Very smooth clothing can also reduce resistance that the body encounters when moving through air or water-a boon for many types of sports. Without these garments, performance may suffer. Weight lifting belts and spandex can be helpful, for example, to stabilise a competitor's muscles so they can direct all their energy toward the work they are doing. First, it streamlines the body and 'braces you together,' allowing the power of muscles to be better directed to the task at hand. In general, though, apparel does a couple things for athletes, Troynikov says. According to Olga Troynikov, a professor of functional materials and human-centered engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, it really just depends on the garment, its fit to an individual athlete's body and the sport. On the other hand, the degree to which clothing actually contributes to athletic performance (as opposed to just comfort) is less clear. 'Without being crude, that does help in terms of comfort, at least,' says Shawn Deaton, the special projects director of the Textile Protection and Comfort Center at North Carolina State University. While modern competitors often perform their sports virtually naked – wearing only skin-tight spandex, for example – certain pieces of clothing do serve important primary purposes: to hold women's breasts and men's genitals in place.

But what if the Games took an even more unusual step by reinstating the nudity of the original Greek Olympic tradition? While no one is seriously considering doing this, the idea does raise interesting questions about athletic performance, cultural norms, sexism and more.įor starters, competing in the nude would create awkward logistical issues for many athletes. This summer's Olympics in Tokyo, however, promise to be unusual in many ways, given the constraints of Covid-19. And in modern athletic competition, clothing now also plays an essential role in performance – shoes offer grip and add a spring to a runner's step, swimming costumes can help swimmers slip through the water more easily and tight-fitting outfits can reduce wind drag. The organisers didn't even consider bringing back the Greek tradition of naked competition. 'The Greeks going naked became a way of recognising their Greekness and civility.'īy the time the modern Olympics were revived in 1896, however, the cultural tides had long since turned. 'There was this whole idea of Orsippus being heroic and victorious, and then celebrating that he was naked,' says Sarah Bond, an associate professor of history at the University of Iowa. Nude athletic competition – often emphasised through the liberal anointment of olive oil – became all the rage in Greece, seen as the ultimate tribute to Zeus. Rather than stop to hide his shame, Orsippus sprinted on and won the race. Ancient Greek legend has it that in 720 BC, an Olympic athlete named Orsippus of Megara was competing in the 185m run when his loincloth slipped off.

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