The 70’s
The Arena Brand was created by sports visionary Horst Dassler, son of the Adidas
founder and President of Adidas France. During the 1972 Munich Summer Games, Dassler
was on the pool deck when Mark Spitz won his historic 7 gold medals. Dassler, along
with the rest of the world, found himself in awe because not only was Spitz the
first athlete to win 7 golds in one Olympiad, but at the same time he set 7 new
world records. Dassler immediately started forming plans for a swimwear company
dedicated to aquatic sports and created the new performance swimwear brand known
today as Arena.
In 1973, just one year after the Games, Arena launched its first competition swimwear
line with the introduction of Skinfit®. Skinfit was known in the industry as a “technological
pearl.” The new ultra-light fabric only weighed 18 grams and was designed to cling
to a swimmer’s body like a “second skin.”
The following year, Arena signed the first female sponsorship agreement with Australian
swimmer Shane Gould. Gould was the “Female Spitz” of the 1972 Munich Games, winning
5 individual Olympic medals. Working in collaboration with Gould, in 1974 Arena
developed the Shane Gould Female Swimsuit Collection.
Dassler knew sports sponsoring was key to the brand’s success, so in preparation
for the next Olympics Arena started signing other individual athletes who could
provide feedback to the design and development of new products, plus at the same
time generate excitement for aquatic sports. By 1976, Arena athletes and products
were ready for the Olympic Games in Montreal. Members of the original Arena Elite
Team included such world champions as Mark Spitz (USA), Novella Calligaris (ITA),
Steve Furniss (USA), David Wilke (UK), Shirley Babashoff (USA), Gary Hall (USA),
Klaus Dibiasi (ITA), Ulrika Knape (SWE) and Maxine “Miki” King (USA). Arena’s Elite
were equipped with Arena’s first line of swim caps and goggles designed specifically
to meet the needs of high level competitors. The hard work that both the athletes
and Arena put into preparing for the Montreal Olympics paid off and the Arena Elite
Team won an astonishing 44 Olympic medals. Two years later, at the West Berlin World
Swimming Championships athletes wearing Arena won a total of 62 medals, nearly 75%
of the total medal count, and broke 9 world records. Members of the original team
went on to set a total of 83 world records.
The 80’s
Getting used to being first, in 1980 Arena introduced Flyback®. Flyback was the
world’s first competition swimsuit designed with thin straps to create larger shoulder
openings and an exposed back in order to give athletes complete upper body range
of motion. To this day, many swimmers and divers still prefer the freedom of movement
provided by the Flyback style so the popular swimsuit design has been updated and
is featured in our current collection.
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the newest Arena Elite Team member Matt Biondi became
the 2nd swimmer to win 7 medals in one Olympiad. Close to matching Spitz’s record,
5 of Biondi’s 7 medals were Gold and 4 of those were won with world record times.
The first man to swim the 100m Free in under 49 seconds, Biondi can also be referred
to as a 3-Time Olympian, 11-Time Olympic Medalist, 6-Time World Champion, 24-Time
U.S. National Champion and World Record Holder. He is now a member of the U.S. Olympic
Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
The 90’s
At the beginning of the 90’s Arena was ready to launch another technological breakthrough:
AquaRacer®. AquaRacer was designed to make swimmers glide through the water because
of its extra smooth finish and outstanding fit with maximum freedom of movement.
In 1997, the Arena D&D Team did it again and left everyone speechless with the launch
of X-Flat®, a fabric that was even thinner, smoother and lighter than AquaRacer.
With a 25% lower weight than any other fabric used for competition level products,
X-Flat was just a preview of what was to come in 2000. At the same time, the Arena
Elite Team continued to recruit new talented swimmers who went on to become historical
world-class champions. Members included such talent as Alexander Popov and Franziska
van Almsick, two of swimming’s dominating world performers of the 90s.
2000
Arena’s drive to go beyond any established limit gave the world two technological
breakthroughs: Powerskin® (2000) and Powerskin X-Treme® (2004). Powerskin technology
became the flagship of the new generation of elite competition full-body swimsuits,
as the new suits almost entirely cover an athlete’s body.
Powerskin® and Powerskin X-Treme® have won the privilege of accompanying the greatest
champions onto the podiums of the most prestigious swimming events in Europe and
the World.
And today they are still the preferred racing swimsuits for a great number of international
swimming champions, such as Laure Manaudou, Filippo Magnini, Roland Schoeman, Ryk
Neethling, Laszlo Cseh and the list goes on.
2010 and the future
At Arena we understand that all athletes are driven to win, whether it be to stand
on the podium or to achieve their personal best, the end goal is always a win. We
understand because we have the same urge. From the time Arena founder Horst Dassler
started his venture, Arena has been focused on winning. We’ve had one goal: to strengthen
and promote aquatic sports. Through a continuous pursuit to team with athletes for
inspiration we’ve consistently provided products that match and exceed their expectations.
To us this is a win. And with over 30 years of practice, we’ve established a cadence
between our athletes and our products. To us this is our way to stand with you on
the podium.