Hot on the heels of the official opening ceremony of the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, comes the start of the speed skating tournament in the Richmond Olympic Oval. It is an event where the Dutch have a long-standing reputation for success, and they look set for more medals in the coming days. The chances of success for the Dutch Olympic short-track team will be further assisted wearing a new and innovative Craft one layer skin suit, made with Dyneema, which is lighter and more comfortable due to intrinsic cooling properties than comparable alternatives, whilst offering for the first time, full body protection.

The secret weapon behind the new skin suit is the clever combination of Dyneema, the world's strongest fiber, with other materials to create a new skin suit with full body protection in a single layer. Previously, Olympic athletes wore two layer skin suits - an under layer for protection purposes and a surface layer for aesthetic appearance. The one layer Craft skin suit is lighter than existing alternatives and its snugger-fit makes it exceptionally comfortable.

"We work closely with top athletes to maximize their performance by engineering world class apparel used in sporting events, such as the Olympics," comments Johan Neperus, General Manager of Craft Benelux. "Thanks to the use of Dyneema, the technical performance of the suits, in terms of keeping the athlete cool and allowing body heat to escape more effectively is ensured. In addition, the suits provide full body protection which exceed today's requirements as set by the International Skating Union."

"The traditional combination of a protective under layer with a nylon suit on top meant that the overall outfit was too heavy and fairly uncomfortable," explains Bert van der Tuuk, CEO of SportConfex.  "Hence, we developed a new solution, involving a double-face single layer construction combining Dyneema and nylon. We are very excited about this new product and foresee many more opportunities for its use in other sports."

The material behind the new short-track skin suits is a development of DSM and Fuchshuber Techno-Tex, a specialist producer of high-technology protective fabrics using Dyneema. Craft in close cooperation with SportConfex and Royal Dutch Skating Association (KNSB) designed the revolutionary single layer full body protection skin suit.

"The entire organization is extremely proud of the role Dyneema plays in improving Olympic athletes' chances of success at the Winter Games in Vancouver. It really is fantastic to know that, through the combined efforts, our sportsmen and women will be competing in more comfort with better protection and hopefully an even better chance of success," confirms Jaco Fok, Business Manager Yarn of DSM Dyneema.