Swimming

It was two years ago that we first heard about the Trident, an underwater scooter made by Chinese startup Geneinno. The company has now released a cheaper, more portable model, known as the Geneinno S2.

While there are already performance-tracking watches that count swimmers' laps and strokes, they typically don't provide feedback on the quality of those strokes. A new device known as the SmartPaddle, however, is designed to do just that.

Back in 2017, Chinese startup Sublue successfully crowdfunded an underwater scooter known as the WhiteShark Mix. The company is now set to release a new-and-improved model, called the Mix Pro.

Some people simply are not fast, powerful swimmers, and it is for such people that electric kickboards were first invented. The SWIMN S1, however, features what its creators claim is a more efficient, user-friendly propulsion system.

American scientists have created a "Tunabot," that they claim can match the swimming speed of an actual tuna.

​Competitive swimmers certainly like to track their performance, often using devices such as swim watches – the problem is, the athletes have to stop to look at those things. A Vancouver-based startup is out to address that problem, with its head-up display (HUD) Form Swim Goggles.

Scientists from Taiwan are suggesting not all exercise is equal when it comes to those with a genetic propensity for obesity trying to lose weight. The study concluded jogging was better for weight loss than either swimming or cycling in those subjects with a genetic predisposition for obesity.

​Let's face it: due to the amount of thrust required to lift a person off the ground, practical personal jetpacks may never exist – at least, not for use in the air. Underwater jetpacks, however, are another story. We've seen a few lately, with one of the latest incorporating a novel backpack unit.

​When you see hardcore lake or ocean swimmers who are far from shore, you've gotta wonder – what happens if they get tired, or get a cramp? Well, there are flotation devices that they can use, although some of them are cumbersome. The Tekrapod, however, is designed not to be.

A small study has found that a short swim in the ocean can alter the composition of a person’s skin microbiome for at least 24 hours. It is unclear what the implications of these changes are but the researchers hypothesize the alterations could leave a person more susceptible to infection.

​We've seen mermaid-type monofins before, and we've also seen so-called underwater scooters. A group of US/UK entrepreneurs has gone and combined the two, in the form of a monofin that gives swimmers an electric boost with each kick.

​There are already swim-tracking wearables such as watches, that track data such as the number of lengths swum. TritonWear is taking things further, however, with its just-announced Triton 2 – the device tracks 13 swimming metrics at once, transmitting data in real time for performance analysis.