Invista, owner of the Lycra brand has announced British Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Adlington as Female Swimmer of the Year at the prestigious Splash Awards held at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester last week.

With a strong heritage in making swimming costumes feel comfortable, fit beautifully and give exceptional support, the Lycra fibre brand is well positioned to help celebrate the best of the British swimming world thanks to Invista’s sponsorship of the Female Swimmer of the Year category at the annual awards.  Rebecca was chosen as the winner of the award for her amazing two gold medals in the 400 metres and 800 metres at this year’s Beijing Olympics. 

The Splash Awards were created four years ago in support of the Swimming Trust and British Olympic Foundation to honour athletes who excel in this field, and with the British Olympic Swimming Team collecting a total of six medals at this summer’s Olympics, there was much to celebrate.  The event was hosted by rugby star Martin Bayfield and the audience filled with famous faces from the world of aquatic sports including Paralympic gold medalist Eleanor Simmonds, former silver medalist diver and now BBC commentator Leon Taylor and freestyle medalist Karen Pickering MBE, as well as industry figure heads.

Michele Duncan, Marketing Manager for Invista in the UK said, “Lycra fibre plays a valuable role within swimwear, both for professional and amateur swimmers, as it offers a winning blend of comfort, shape and fit.  We are honoured to sponsor the competitive category of Female Swimmer of the Year and very proud to help Rebecca celebrate her well deserved title.”

Lycra fibre has for many years been an integral part of swimwear and Invista has recently added innovations to its portfolio by launching the new Xtra Life Lycra fibre which helps enhance the longevity of costumes.  According to Invista, the Xtra Life Lycra fibre helps swimwear resist ‘bag and sag’ thanks to its stretch and recovery benefits, and hold its shape for longer. Invista says that, Xtra Life Lycra fibre is also chlorine resistant, helping swimwear keep its original quality for five to ten times longer than unprotected elastane.