Why do Swimmers shave their Bodies?

Swimming is a competitive athletic sport that has been part of the Olympic Games since 1896. Many different practices have been employed by athletes to get this competitive edge in swimming. Shaving and Tapering may be the two most discussed topics among swimmers for the competitive edge required to outperform in swim heats. It has been proven that shaving the arms, legs, back and every other part of the body exposed to water, reduces frictional drag, improves streamline and heightens the swimmers awareness and feel for the water. This phenomenon of shaving, is also seen in cyclists and tri-athletes, which not only provides them the competitive edge but if they fall off their bikes at a very high speed, the body hair acts like Velcro, hooking onto the road and tearing away patches of skin. Smoother skin creates a less frictional interaction with the ground allowing them to be unscathed. Body hair for a swimmer, creates a drag up to to 10kg and removing that hair is similar to wearing a full body swimsuit. Some studies have studied this phenomenon and found that 9 breaststroke swimmers, experienced lower level of blood lactate concentration (the formation of lactic acid due to muscle fatigue) and decreased VO2 (the rate if oxygen the body uses during exercise), and longer distance per stroke after shaving their body for swims. A similar study done on the “Effects of taper on swim power, stroke distance and performance”. published in the National; Library of Medicine found that 12 swimmers had increased their power and distance per stroke by 5% each.