Traditionally, the women's teams wear bikini-cut leotards, but the German team's choice to wear a full-bodied suit that's typically worn by the men's teams was about "what feels comfortable,” Seitz told CNN.
“We wanted to show that every woman, everybody, should decide what to wear.” As for future events at the 2021 Olympics or otherwise, the team will choose which style to wear “day by day, based on how we feel and what we want.”
The International Gymnastics Federation (IFG) has previously stipulated that unitards are, in fact, permitted to be worn, however, the rules state that gymnasts “must wear a correct sportive non-transparent leotard or unitard (one piece leotard with full length legs-hip to ankle), which must be of elegant design,” adding that “she may wear complete leg coverings of the same colour as that of the leotard; under or on top of the leotard.”
Back during the 2021 European Gymnastics Championships in April 2021, Seitz explained on her Instagram that she and her teammates wore “a new type of suit” as a symbol that some athletes “may feel uncomfortable or even sexualised in normal suits,” referring to the leotards that the sport has become known for.
However, this isn't the first issue with uniform-related sexualisation at the Olympic Games. Earlier this week, Norway's women's beach handball team were issued fines for opting to wear shorts rather than bikini bottoms—a fine which musician Pink has declared she'd pay for the team, after she was disgusted by the ancient rule dictating women's bodies.
Here's hoping those archaic and sexist rules go out the window by the next games.
