OLYMPICS:AS THE World Anti-Doping Agency wages war on drugs, a new term has been coined for developments in the pool. For the first time at an Olympics, swimmers will be wearing suits believed to enhance performance markedly, and a debate rages about whether it amounts to "tech-doping".

Speedo spent three years on their LZR, and their rival TYR claim that more than a decade of research went into Tracer Rise. So I was sent to explore the benefits of the two.

Speedo's research involved making 3D scans of more than 400 elite swimmers' bodies to identify which areas create underwater drag, and the LZR uses panels to compress these into a more hydrodynamic shape. But as an amateur splasher I knew the suits would be fighting a losing battle.

And a battle it is, from the moment you attempt to put the LZR on. Getting into the leg holes was strength-sapping in itself, but once in the water it felt okay as I got into a four-strokes-per-breath rhythm. That seemed fine, but it soon became clear that, in the excitement of wearing the LZR, both the hat and goggles had been put on wrong. My hair shifted underneath my hat, causing it to ride up over my head: I was more Smurfette than Thorpedo.

To compound that, after two lengths my left eye began to fill with water, prompting mild panic exacerbated by the suit's constricting effect on my chest.

Having set out to do eight lengths of the lido's 50.3 metres, I quit after four.

It was time to try TYR's version, the Tracer. Knee-length rather than a full-body costume, it was easier to put on and more comfortable. It did not feel as restrictive and I reckoned my pace would reflect that.

But, although it felt faster, it was not. A quick look at split times seemed to prove that Speedo had the edge.

These kits might do the trick for Michael Phelps and Amaury Leveaux, but it's back to the board-shorts for me.