The Reason Why Gymnasts Decide To Modify Their Competition Outfits

Although female athletes succeed in all kinds of sports, there is still male dominance in many countries because there are gender inequalities in sports participation around the world. However, the presence, participation, and development of girls and women in sport are diverse throughout the world sphere.

In this sense, there is no single turning point in female emancipation within sports, many of which were the factors that influenced them and their achievements, which had to be constantly defended since there were always men willing to question them and even ban them. However, members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) encountered a woman who managed to get them to claudicate and admit female participation in the Olympic Games with her tenacity and daring.

This heroine was called Alice Milliat and was not solely responsible for this great achievement, since many were the factors that intervened, this communication tries to approach the life and work of this woman who, in a tough time for women in the sports field, achieved great milestones, carmen Rodríguez expresses in her report called Athletics and gender stereotypes.

Sarah Voss

Sarah Voss, 21 and world champion of her discipline in 2019, participated in the recent European Artistic Gymnastics Championships held at the end of April in Basel, Switzerland; performing it in an outfit that covered his legs. She broke no rules, however, the full-body suit challenged the convention. So far, women and girls have only covered their legs in international competition for religious reasons.

On the other hand, she has been supported by the Gymnastics Federation of her country. Two teammates did the same thing on Friday, wearing full-length suits during the women's final. The German Federation said their gymnasts acted by taking a position against "sexualization in gymnastics," and the issue had become even more important to prevent sexual abuse.

Kim Bui

She performed first in a conventional mesh but claimed she wanted to set an example for women in sports, so she wore a suit that covered her legs.

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Elisabeth Seitz

She joined this groundbreaking decision and stated that wearing the full-body suit means one less thing to worry about, as there is no risk of revealing anything by accident.

Women Want To Feel Good

Sarah Voss, in an interview with the German Public Broadcaster (ZDF), stated that all women want to feel good in their skin, but in gymnastics, it becomes increasingly difficult as one leaves the body as a child. "As a child, I didn't see tight outfits as such important, however, when puberty began, when my period came, I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable," she revealed.

Moreover, the German Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation has stated that sport and gymnastics should be fields where athletes feel comfortable with their clothes at all times.

A Sensitive Issue in the United States

The initiative of Sarah Voss and her team draw attention to the respect that all athletes deserve. This issue is a delicate point in the United States, as they continue to shock the scandal starring sports doctor Larry Nassar.

Larry Nassar, a former physician on the U.S. National Gymnastics team, was convicted in 2018 of seven offenses of sexual assault on minors and three other crimes of sexual assault.

Gymnast Simone Biles, who claimed to have been abused by Larry Nassar, announced that she will participate in the Tokyo Olympics, as she wants to give voice to victims of such abuse, according to the Aleteia Web Portal.