TRIATHLON

Helix powered McNeice smashes Ironman swim course record

By blueseventy


Dylan McNeice.  Credit: Darryl Carey 


blueseventy athlete Dylan McNeice shattered the swim course record at Ironman New Zealand last weekend (8 March), swimming an incredible 44mins 25seconds over the 3800m course. This accomplishment came just two weeks after also setting the swim course record at the prestigious Challenge Wanaka. Dylan set both records swimming in the all-new 2015 blueseventy Helix wetsuit.

New Zealander, McNeice finished 3rd at IMNZ, impressive following his Challenge Wanaka win just two weeks ago. Last week, the helix was first out of the water again, powered by Lauren Brandon (USA) at Challenge Dubai.

Dylan gives credit to his wetsuit, and said he wasn't specifically targeting a record swim: "I had a brand new helix on and it felt great, I felt great. I made the most of that and tried to swim as economically as I could. To be honest my swim was a bit of a cruise and the record was an awesome result!"

McNeice’s IMNZ swim equates to an average of 1minute 10seconds per 100m, and the fact that he went on to finish on the podium is truly testament to his potential for the future leading races wire to wire.

Mike Orton, blueseventy’s product specialist, said: “Our product development process is driven by feedback from our athletes, so it’s important for us to work with athletes like Dylan when it comes to making changes to our products. 

“The new Helix is the result of feedback from our global sponsorship triathlon team which includes world champions Leanda Cave and Pete Jacobs, and ITU competitors at the top of the rankings. We didn’t want to make changes for the sake of changes, but we did want to make the most of new advancements in fit and construction technology.

“The new Helix features a re-designed chest and back that provides a completely new feel in the water improving reach, flexibility and propulsion compared to the previous generation suit. We took what we learned during the design process of our Core Short and added panels on the side of the legs to improve fit and rotation. The forearm panels, which are comprised of technical fabric from our best-selling elite pool swimwear range, have been a standout feature since 2010 and have been improved to allow swimmers a better feel for the water. This allows them to benefit from their natural stroke whilst swimming in a wetsuit.

“We’re happy that the results speak for themselves, the new Helix has been first out of the water at Ironman Arizona, Challenge Bahrain, Challenge Wanaka, Challenge Dubai and now Ironman New Zealand.”

The new Helix and updated versions of the Reaction, Fusion and Sprint wetsuits are now available at triathlon stores globally. The improved Reaction shares similar technology to the Helix, making it an ideal choice for those triathletes looking to take their swimming to the next level.

To find out more visit www.blueseventy.com and see our Dealer Locator to find your nearest blueseventy store, where you can receive expert advice on fitting.

About blueseventy

If you spent a day with us at blueseventy you’d learn a couple things; that we’re a small team committed to triathlon and swimming, that we don’t cover our suits in gimmicks and we certainly don’t believe in the pseudo-science that other companies push out from so called official studies. We’d rather go off real information, like which suits are chosen by the professional athletes that test them.

We’ve spent over 20 years developing and constantly tweaking our patterns to get a fit that works with the swimmer. It’s that superior fit that leads to better performance and comfort in the water so our pro-athletes emerge first from the water at every iconic race in the world including the Olympics and World Championships over every distance. That’s our measuring stick. And for this reason, we are chosen by more swimmers than any other brand.