3 Oz Olympic hopefuls test new sports bras to boost performance

Melbourne, Jan 25 (ANI): Three Australian Olympic hopefuls, who are in line for the London 2012, volunteered to test the new sports bras which aims to give better mobility to athletes.

Basketball player Sara Blicavs, footballer Lydia Williams and hurdler Lauren Bowden tried out the new Berlei products, as they worked up a sweat at the Australian Institute of Sport, hoping to give the clothing manufacturer some tips and hints to improve both the performance of the sports bras, and subsequently their own performance.

AIS deputy director Dr Nick Brown said the institute used the latest technology to test the bras and see how much support they gave to women to help reduce the risk of injury and improve sporting technique.

Dr Brown uses the biomechanical testing method - getting athletes to walk, jog and run on treadmills while reflective markers are attached to their bodies to detect motion and test how effective the bra support is.

The AIS has had a commercial partnership with Berlei for about six years, testing new sports bras as they are developed.

"We provide Berlei with feedback of the effectiveness of the bras to reduce the amount of breast bounce or motion during these activities," the Daily Telegraph quoted Dr. Brown as saying.

"We obviously have female athletes who require proper equipment and a good sports bra is what an active woman, or certainly an elite athlete needs.

"It is difficult to know how effectively a bra will reduce breast bounce, but Berlei's commitment to testing greatly improves the likelihood of producing and developing very effective sports bras," he said.

According to Berlei, one in three women wear the wrong bra size and said testing had found that breast tissue could easily be damaged if women were not getting the right support.

Berlei Sport head designer Adele Kershaw said the company's bras offered different levels of support for different forms of exercise, reducing breast bounce by up to 60 per cent.

"We're trying to promote and educate sporting women about the importance of wearing the right sports bra and the different levels of support factors that are appropriate for different activities," Kershaw added. (ANI)