Why this was the worst uniform at the Winter Olympics
Team USA’s speed skating uniform has been derided on social media for being the worst uniform seen at the Winter Olympics.
Why? Just take a look. Do we even need to say anything?
Designed by Under Armour, the uniform for the men and women’s speed skating teams is... interesting.
Social media immediately lit up when the women's pursuit team took to the podium to accept their bronze medal on Wednesday, pointing out the obvious – the uniform really highlights the athlete’s crotches.
But is there a method to the seeming madness?
According to InStyle, Under Armour defended its design, saying the crotch region required material of a different fabric to reduce friction.
"The contrasting material in the inner thigh (friction guards) has been commonplace for speed skate skins for decades, to reduce friction," they said. "The 2014 UA skin had one panel instead of two, but in testing the new skin, the addition of a second panel reduced friction even more – by 60 per cent."
OK that makes sense to us – but that still begs the questions why is it grey? And why is it designed in such an unappealing circular shape?
"We tested a multitude of friction guard materials to find the material that reduces friction the most," Under Armour said. “Altering the colour or using a material that comes in a different colour would have rendered it considerably less effective."
But that doesn’t answer why the entire uniform just wasn’t in grey? I guess we’ll never know.