German Gymnasts Wear Long Unitards To Fight ‘Sexualization’ Of Sport

The female gymnasts representing Germany at the Tokyo Olympics wore formfitting unitards to compete on Sunday, as opposed to the typical bikini-cut, long-sleeved leotards.

The longer unitards, which cover the gymnasts’ legs entirely, were meant to represent a stand against the “sexualization” of the sport, the German team said.

The gymnasts first debuted the suits in April at the European Artistic Gymnastic Championships, according to CBS News.

“At the time, the German Gymnastics Federation said that they were a statement ‘against sexualization in gymnastics,’” the report said.

“The aim is to present aesthetically — without feeling uncomfortable,” said the federation.

German gymnast Sarah Voss, 21, told reporters that the team wanted to “feel” and “look amazing.”

“We sat together today and said, ‘Okay, we want to have a big competition,’” Voss said. “We want to feel amazing, we want to show everyone that we look amazing.”

Back in April, Voss elaborated on the team’s decisions. “We women all want to feel good in our skin,” she said. “In the sport of gymnastics it gets harder and harder as you grow out of your child’s body. 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.”

Gymnasts on Team USA offered support to the German team.

“It’s a really good idea,” said Sunisa Lee. “I think those are really cool. I like it a lot because people should be able to wear what they feel comfortable in, and it shouldn’t be a leotard if you don’t want to wear it.”

Simone Biles, who has said she prefers the bikini-cut leotard because it makes her short frame appear taller, said, “I stand with their decision to wear whatever they please and whatever makes them feel comfortable. So if anyone out there wants to wear a unitard or leotard, it’s totally up to you.”

It’s not just the female gymnasts changing up their wardrobe at the Tokyo Olympics. As noted by The Daily Wire, the The Norwegian women’s handball team opted to compete in tight-fitting shorts rather than bikini bottoms.

The move spurred a 1500 Euro fine for each player who refused to wear the uniform as prescribed by the European Handball Federation and instead wore the shorts.

The Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos said Monday that commentators at the Games should focus on “sport appeal, not sex appeal.”

“You will not see in our coverage some things that we have been seeing in the past, with details and close-up on parts of the body,” Exarchos said, according to Fox News “What we can do is to make sure that our coverage does not highlight or feature in any particular way what people are wearing.”

Related: ‘Sport Appeal, Not Sex Appeal’: Olympic Broadcasters Told To ‘Curb’ Sexualization Of Female Athletes

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