From wide shorts to revealing underpants: how women's running uniforms have changed over 100 years and why Nike was embarrassed during the 2024 Olympics

For the first time, women were able to participate in Olympic athletics in 1928. Back then, their uniforms were much different from today's, as they were more closed and less practical to wear.

Over the past few decades, the look of clothing for female athletes specializing in running has changed. Clothing manufacturers have begun to pay more attention to the comfort of the outfit and take into account all aspects that will reduce the percentage of chafing, CNN writes. This year, however, representatives of the American company Nike got into a scandal over a swimsuit designed for female athletes.

How women's running uniforms have changed

The clothes that athletes wear to compete are not restricted by too complicated rules. The participants' shoes should be ordinary, without unnecessary details that will make it easier to cover the distance, and the clothes should be comfortable, worn in a way that does not cause comments, and not too transparent.

The first women's running uniforms that athletes wore on the Olympic site consisted of long high-waisted shorts, oversized T-shirts, and sneakers. Dobriana Geneva, a designer and professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, noted that such clothes were not comfortable for athletes, because the designers of the time did not focus on comfort.

"Earlier, athletes didn't wear sportswear - their clothes were quite elegant. But over the decades, the outfits have become more and more technical... Sometimes it means adding fabric, sometimes cutting it off for comfort and ease of movement," the expert explained.

In the 1960s, the first transformation of clothing for women participating in the Olympics took place. The fabric used to make the garments became denser, and the length of the shorts decreased significantly. In addition, bulky T-shirts were replaced with a more comfortable option - fitted T-shirts with wide straps.

In the 1980s, briefs and bikinis became especially popular among female athletes, allowing them to feel as comfortable as possible at the stadium for competitions.

Modern athletes have a much wider variety of clothing. The new sports uniform consists of: tight-fitting shorts, singlet, leotards, vests, T-shirts, crop tops and underpants with a thickened fabric.

"If you look good, you have confidence, and that will probably help you a lot in the competition," said Dobriana Geneva.

Nike embarrassed during the 2024 Olympics

When designing sportswear for female athletes, Nike got into a scandal because of the too revealing style of the women's uniform. During the official demonstration of clothing created specifically for the 2024 Olympics from the United States, brand representatives shared an outfit for runners that came under condemnation.

Former American track and field athlete Lauren Fleshman expressed her sincere dissatisfaction with the length of the underwear in a women's swimsuit that was too revealing. She noted that sportswear should provide full comfort, and not make the wearer constantly think about keeping all vulnerable parts of the body covered.

"Women's kits should serve productivity, both mental and physical. If these clothes really contributed to physical performance, they would be worn by men. This is not an elite sports kit for athletics. It's a costume born of patriarchal forces that are no longer needed to draw attention to women's sports," the 42-year-old said.

In response to the allegations, Nike said that athletes have a wide range of kits to choose from in the Olympics: "We showcased some of the new Olympic uniforms during Nike On Air in Paris, but as the Games are a few months away and we are working with limited samples in a limited presentation format, not all types and models were presented."

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