Team USA's 'Crotch Patch' Speed Skating Uniforms Get Ribbed Online
Team USA’s speed skating uniform at the Winter Olympics is getting criticism for the crotch design.
It seems that some people watching the American athletes on the ice in Pyeongchang, South Korea, are having trouble focusing on much else:
Dear whoever designed the #teamusa women’s speed skating outfits w/ white legs & gray crotch - not good. Keep the legs one color in 2022. Maybe consult @Adaripp for styling advise.
— Carli (@Carli379) February 18, 2018
The speed skating events are a terrific show but the @TeamUSA uniforms are terrible. What is with the crotch patch? #Olympics2018 pic.twitter.com/xm1TztsXAV
— Joseph W. Roberts (@prof_jwroberts) February 19, 2018
Who in the hell designed the @TeamUSA speed skating suit? And worse yet-who decided “those look good, they really accentuate the crotch!”
— Ryan Stelter (@stelter78) February 15, 2018
Uniform designer 1: Our new uniforms need to reflect the elegant and strong aesthetic of speed skating.
Uniform designer 2: And highlight the crotch.
Uniform designer 1: duh of course. Gotta pull the eye right there! pic.twitter.com/BEpWBB2xLN— sarah_haskins (@sarah_haskins) February 8, 2018
Is it just me or do the US women's speed skating uniforms read "I might be going for the gold but my vagina is settling for the silver"? #Olympics2018 #SpeedSkating
— Erika L. Durham (@Renplanet) February 19, 2018
Y’all I’m assuming there is a point to the way the speed skating uniforms are designed, but maaaan that’s a weird place to put a light-colored circle.
— Christina Stephens ✨ (@CEStephens) February 19, 2018
Ok, I’m really not understanding the US speed skating uniforms - the light gray on the crotch & inner thighs has me like - what? 🤨
— Michele Wandke (@MicheleWandke) February 19, 2018
Under Armour, the apparel company that has worked with the national team on the suits for the last four years, said the crotch features a “friction guard” that reduces friction and improves skaters’ performance.
“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 percent,” Under Armour told InStyle via a statement.
And the color of the crotch material couldn’t have been any different:
“We tested a multitude of friction guard materials to find the material that reduces friction the most. Altering the color or using a material that comes in a different color would have rendered it considerably less effective.”
Under Armour
So, now we know.
But the explanation didn’t satisfy everyone:
Don’t care the science behind this, this look is not OK (📷 by @rodger_sherman) pic.twitter.com/23EM04qtZR
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 19, 2018
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
