Nike is responding to criticism and allegations of sexism over the company’s uniforms for Team USA track and field athletes ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Olympics will take place this summer in Paris, starting July 26.
Kit images reveal that one option for the women is a one-piece, high-cut uniform. The men’s kit, however, appears to include longer spandex shorts and a full coverage tank top.
The outfits quickly garnered reactions from current and former athletes across the sport.
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“Women’s kits should be about performance, mentally and physically. If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it,” former US champion Lauren Fleshman wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “This is not elite athletics kit for track and field. This is a costume born from patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or necessary to set eyes on women’s sports.”
Another former U.S. Olympian, Tara Davis-Woodhall, who is aiming to earn a spot in the 2024 games for Team USA, commented on an Instagram post by Faster Mag saying his “hoo haa will come out”.
“This mannequin is standing still and everything shows…imagine MID FLIGHT,” wrote US Paralympian Jaleen Roberts.
However, explained Vice President of Apparel Innovation at Nike, Janett Nichol CBS that the uniforms were made using technology from the Nike Sports Research Lab in Oregon to create garments that allow athletes to perform at their optimal level.
“From an apparel perspective, the reason why this is a game-changer for us is because we are now able to take athlete insights, along with data, and use that algorithm to create something that allows us to reach a level of specificity, fidelity and a precision that we have never been able to achieve before,” Nichol told the outlet.
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Nike clarified via email to Reuters that U.S. track and field athletes were given the option to wear the tracksuit in a short or cropped style and that the complete set for both men and women includes more than 50 different pieces and 12 different styles depending on the specific event a which they participated.
Nike did not immediately respond Entrepreneurrequest for comment.