Speedo’s superstar swimmers Mack Horton and Emma McKeon led a host of fellow athletes from across all aquatic sports disciplines who will line up in Tokyo in Speedo’s innovative competition racing and training suits.

The pool competition wear features Speedo’s latest tech race suits; Fastskin Pure Intent and Fastskin Pure Valor, both designed to combine 20 years of pioneering performance with innovative new technologies and new fabrics to make the perfect suit for every type of competitive aquatics athlete.

For the Tokyo Olympics, Speedo has returned to nature to look at how sharks and other fish reduce drag when they swim. Some of the world’s leading research institutions have looked not only at the skin features of fish in existence now, but also at the ancestors of modern day sharks, that have long been extinct.

Speedo has also worked with the Natural History Museum in London as well as with partners in other industries, including Formula 1, with the latest Fastskin suits, the smartest to date.

The Fastskin Pure Intent is designed around a deeper understanding of hydrodynamics and the biomechanics of swimming, with its flexible zoned compression, giving the swimmer a wider range of motion in the legs and making it easier to put on and more comfortable to wear. There are three brand new fabrics which directly target flexibility, compression and drag reduction in the areas that need it.

The Fastskin Pure Valor is Speedo’s most lightweight technical swimsuit and features moderate compression along with bonded seams for comfort and speed.

Talking about the suits Mack Horton said “I feel really flexible in the Speedo Fastskin Pure Intent and it’s helping me power through the water. This is the best racing suit in the world and I’m really looking forward to wearing it this year.”

Australia’s most decorated female swimmer, Emma McKeon added “The Speedo Fastskin Pure Intent is a lot easier to put on. The shoulders are much more comfortable and I feel fast wearing it! When I stand on the blocks, I’m feeling confident that the suit is going to help me.”

Ian Chesterman, Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission said “Speedo has a rich Olympic history, providing Australian Olympians with the best competition and training wear since the 1956 Melbourne Games. They have developed a cutting edge uniform for Tokyo 2020 to help our athletes in aquatic sports achieve world class performances, and I’m sure our swimmers, divers, water polo players and surfers will wear their Speedo Australian Olympic Team gear with pride.”

Speedo Brand Manager, Graham Eyres, said Speedo was excited and proud to be revealing the Tokyo outfits.

“Speedo is part of the Aussie DNA and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games we will all be inspired by the stories, strength and determination of our nation’s athletes,” Eyres said.

“With that inspiration we want to encourage all Aussies to make waves in their own way, by participating in an aquatic sport and do a really Aussie thing – just have a go in a Speedo.”

Triple Olympic diver Melissa Wu trialled the diving uniform, with a 10m synchronised dive with teammate Sam Fricker as part of the launch event.

“Being here today and being in the kit in person makes Tokyo seem a lot more real, it’s so exciting,” Wu said. “I love the colours and feel great in it.

“These Games will be different but we’ve all been training for this moment for years, and we’re so close now to the biggest sporting event in the world.”

Water Polo player and Rio Olympian Hannah Buckling joined the launch via video with her teammates from a training camp in northern NSW.

“The Speedos are amazing, the suits are such good quality,” Buckling said. “In a game that has so much grapple and holding often we rip suits, the Speedo ones are unbreakable. It’s even more special with the year delay, seeing these swimsuits is really getting us in the spirit of the Games, we love them.”

Speaking from the Surf Australia High Performance Centre, Buckling and teammates also saw the team boardshorts the surfing team will wear in Tokyo.

“It’s something so special about the Olympic Team, we’re so lucky to be part of it, all the sports support each other and we go together to succeed and compete as a big team, we absolutely love it.”

Three-time Paralympic gold medallist Brenden Hall said: “Speedo has always been at the forefront of swimsuit technology and an important part of my medal winning performances at the Games. I know I can swim my best in Fastskin.”

Australian Paralympic Team Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin, said: “Our Paralympians know when they put on the green and gold Speedos they are ready to perform for Australia. The Paralympic swimwear also incorporates our unique indigenous design, The Journey, depicting the genesis of the Paralympic family and how far we’ve all come together. I know it will be worn with pride.”

Junior athletes Indigo Chong and Bada Kang from the SOPAC Swim Team were also in attendance, sporting the Speedo limited edition replica collection. This range is a reproduction of the training swimwear for the Olympic Games and made for Aussies to be able to get into the Green and Gold spirit over the games. It can be purchased in selected aquatic centres, rebels, online and at Speedo stores.

Indego Chong said “It was great to wear the same swimwear as these amazing swimmers. I got to meet Mack Horton and ask him what it’s like to swim in the Olympics and win a gold medal.”