Bede735 - I am positive those VERY brief suits on the guys in that 1989 NJO meet were the famed 'paper suits' of the late 80s - mid 90s era (before those horrible jammers and full body suits took over). I saw my first paper suit at the 1988 US Olympic swim trials meet in Austin, Texas - and was shocked and awed by their tight skimpiness! I purchased a few back then - still have them. They were made by different companies, with Speedo and The Finals being two manufacturers. Mine are both size 32 - I just measured them and the Speedo has a side width of 2 and 1/8 inches, the Finals is 1 and 3/4 inches. Of course many swimmers downsized even those brief suits - if you normally wore a 30 or 32 waist, most would drop to a 28 suit, and a few to 26! Who knows how narrow the sides on a 26" suit would be! The fabric wasn't actual paper, but is extremely thin and lightweight, and will actually 'crinkle' if you squeeze it in your hand. They originally came in black and navy blue, but more colorful suits later appeared. Nearly every collegiate US swimmer wore them at major meets during that time period, but usually not for regular in-season meets since they were fairly expensive and did not last more than several meets. That NJO meet in the video was stacked with future US talent - Josh Davis won gold medals at the 96 and 2000 Olympics, Brian Retterer won medals at Pan Pacific and World Championship meets, and multiple championship races at the US NCAA college meets, where he swam for Stanford - along with Tyler Mayfield. Oh, those glorious days of the paper suit!
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