When the U.S. Olympic rowers put on their training suits next month in Rio de Janeiro, it will represent their dedication to a sport that requires near-perfect synchrony of movement and form.
But for Keith Sherrill, it will be a sigh of relief after working to develop and produce the suits for over a year and a half at the Speizman International Seamless Development Lab in Charlotte, N.C.
Sherrill, the company's director of product development, said the rowers' suits, made from polyester and nylon, fit like a "second skin" and will be much lighter than in years past thanks to the use of the Development Lab's seamless technology. They're also designed to protect rowers from Rio's polluted waterways.
Sherill, 50, is responsible for producing 290 U.S. Olympic rower suits, known as unisuits, that the team will wear during training exercises, as well as five unisuits for a rower on the Nigerian Olympic team.
During an interview last week, he still had 80 left to make.
"The gentleman from the Olympic Committee said there is no backup plan," Sherrill said. "So if I don't get these 80 suits out you will be watching rowers in Rio with no suits."
The seamless technology means that the knitting process will be streamlined by a circular electronic knitting machine made by an Italian company called Santoni, which reduces the number of seams in garments.
After producing the suits through the Santoni machine, Asheboro, N.C.-based Wells Hosiery and Apparel puts on the finishing touches before they are shipped to Rio.
"The athletes are really pleased with the new technology and seamless design," said Allison Frederick Muller, communications director for the U.S. Rowing Association. "We are excited to travel to Rio in less than a week, and put them to use at the Olympic venue."
Sherrill says the technology will make the unisuits more comfortable, and a closer fit. The suits will also be water-repellent and have an antimicrobial finish to offer some protection against bacteria.
"It kills bacteria and as you know, odor comes from bacteria," Sherrill said. "I mean literally a lot of your socks are antimicrobial because you wear them and they don't smell."
Sherrill said the antimicrobial and water-repellent features will be a first for the team.
"It was an added advantage to be antimicrobial," Sherrill said. "The antimicrobial was our idea just to give it extra value."
