American swimmer Erik Vendt holds up his left leg, pointing to a coin-sized scar on the shin.
”I did that when I was 11 years old,” he said, sounding like someone proudly showing off an old war wound. ”That was the first summer I shaved. I bled for a half hour. I could hardly swim that night.”
He’s 23 now, preparing to compete in his second Olympics and still participating in a ritual that’s unique to swimming. While Vendt has been growing a scraggly beard for the past month, he planned to pull out a razor on Friday night and shave himself from head to toe — all in an effort to go a little faster once he dives into the water.
It’s called ”shaving down.” All those hairy faces and shaggy legs that were seen around the pool in the days leading up the Athens Games will be as smooth as Grecian marble once the eight-day swimming competition begins on Saturday.
”I like the feeling of the water hitting my face,” said Vendt, rubbing the beard that soon will be coming off.
”At most, the difference is probably a tenth of a second. But if you feel like you’re going fast, you’ll go fast.”
Not that it’s a pleasant ordeal. The night before a race, swimmers lather up and put blade to skin on every part of their body that won’t be covered by the swimsuit or cap. It takes at least an hour and requires help to shave those hard-to-reach areas on the back.
The result: Plenty of tiny nicks — or worse.
”I’ve done it enough times that I can minimise the pain,” said Bryce Hunt, another American Olympian. ”I usually manage to avoid some of the huge gashes that you see on some people.”
To shave down, you must have something to shave off.
Many male swimmers opt for beards during their training periods between meets; women will often let underarm and leg hair grow. It’s mind over matter. A swimmer who trains with a bushy body will feel downright sleek — and probably faster — after the hair washes down the drain.
”It’s part of the job description — hairy legs,” United States women’s co-captain Lindsay Benko said.
Shaving down has taken on a little less significance with the advent of cutting-edge bodysuits, which cover more skin than previous attire and provide even less resistance to water than skin. Most men now compete in suits that cover at least the upper legs, while Australian star Ian Thorpe wears a full suit, leaving only his face, arms and huge feet exposed to the water.
But Benko says bodysuits don’t eliminate the need for shaving.
”If you’re hair grows long enough, it will stick through the suit,” she said. ”It’s still a big deal, though I’m sure it’s more mental than anything else.”
Shaving down can be a major drawback to youngsters in those formative years when they’re just getting serious about the sport — especially boys. Vendt remembers being the butt of many jokes when he was growing up, sometimes escalating to the point of blows being exchanged.
”Everyone makes fun of you,” he recalled. ”They’ll say, ‘Oh, you shave your legs. What a girl.’ Sometimes, I’d get in a fight about it. I had to defend my honour.” – Sapa-AP