ALL AMERICAN SWIM STAFF WRITER Swimming is an intense, competitive sport. Athletes dedicate countless hours, both in and out of the pool, to improving their time. You set goals for yourself, work with your coach and hone your technique in hopes it will all pay off on race day. When that day finally comes, you feel nervous but prepared. All you need to do is focus on your stroke. The buzzer goes off, and you hit the water — but then your goggles fog up, and your focus is instantly shattered. All swimmers know the importance of good gear, and foggy goggles are a common challenge for all swimmers. While this issue might be annoying on a practice day, it can mean the difference between victory or defeat on race day. How do you stop your goggles from fogging up? First, you need to know what is causing the problem, and then you can learn how to prevent it. Why Are Your Swimming Goggles Fogging Up? The human eye is not designed for underwater vision. Goggles allow you to see underwater while you practice and race. You can see where you are going, stay in your lane and focus on your technique. Fog defeats the purpose of goggles. You can’t reach up and wipe the fog from your goggles, either, because it forms inside the lenses. At best, you
feel distracted. At worst, you start to swim offcourse. You may even need to stop mid-stroke to take off your goggles and clear them — but why does fog happen in the first place? Condensation is the culprit behind foggy goggles. Your goggles cool off in the water, but the area around your eyes heats up due to your body temperature. The combination of hot and cold causes water droplets to form on the inside of your goggles — which creates fog. The harder you swim, the warmer your body gets, which can mean more fog. Naturally, you are going to swim your hardest during race time, which is the last place you want to experience foggy goggles. Condensation regularly forms on swimming goggles for a couple of reasons: 1. No Anti-Fog Feature Many swimming goggles are equipped with a thin layer of anti-fog protection. It is made up of components that help absorb water and spread it across the surface of the lens, or it may even repel water entirely. When it’s working properly, this thin layer will prevent condensation from forming into water droplets large enough to see. While most modern swimming goggles are manufactured with this feature, some are not. If you swim with a pair of goggles without anti-fog protection, you will likely notice fog nearly every time you get into the water.
