Germany’s female gymnasts team stood out from the rest in Tokyo over the weekend, competing in ankle-length unitards as their opponents donned more traditional bikini-cut uniforms.
Sunday’s showing was a reintroduction of the new outfits, which debuted at the European championships in April as part of an effort to stand “against sexualization,” the German Gymnastic Federation said at the time.
“The aim is to present aesthetically — without feeling uncomfortable,” the federation wrote on Twitter.
TEAM USA MEN’S BASKETBALL SUFFERS FIRST OLYMPIC DEFEAT SINCE 2004
The traditional competitive uniform is a tight leotard that stops at the hips, something that German gymnast Sarah Voss said was “increasingly uncomfortable” to compete in as she got older.
“We women all want to feel good in our skin. In the sport of gymnastics, it gets harder and harder as you grow out of your child’s body,” Voss, 21, said in April. “As a little girl, I didn’t see the tight gym outfits as such a big deal. But when puberty began, when my period came, I began feeling increasingly uncomfortable.”
The gymnasts elected to bring back the new unitards for the Olympics, Voss said on Sunday.
Gegen Sexualisierung im Turnen: EM-Turnerinnen des DTB starten in Basel in langem Turn-Anzug. Ziel ist ästhetisch präsentieren – ohne sich unwohl zu fühlen. #gymnasticalliance @SarahVo46143738 pic.twitter.com/tQbhZE0CHn
— Deutscher Turner-Bund (@dtb_online) April 21, 2021
“We sat together today and said, OK, we want to have a big competition,” she said. “We want to feel amazing. We want to show everyone that we look amazing.”
The uniform change comes as the sexual abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar continues to cast a cloud over the sport. Nassar was convicted and sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in 2018 after he admitted to abusing gymnasts, sparking demands for reform from top athletes.
American superstar Simone Biles, who is among those who said they were abused by Nassar, expressed her support for Germany’s decision to wear the new uniforms. American gymnasts have not made any similar alterations to their competitive outfits at the Tokyo Games.
“I stand with their decision to wear whatever they please and whatever makes them feel comfortable,” Biles said in June. “So if anyone out there wants to wear a unitard or leotard, it’s totally up to you.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Other sports, including beach volleyball and diving, also involve bikini-cut uniforms. Some athletes have pushed back against uniform requirements and not without consequence. The Norwegian women’s beach handball team was fined on July 19 for declining to wear bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships.
