US Olympic rowers will be wearing Sunderland’s innovative seamless sports apparel at the Rio games this summer. (credit: Philadelphia University)

Today’s technology can do some pretty amazing things. It recently let us get up close and personal with Jupiter and even create low-fat chocolate. But, so far, it’s struggling with a new challenge—allowing athletes to safely play amid raw sewage.

Textile engineers at Philadelphia University announced last week that they’ve developed seamless, light-weight, antimicrobial suits for the US Olympic rowing team. In August, the team will wear the suits as they compete in the summer games in Rio de Janeiro, which is surrounded by water brimming with raw sewage, pollution, drug-resistant bacteria, virus loads up to 1.7 million times the level considered hazardous in the US, and a recent oil slick.

In a Berlin Hospital, Heil had infections scraped out of his skin without anaesthetic. (credit: Erik Heil)

To protect athletes, the new suits contain two layers: one that wicks water away from the skin and another that contains a chemical-based antimicrobial finish. The design is aimed at preventing illnesses, such as the severe drug-resistant, flesh-eating infections German sailor Erik Heil suffered on his legs and hip after racing in a test event in Rio last year.