US women's gymnastics teams will sparkle at Paris Olympics
The U.S. women are going to be sparkling in the City of Lights.
USA Gymnastics and GK on Wednesday revealed the leotards Simone Biles and the rest of the Americans will be wearing at the Paris Olympics, where they will be heavy gold-medal favorites. There are eight different options for the women, all in red, white and/or blue hues and all with lots and lots and lots of sparkles.
“The leos? Oh my gosh. You guys are not ready,” Suni Lee said July 1, after she and her Paris teammates had their first look at them.
The “Go for Glory” leotard, designed for the July 30 team final, is reminiscent of what the Magnificent Seven wore in 1996, when they became the first U.S. women’s team to win Olympic gold. It has a white body with red stripes, and one arm is blue with stars. It also has almost 10,000 Swarovski diamond-shaped crystals.
The five-woman team also will wear matching leotards for qualifying, on July 28, and podium training July 25. Anyone who makes an individual final, all-around or event, can then choose which leotard from the collection she wants to wear.
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The “Sovereign Sparkle” leotard is dark blue with a firework motif of crystals on the shoulder that spills across the body. The “Luminous Legacy” leotard has stars across the shoulders and down the sleeves and is also predominantly blue, and the placement of more than 10,000 crystals gives it a Wonder Woman feel.
The “Star Spangled Shine” has stars across the entire leotard and a mesh cutout in the back while the “American Anthem” and “USA Elegance” leotards have Parisian-esque artistic designs. The “Freedom’s Grace” is a white leotard in the style of a couture gown while the red of the “Patriotic Poise” is meant to reflect Paris at night.
“Patriotic. Sparkly. And the best I’ve ever seen,” alternate Joscelyn Roberson said when asked to describe them. “They’re amazing.”