RELATED: Women Athletes Are Calling Out the Olympics for Forcing Them to Do This. The BBC reports that in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, German gymnast Voss explained that as she got older, she felt increasingly more uncomfortable in the standard leotard. “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,” said Voss. “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.” Voss told BBC: “We hope gymnasts uncomfortable in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example.” Other members of the team have been sharing photos of the new uniform, with Bui posting a photo of the gymnasts in their “beautiful unitards” on July 22. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Team USA will be wearing the standard leotards this year, but they’ve supported other athletes’ decision to wear unitards.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “Personally, I feel comfortable in a leo, and that’s more my style,” Biles told Team USA in June. “I feel like [a bodysuit] might shorten me, but 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.” Her teammate Sunisa Lee also thinks the unitards are “a really good idea.” “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,” she told Team USA. Kara Eaker, an alternate for Team USA at Tokyo 2020, who had to return home after contracting coronavirus, praised the unitard too. “It’s different, it stands out, and it’s a power move,” she said. “I haven’t really trained in one before, so I wouldn’t know how that would affect my training and gymnastics ability, but I’d be open to trying anything.” Gymnasts’ uniforms aren’t the only source of controversy for professional women athletes as of late. The Norwegian women’s handball team was just fined for refusing to wear bikini bottoms, which are mandated by the European Handball Federation, after the team shared a photo in their groundbreaking shorts. Conversely, two-time Paralympic Olivia Breen, who competes in track events, was told by an official at the English Championships that her shorts were “too short” and “inappropriate.” RELATED: Nadia Comăneci Scored a Perfect 10 at the Olympics 45 Years Ago. See Her Now.
