To think that female athletes could be in shorts rather than arse-cheek-revealing pants?

[Corksoles]

I've just watched several athletes with tan lines that suggest their usual and thus presumably preferred leg wear is short length. Why isn't that the uniform style for the Olympics? (Although shout out to Ethiopia - nice shorts!)

I can see the track athletes' (and could see the gymnasts') arse cheeks. I don't get it. It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, not least as presumably a fair chunk will be on their periods. And if I was a rather brilliant 17 year old, on this huge global stage, I think I'd rather wear what I was used to.

Haven't seen one bloke's arse cheek.

YABU - let's see women's arses. Must be for sport and not because these decisions are taken by old men.

YANBU - more functional shorts.

I should have thought men might get quite a lot of “drag” when naked … Surely it was more efficient to have it tucked up and out of the way! 😂

I take it you missed the men's synchronised diving then op.

Pretty much this. Go into a ballet studio and they won't all be wearing the tutus you see on stage. I read something by a female runner saying they find the 'gym knicker' shorts less restrictive which is crucial in competition. I could see they might wear something longer in training when 100th of a second doesn't matter.

And as someone who did ballet and gymnastics as a kid, leotards don't feel weirdly revealing in the way they would if you wore a similar outfit to the supermarket. It's about the context and this is just what you wear. Like I feel normal wearing a swimming costume in the pool, but wouldn't in the street.

skyandocean · Yesterday 21:51
Even for tennis, I don't understand why the women are in very short skirts! The men's shorts are longer! If women are given the option of longer skirts/dresses - fair enough, but it just seems like another way to use women as s*x symbols”

No it doesn’t. They can wear whatever they like/are comfortable in.
Can you really see Venus agreeing to wear something she wasn’t happy with?

MrsSkylerWhite · Today 18:30
skyandocean · Yesterday 21:51
Even for tennis, I don't understand why the women are in very short skirts! The men's shorts are longer! If women are given the option of longer skirts/dresses - fair enough, but it just seems like another way to use women as sx symbols*”

No it doesn’t. They can wear whatever they like/are comfortable in.
Can you really see Venus agreeing to wear something she wasn’t happy with

They wear what they prefer racing in/ to perform in. You'll notice even the swimmers tech suits have different leg lengths.

And it doesn't always happen normal life to competition way.

My ds is a swimmer.

After this 2 week shut down they will all reappear with a variety of tan lines as they don swimming trunks to train in 😂

I was watching the men's decathlon yesterday, and clocked that some competitors had tan lines below the level of their tightie competition shorts, which shows that they also must train in longer garments than the ones they choose for competition.

The problem here is that the European" federation had this rule, but the International* federation did not.

The Olympics follows the International rules, which permit vests/shirts/croptops and both tight and baggy shorts; plus has a hijab version, as well as bikini-style.

So yes, there was a problem in Europe, but for this one at least it is not the case in Olympic or World events. Any team that is wearing the bikini-type option will be doing so because that is what they have chosen. If you google for images of international fixtures and those from this Olympics, you'll see a real mix of choices across teams (within teams it tends to be identical, though occasionally you see different shorts in same colour)

Quite normal to train in something less "optimal" than competition kit...

Actually most of them are wearing skorts rather than skirts. And a couple of years ago even Wimbledon relaxed its former stuffy rules about all-white and allowed women to wear dark underwear.

As to why they wear short skirts, obviously you don't want one which restricts your movement in any way. Tennis is deceptive on TV, it all looks fairly slow, but the speed at which the women hit the ball these days, they have to be fantastic athletes to stay in the rallies. The vast majority of them actually train and practise in shorts, and in lots of tournaments around the world are allowed to compete in shorts too, if they so wish.

I was just going to say this too.

Do you want to lose the race, world or Olympic record by a hundredth of a second due to a bit of short flap, or would you want to give yourself the best chance by wearing the smallest outfit, yet still looking acceptable.

This comment of course doesn't cover the volleyball. No idea on that one.

What puzzles me is that some wear skimpy tight fitting clothes, presumably for perfomance/mobility reasons, and then have big hair or jewellery bouncing about.

It’s the volleyball pants for me that have gone too far. I couldn’t concentrate on reading a magazine in my own bedroom with my knickers stuffed up my crack like that, let alone perform at the Olympics.

The next development will be a bra twisted into their cleavage with a nude boob hanging out each side.

I felt sorry for those girls in the articles who objected and wanted shorts.