved suits were now allowed. Rather than long-johns. However, if not they definitely became legal in 1988.

Oddly, looking through the UK magazines from this period. I can’t see many sleeved suits. Only Triathlon Pro advertised one in 1988. Although Terrapin did run a small ad in 1987 saying their suits conformed to ETU regulations. So maybe they had a sleeved suit too. 

Regarding that ETU decision to allow sleeved suits in 1987. Below is the start line at the 1987 European Short Course championships in Marseille. You can see a few sleeved suits there. Lots of Aquaman stuff. Again. Some colourful suits. Also. Robin Brew. Front centre. In a Speedo. 

Image: Tri-Athlete (FR) Juillet 1987

But in 1988 the hard-man legacy wasn’t the only rubbery concern in UK triathlon. See article from Tri-Athlete (UK) below.

There were worries that some athletes in the UK were intentionally or accidentally wearing suits that were thicker than the allowed 3mm. Sourced from the USA or Australia. That provided extra warmth and buoyancy.

It seems some race organisers were planning to take fat-measuring calipers to suits of any athletes they thought were Naughty Boys!

Image: Tri-Athlete (UK) August 1988

In 1990 the ETU, BTA and ITU all allowed 5mm suits. Check out the Terrapin ad below. I kinda remember that the law allowed 5mm bodies but still only 3mm legs and arms. But I haven’t got any hard evidence for this.  

Image: 220 (UK) March 1990

It seems France never had any wetsuit taboos. Whether that be shorties, long johns, suits with long sleeves or suits with integrated hoods. Judging by magazine images from Tri-Athlete (FR) in 1985 and 1986.

Remember the Nice 1985 video above. It’s the first coverage of that race with visible wetsuits. But what a mix of styles! It’s a really fun watch though. Make sure to watch 08:10 to 09:10.

We see Dave Scott and Charlie Graves in swimming trunks. Yves Cordier in a sleeveless long john suit. Scott Molina in a blue and hot pink suit by Pro Motion. He takes it off in the water. The neoprene looks thick and inflexible by modern standards. Then Mark Allen in a suit with long sleeves and a hood. Oddly the legs are very high-cut. Even higher than a shorty. Like Molina. He kinda struggles getting it off.

Many of the early suits you saw on the French scene in the mid to late-80s were made by Aquaman. Which Yves Cordier was probably wearing in the clip above. Aquaman, a spin-off from diving suit company Merian, started producing triathlon specific wetsuits from 1984.

After testing prototypes in 1983, the Aquaman shorty was available for the following season. Then a long-john in 1985. And long-sleeved suits with thicker neoprene and even one with an integrated hood in 1987! There’s a chance Mark Allen was wearing a prototype of that in Nice.

I’ve put a few Aquaman ads from 1986 and 1987 below. Aquaman is also still around today and super-popular on the French triathlon scene. 

Images:

Tri-Athlete (FR) Juin 1986
Tri-Athlete (FR) Juin 1987

It's also worth looking at Nice 1986 from the 3:55 mark. Below. A year on. And nearly everybody is in a wetsuit. Lots of Aquaman. And some long sleeves. Although still not allowed in ETU championship races. Countries could create their own local wetsuit rules. There are also a few shorties. And there’s Molina in the Pro Motion again. 

This brings me on to the suit I’d love to get hold of. And I check ebay regularly for one. But so far nothing. Second hand suits don’t have a very long life I guess. But surely there’s a box of new old stock somewhere in France. That suit is the Winning club branded Aquaman sleeveless suit. 

Winning Club was a membership scheme run by Offpress. Jean Claude Garot’s Brussels based company that published all the Tri-Athlete titles. 

Image: Tri-Athlete (UK) July 1988

In the July 1988 issue of Tri-Athlete (UK) you see Glenn Cook on a Winning Club ad wearing the suit. Membership of the Winning Club was £14.95.

You got worldwide multisport insurance. That was. One of the numerous advantages the biggest sports club in the world offers. You had to send in a stamped addressed envelope though to find out about other Winning Club activities and its membership benefits. 

11 Well Lane. London. SW14 7AE. This is actually the address of a pub called The Plough. Now I have a triathlon mystery I need to solve.

From 1987 you could find order forms for Winning Club branded wetsuits in Tri-Athlete (FR). Below. The price of a suit was 699FF for the sleeveless version. That's about €106 today. Although if you weren’t a Winning Club member you had to pay an extra €7.50 to join .

I thought they were super-cool. And the yellow and blue stripes defined an era of exotic start-lines. A time when we had to get our triathlon coverage and knowledge through studying photos in magazines. 

Image: Tri-Athlete (FR) May 1987

As I previously mentioned I think by the end of the 1991 season I’d grown out of my Triathlon Pro wetsuit. And this was when I bought my favourite ever suit. By a company called Hydro-Tech. 

For a few summers. Maybe 1991-1993. I worked at Perfect Performance. Perfect Performance imported and distributed triathlon products. These included Hed Wheels, Grip Shift, Sport Lace and Swans Goggles.

One of the company owners was top-British triathlete Rick Kiddle. Rick made many British teams and was one of the first triathletes from the UK to spend a winter training in San Diego. Super-nice guy too.

I bought my Hydro-Tech wetsuit from Rick. As he was sponsored by them and got me a good price. It was a sleeveless suit. But with short, blue lycra half-arms sleeves. I wore it at least until the end of 1996. 

Here’s a Hydro-Tech ad below The athlete exiting the water is Rick. Underneath is a photo of me wearing mine while leading the 1996 Dole Triathlon in France. It’s still the best suit I’ve ever owned. For look, feel and performance. The blue arms also made you easy to spot.

Images:

220 (UK) August 1991
Ross at 1996 Dole Triathlon

The USA story I don't know as fully. But it seems a bit more complicated. Here’s the 1987 USTS Baltimore. See 1:30 to 2:20 and 06:50 to 10:55.

Note that the temperature of the water in Baltimore was 23°C. The ETU did not allow wetsuit use at 23°C and above in 1987. 

It seems although rules were locked down by the BTA, ETU and CONADET in France. In the USA it was more of a choice still. And a controversial one. As the safety versus buoyancy / speed debate was still raging. 

See article below. Tri-Fed was only “recommending” that 22°C was used as the upper limit for wetsuit use. Although race organisers were allowed to adjust that 2°C plus or minus at their discretion. WTF?

Image: Triathlete (USA) April 1987

There’s an excellent article on triathlonhistory.com written by Scott Tinley. It covers early wetsuit developments in the States. Here.

It starts with Scott’s early wetsuit experimentation with O’Neil in 1982. Talks about Body Glove’s marketing move to provide free body-only suits to all competitors at the 1983 Ricoh LA Ironman. And Scott’s realisation, from seeing prototypes in Australia, that tight smooth suits with long legs and high necks were the way to go. 

Also the shift from thinking suits weren’t only good for safety and cold protection. But also buoyancy and therefore speed. And finally the emergence of Quintana Roo in 1987. When Dan Empfield was tinkering with suits purely for triathlon. Not being distracted by having to produce products for surfing or other water activities. 

For a final word on wetsuits. Listen to Frank Shorter and Jim Simpson at the 1991 St Croix Triathlon. From 06:45 until 08:20. And for loads more information about that race check out TSP20.

Ross https://www.thestreakpodcast.com/
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