The attire of women athletes (bonus track of "the long and arduous road of women to the Olympics")

My attention was attracted to the question of women athlete's attire because of two incidents preceding the Tokyo Olympics. First came the sanction of the norwegian beach handball team. They were fined because they chose to wear short instead of bikini bottoms during the European championships.

Apparently the rules of the International Handball Federation make the wear of bikini bottoms mandatory and they even fix the dimensions (side width of a maximum of 10 cm). Meanwhile men can wear shorts, the only proviso being that they be not too baggy. 

But, wait! Things are getting worse. O. Breen (a double paralympic world champion) , participating at the UK championships was told by an official that her sprint briefs were "too short and inappropriate". Breen was left speechless. Later on she pointed out that a similar remark "for a girl with low confidence or low self esteem, may make them feel rubbish". And she questioned whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised. 

So women can be rebuked for wearing too little (Breen) of too much (the norwegian team) clothing. 

The question of the sports clothing of women is not a new one. And of course it goes hand in hand with the sartorial restrictions imposed by "society" on women. So, the female participants of the 1900 Paris Olympics had to wear a long skirt (and, some say, also a corset). The photo below is of the tennis silver medalist H. Provost. I just hope that she did not have to compete wearing her hat. 

The women's athletics dress code evolved very slowly, from the Vassar Field Days to the post war Olympics. 

And it is only the superb grace of W. Rudolph that make her figure look  perfect by today's standards. 

In fact the true revolution of the women's sports outfit had to wait till the 80s. I believe that the one who brought upon the revolution was the one and only F. Griffith-Joyner. 

She was the first to present herself in competition with a makeup worthy of a movie star. And her nails were like a magnet for the cameramen. 

I guess that she invented everything that is worn today, and then some. 

By the end of the century a two-piece suit was the rule for most women athletes.

I have the impression that today most athletes do favour it

But of course there exist many more trends, equally interesting with leg and arm sleeves (the latter worn by male athletes also).

Women's sports attire has evolved over the years becoming something comfortable allowing the body to perform efficiently. However, what is most important is that women can now wear what they wish. There are a few false notes, like the ones that spurred this article. There are also restrictions due to religion, which, although understandable, are hindering an optimal performance.

But the important message is that women should be free to wear what they wish in sports competitions, and any restrictive rules should be equally applied to both men and women just taking into account the anatomical differences between the two sexes.

(In the ancient Olympics the men competed nude, with perhaps just a kynodesme while in the Herean games the girls wore their hair free down their back and a tunic hanging almost as low as the knees covering only the left shoulder and breast).