adidas has created a radical new sprint suit that provides support for all the needs of the sprinter’s body throughout a race. It provides compression where it is needed and allows total freedom of movement in other areas.

How does it work?

The strategic placement of the TPU power bands enhances spatial awareness and amplifies the natural movement and motion of a sprinter. The result is more efficient movement, greater comfort, amplified freedom and ultimately a faster run.

What are the key benefits of the new adidas sprint suit?

Compression and energy management.

Compression: Graduated, engineered compression supports leg muscles and reduces muscle vibration and oscillation, thus reducing energy loss and muscles fatigue. It also leads to an increase in accuracy and better technique.

Energy management: The new development sprint suit by adidas follows a simple but very effective mechanism: the muscles. TPU power bands embodied in the suit along key muscle groups contract and expand together with the muscles and thereby store energy (when contracting) and release this energy again (during expanding phase).

What does the name “ClimaCool TPU TechFit” mean?

It stands for the different technologies that are used for the sprint suit. Through the technologies we can combine a variety of benefits for the athlete wearing the suit: ClimaCool® helps the athlete to maintain the optimal body temperature even in hot conditions; compression (TechFit) helps the athlete to move more efficiently and the power bands (TPU) that are part of the suit enhance the explosive power of the athlete.

When did you start to develop the suit?

The suit was developed in the last five years. First prototypes were tested already in 2001 at the World Championships in Paris by Kim Collins who went on to win gold.

How did you test the suit?

Testing was done internally and in cooperation with the University of Calgary by sub-elite and elite athletes in training and since 2001 in competition. Initial results show that the explosive power is enhanced by 1,3% within the first 30 meters.

On the back of the suit you can see silver bands. Is this just a design element or is this part of the technology?

This is not a design element but the TPU power bands.

TPU bands link the legs with the power center of the body, the abdominal muscles, thus storing energy generated by the legs to provide explosive power with every foot strike.

How did you get the idea for this new technology?

The first stage was to look at top sprinters and see how they move and also how individual muscle groups move and drive them forward. As a result we could understand how to complement the movements they make - by applying compression in key areas and enhance their explosive power with TPU power bands.