Julie Tong

Look Back at 116 Years of Olympic Gymnastics Uniforms

Julie Tong

August 8, 2016 at 12:15 AM

In 1896 at the first Olympic Games, German?Hermann Weing?rtner?won seven medals in a simple long-sleeved leotard and loose pants.

In 1900, French gymnast Gustave Sandras wore a black singlet (which is a sleeveless leotard) and short pants attached to his feet with stirrups, a traditional combo for male gymnasts at the time. ?

British gymnast John T. Whitaker brightened his monochromatic uniform with a chestful of medals at the 1912 Stockholm Games.?

Belgian gymnast Domien Jacob wore an all-black uniform, most likely as a tribute to those who fought in World War I. (Germany occupied Belgium from 1914 to 1918).

Thirty years after Hermann Weing?rtner, men’s uniforms are still pretty simple, as shown on Slovenian Leon ?tukelj here.

Women were first allowed to compete in Olympic gymnastics in 1928, but most countries required them to do so in skirts. The British team shown here wore a short belted dress embroidered with the British flag.?

Hungarian gymnast Istvan Pelle’s low-key outfit reflects the somber mood of the host nation during the Great Depression. ?

In 1936, Berlin hosted the Games under Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship, and the Olympics were canceled altogether in 1940 and 1944.

In the 1948 Olympics in London, the British men’s team also wore the British flag on their chests, as the women did 20 years before.

U.S. gymnast Marian Barone won a bronze medal in a baggy-by-today’s-standards leotard. Leotards at this time were made of polyester, which accounts for the bagginess (spandex wasn’t used until the 1980s).?Behind her, her teammates are wearing another layer: cute bomber jackets.

In 1956, the Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina — the most decorated Olympian before Michael Phelps broke her record in 2012 — wears the tightest leotard yet. ?

All white again. Russian gymnast Viktor Lisitsky wears the color at the first Games to be held in an Asian country.?

Czech gymnast Věra ?áslavská’s leotard is bold, from the striking red color to the low-cut V-neck. ?

Japan’s Mitsuo Tsukahara wears pretty much the same minimalist uniform his countryman Takashi Ono did 20 years before.?

In 1976, Romanian gymnast Nadia Com?neci earned a perfect 10 — and worldwide fame for Adidas, who made her leotard (the stripes on the side are the colors of her country’s flag). ?

U.S. gymnast Bart Conner stands out in a bright blue singlet at the 1984 Games, which were boycotted by many countries, including the Soviet Union.?

In 1984, the U.S. women’s gymnastics uniforms were boldly patriotic — as seen here on Mary Lou Retton, who became the first non-Eastern European female gymnast to win the all-around competition.

The patriotism continued in Atlanta in 1996 with Switzerland’s Donghua Li in a red-and-white singlet.?

In 1996, the U.S. women’s uniforms, seen here on Dominique Dawes, were less overtly patriotic — and more decorative — with blue, red, and gold sparkly stars.?

In 2000, Russia’s Alexei Nemov wears a rainbow of colors on his singlet — a major departure from the solid colors of the past.

Romanian Simona Amanar’s leotard is boldly striped with the country’s colors, especially in comparison to Comaneci’s mostly white leotard in 1976.

In 2004 Paul Hamm takes a cue from Bart Conner and sticks to blue. ?

In 2004, U.S. gymnast Carly Patterson strikes gold in an all-purple, shiny leotard decorated with Swarovski crystals. The leotard is made of a fabric called Mystique that gives it extra gloss.?

Japanese Kōhei Uchimura, considered by many to be the greatest male gymnast of all time, goes big with his gymnastics and his uniform in red pants and a patterned, tight singlet. ?

In London, Gabby Douglas stood out in the hot-pink leotard she wore during the individual competition, eventually winning the all-around gold medal and becoming the first African-American woman to do so. This year, Douglas and her teammates are expected to wear leotards decorated with nearly 5,000 Swarovski crystals each. Prepare to be bedazzled!?

Fun fact: The word “gymnastics” comes from the Greek word “gymnazein,” which means “exercise naked.” (The sport was invented in Greece and has been part of the Olympics since the first Games in Athens in 1896.) The ancient Greeks were said to have done their cartwheels and flips in the nude, but by the time the Olympics rolled around, they put on some clothes. Gymnastics uniforms, however, have always been the most body-conscious around. They’re designed to stretch around — and show off — the athlete’s figure.

As you’ll see in the slideshow above — which shows the progression of the gymnastics uniform from 1896 on — they’ve gotten more form-fitting as the years have gone by. Baggier silhouettes, like the loose pants worn by German Hermann Weingärtner, became sleeker when women started to be allowed to compete in 1928. And in the late ’90s, as countries became bolder about expressing their patriotism, leotards and singlets got shinier, brighter, and — for women — bedazzled, like the hot-pink leotard American Gabby Douglas wore in 2012, which had 1,188 crystals on it. Enjoy the evolution!

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Look Back at 116 Years of Olympic Gymnastics Uniforms

In 1896 at the first Olympic Games, German Hermann Weing?rtner won seven medals in a simple long-sleeved leotard and loose pants.