The most common image of a man on a national swimming team is smooth-faced, but I saw two surprising exceptions on TV this past weekend:
Team USA swimmer Michael Phelps kept his face smooth for the races in Beijing, but the photo on his bio at NBC Sports shows some unmistakable, edge-carved, "designer" stubble on his chin. Also, Team Australia swimmer Andrew Lauterstein showed unshaped stubble in at least one of his races (I don't know how long those hyperlinks will last).
I don't know whether short stubble physically affects a man's swimming speed enough to matter in races. I can, however, imagine some sort of psychological effect on each swimmer's own self ("I just want to look a certain way today in order to feel faster.").
Team USA swimmer Michael Phelps kept his face smooth for the races in Beijing, but the photo on his bio at NBC Sports shows some unmistakable, edge-carved, "designer" stubble on his chin. Also, Team Australia swimmer Andrew Lauterstein showed unshaped stubble in at least one of his races (I don't know how long those hyperlinks will last).
I don't know whether short stubble physically affects a man's swimming speed enough to matter in races. I can, however, imagine some sort of psychological effect on each swimmer's own self ("I just want to look a certain way today in order to feel faster.").
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