“I was like, 'Whoa,'” Thomas said Tuesday at a media gathering for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes ahead of the Paris Games.
But after studying the image for a while, Thomas relaxed.
“The initial shock was understandable,” she says. “But I don't think anyone needs to worry.”
On a day planned for many of America's top Olympic and Paralympic athletes to talk about the upcoming Olympics, much of the conversation instead centered around the uniforms unveiled last week along with dozens of other track and field uniforms at an event in Paris. It swirled around Nike's high-cut unitard. Running magazine Citius posted on Instagram an image of a female mannequin wearing a unitard and a long-legged man wearing a one-piece uniform. The juxtaposition sparked an immediate backlash on social media. It also resurfaced the debate about how uniforms contribute to the sexualization and objectification of female athletes.
Olympic hurdler Queen Harrison Clay responded to the post by asking hair removal centers if they would like to sponsor Team USA in Paris. Paralympian Femita Ayanbek wrote: “I'm someone's mother. I can't expose myself like that.”
Upon further inspection, the players said the shape of the mannequin and the angle of the photo distorted how the uniform actually fit the player.
Long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall said: “The photo didn't do it justice.” She said, “I saw one today too. It's beautiful. It's different from the photo. The cut on the mannequin looks a little different. I should have consulted someone again to choose the photo to post.”
Regardless of one's opinion on the uniform in question, athletes are not required to wear it. Men and women can choose from four different uniforms, including both traditional shorts and close-fitting compression shorts.
“If I really wanted to, I could wear the men's uniform,” Thomas said.
While the players spoke in a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom, Jordana Kutcher, Nike's vice president of global sports apparel, sat 40 floors up in a small conference room with samples of uniforms, including unitards. I was standing next to two racks. She said the company designs all of its track and field uniforms with significant input from sponsored athletes, bringing many athletes to its Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters and asking designers which styles work best. He says he tells them how he likes it.
Nike then spent months designing prototypes and sending them to athletes to try out, ultimately reflecting athlete preferences and featuring multiple styles to suit different body types and disciplines of athletics. We are launching the new Olympic line. In addition to the unitard, female track and field athletes at this summer's Olympics could wear shorts, a long one-piece uniform, or another option similar to the men's uniform pictured.
“We obviously design for a variety of body types,” Catcher said. “We design for men and women. We design for all abilities. So the products we offer these athletes meet their needs and meet the needs of their sport. We want to make sure it's an item that not only allows them to move, but also makes them feel comfortable.”
She said some of Nike's female track and field athletes have requested unitards.
Due to Nike's sponsorship agreement with USA Track & Field, all American track and field athletes must wear some version of their uniforms at the Olympics, regardless of individual sponsorship agreements. Davis-Woodhall plans to choose a one-piece suit for him that allows for maximum range of motion. Thomas likes crop tops and bikini briefs because they are so free.
“I like to wear as little clothes as possible, just because I'm sweating, because I'm really active and moving,” Thomas said. “So it's nice to have the option of wearing it.”
Roman Stubbs contributed to this report.
