Team USA’s leotard reveal shows prestige of Olympic gymnastics — ‘Blind Landing’ podcast goes inside 2024 Olympic Trials
By Lela Moore
The IX: Gymnastics Saturday with Lela Moore, July 13, 2024
Happy Gymnastics Saturday! The Olympic gymnastics team leotards were revealed in grand style this week, and of course we have opinions.
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But first, let the actual gymnasts have their opinions:
Then see them in motion on the athletes in GK Elite’s reveal, where they are also selling replicas:
In The New York Times on Wednesday, GK Elite’s design director Jeanne Diaz called the leos “evening-wear looks” inspired by Paris’s reputation as a (Miranda Priestly types probably want me to say the) major fashion center. The article was written by The Times’ chief fashion critic, which seems to be a big step up for how gymnastics is perceived by Olympic audiences. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore, and that’s a good thing.
These athletes are stars — and stars who have been through an incredible amount of cumulative trauma and stress, injuries and illnesses to get to this moment. They deserve every minute of pampering, and I’m glad the leos seem to have gotten a far better reception than the women’s sprinter suits for the track and field athletes did. I’m all for female athletes feeling comfortable in the weird gear their sports demand.
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And it’s good to hear that sentiment coming from USA Gymnastics as well. Annie Heffernan, vice president of the women’s program at USAG, told The Washington Post this week that she hopes the gymnasts “feel amazing and beautiful” in their leos.
One — the royal blue and silver “Luminous Legacy” leo — has more than 10,000 crystals, which is twice the number of the Rio leos had when GK said they had reached “peak crystal.” They cost about $5,000 each, which means that each team gymnast and the two traveling alternates each unboxed a $40,000 competition wardrobe on Instagram. Perhaps close to double that, considering each also likely comes in a sleeveless training version.
GK Elite’s replica leos cost about $90, which seems like a comparative bargain.
My personal favorites are the “Sovereign Sparkle” fireworks leo and the “Star Spangled Shine” velvet-trimmed one. The solid red and the aforementioned blue with the corset are going to look stunning in competition.
I’m personally wary of the white version (Is there still a white leo curse? Discuss), but Suni Lee seems excited by it, so it can’t be all bad.
All in all, this was a really exciting leo reveal and one that I think spotlights our sport in a new way for a new audience — always a plus.
Other gym news
The Gymternet has a roundup on the final Olympic gymnastics teams named this week. All teams are now set! Exciting!
College Gym News has a day-in-the-life piece by retired Temple gymnast Julianna Roland about summer school and a roundup of the winners and losers of the transfer portal rodeo that recently concluded.
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Australian gymnast Ava Costa, who sustained a spinal cord injury in training last year and is a quadriplegic, returned to school this week.
Team GB’s Ruby Evans debuted an Amanar.
Team France’s Mélanie De Jesus dos Santos did a video for NBC:
Five at The IX: ‘Blind Landing’ at the Olympic Trials
We interviewed “Blind Landing” podcast host Ari Saperstein at The IX a few weeks ago. He put out this episode with behind-the-scenes footage from Olympic Trials, and it’s a winner. Give it a listen!
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