In order to present the importance of engineering swimwear, the paper briefly covers the history of swimwear and the associated technical factors, the technical developments of Speedo's S2000 for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, and Speedo's latest development of Aquablade for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. The features that are important are a consistent fit with maximum body coverage, a polyester-microfibre/Lycra elastane-fibre fabric, and a specially designed seam stitch.