Nike has endured a tough spring in the face of major league baseball uniform design headwinds. The iconic sportswear brand is once again under fire after unveiling track and field uniforms for the 2024 Olympics.
The kits for the track and field team were part of an overall Team USA release that included uniforms for track and field, basketball, soccer and skateboarding, CBS Sports reported. The uniforms were built in the Nike Sports Research Lab and designed using data from athletes.
“On the apparel side, the reason this is a game-changer for us is that we can take athlete insights along with data and use that algorithm to create something that can reach a certain level and increase fidelity. It’s a precision and accuracy that was never possible before,” Janet Nicol, Nike’s vice president of apparel innovation, told CBS Sports.
Nike reportedly used body scanning and motion capture to try to perfectly design uniforms that fit athletes perfectly. The company also designs kits made specifically for track and field athletes entering the finals, with prints on the fabric representing the movements of the runners’ bodies.
But while the uniforms may be scientifically designed to maximize running, other aspects of the attire have drawn criticism. The main point of contention, as U.S. athletes have pointed out, is the risk of women’s uniforms being too revealing during races.
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nike olympic track and field uniforms
Citius Mag, a publication focused on running news, posted a photo of the new uniform on Instagram. It didn’t take long for comments to begin pouring in from fans who were critical of the outfit, as well as from people who might be wearing it.
Many took issue with the bottom part of the uniform, pointing out that it doesn’t take much to cause a wardrobe malfunction.
Long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall commented, “Hold on, there’s a hoo-ha.”
Another Olympic hopeful, hurdler Britton Wilson, asked about another aspect of the kit: the font. She said the font resembled the much-derided Comic Sans.
Queen Harrison Clay, a former Olympic hurdler and sprinter, jokingly (and pointedly) hinted at a possible partnership to the female Olympians in uniform.
“Hello @europeanwax, would you like to sponsor Team USA at the upcoming Olympics? Thank you,” Clay commented.
A pair of running coaches, Katherine Westenfeld and Allison Staples, each took aim at the revealing nature of the kit.
Staples writes, “If the labia of a stationary mannequin hangs down, what can we expect to happen to a man in motion?”
Westenfeld added: “Has anyone consulted women about this race kit…?”
Even some rival companies attacked Nike. Under Armor wrote, “We are here solely to receive comments,” indicating that it is taking note of the complaints. Oisel, a women’s running apparel company, said, “If we run out of fabric after designing a men’s kit…”
Two-time U.S. 5,000-meter champion Lauren Fleshman wrote a full statement about her dissatisfaction with the uniforms, criticizing the double standards and saying that neither WNBA nor NWSL teams support the uniforms. She said athletes don’t have to fear wardrobe malfunctions or worry about “every vulnerable part of their body being exposed.”
She added that if it was “really beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it too.”
“This is not an elite competition kit for track and field. This is a costume born of patriarchal forces, and the focus on women’s sports is no longer welcome or necessary,” Fleshman said. wrote. “I’m queer and I’m attracted to women’s bodies, but I don’t expect or enjoy seeing female athletes or male athletes in a position where they struggle with self-consciousness in the workplace. It’s part of the job. I have lived such a life and know that excellence comes from unconsciousness, freedom, the embodiment of action and instinct. @nike @teamusa Stop making it difficult for half the @usatf population. ”
The 2024 Summer Olympics begin in Paris on Friday, July 26th.
