'Golf ball' suit speeds up runners

BEAVERTON, Ore., May 11 (UPI) -- A professional track suit developed by Nike, to be used at this summer's London Olympics, uses golf ball-like dimples to reduce drag, the company said.

The dimples on the Pro TurboSpeed suit, like those on a golf ball, create a thin layer of turbulent air molecules on the surface that follow the curves of the surface better than they would on a smooth ball or suit, reducing the size of the wake behind and the resultant drag.

Nike placed the holes in locations on the suit based on data gathered from wind tunnel testing, InnovationNewsDaily reported.

In those tests, Nike said, the suit reduced 100-meter dash times by as much as 0.023 seconds.

The current world record for the 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt.

The suit, made of 82 percent recycled polyester, will be worn in the Olympics by runners from the United States, Germany, Russia and China.