The Distasteful State of this Year's Olympics
This year's Olympics have been a mess, to say the least. The year-long delay has evidently thrown everyone off, with athletes dropping out from obvious mental strain to the plethora of new Covid cases cropping up among vaccinated athletes. The accompanying numerous scandals that have also resurfaced have been seemingly brushed under the rug as athletes are forced to put their beliefs aside for this year's games. This article touches on just a small portion of the faults of the 2021 Japan Olympics and the numerous letdowns that have so far plagued this tradition.
First and foremost, the first tragedy is at the hands of whoever allowed these hardworking athletes to wear these poorly designed, obnoxiously patriotic, and embarrassing uniforms. Not only did the opening day U.S. Ralph-Lauren-supplied uniforms reek of sailor attire and overt masculinity, the blinding patriotism badly executed on this year's uniforms didn’t just stop there.
Up close opening ceremony outfits, Popsugar
Starting off with the worst of the bunch: the absolute atrocity that are the suits the Women’s swim team had to wear. The red white and blue flag and the almost scale-like texture of the fabric makes the pattern look like a fake pair of abs- a la those cringey dad shirts. Not to mention the odd shadowing of the fabric as it reaches the crotch; not only is it just unflattering to the figures these athletes work tirelessly to achieve and maintain, but the ugly flag pattern has some serious design flaws.
Don’t even get me started on the men's trunks which crop out a tiny triangle of black directly on the crotch, Speedo…. Please do better next time.
Nike was also a letdown in events like skateboarding, where a simple polo was ruined by an odd, incomprehensible graphic that looked like blobs of colors and shapes that were mushed together and then slapped on the trusty flag for each country. As there are numerous options for uniforms, I was surprised to see how even this one made it past judgement, as it makes each athlete look as if they're from the same country.
One example of good design from Nike, however, was Japan's killer color-coordinated uniforms such as Aori Nishimura’s all white look with a slight pop of red from the flag logo and delicate lettering on the arm sleeve.
Aori Nishimura by Getty Images
Another letdown on the uniform design front was more of a controversy than a design debate, as the Olympics denied Norway’s beach volleyball team the option to wear biker shorts instead of the Olympic-designated bikini bottoms.
A hefty fine was forced against the team if they refused to wear the tiny bottoms, as the “almighty Olympic fashion police '' states that they mustn't wear any bottoms that cover more than 10 cm from the beginning of the leg. But surely there had to be some valid excuse for this absurd rule like how longer shorts restrict leg mobilization or some other reasonable explanation! But no… it all came down to an issue of advertisements and sponsorships that are apparently more essential than an athlete's comfort while performing the sport they earned their place competing in.
Of course, the outfits aren’t the only things lacking in this year's Olympics. Let’s take a look at the archaic and absurd rules and regulations have also surfaced at this year's event. From Sha'Carri Richardson’s ridiculous ban to allowing a convicted sexual predator to compete in the Olympics (Alen Hadzic), the well-being and safety of the athletes is obviously not a very high priority for this year’s Olympic Comittee. Even the International Olympic Committee prohibited acts of “political demonstrations” like kneeling for the national anthem or wearing a Black Lives Matter pin, because apparently the ongoing fight for basic human rights is somehow inherently political. Between the standards and rules that this years’ athletes are being held to and the blatant silencing of these athletes’ voices and concerns, the Olympics this year are more outdated and distasteful than ever.