Olympic Athletes From Russia, and the Politics of What They’ll Wear
- 6 years ago
Olympic Athletes From Russia, and the Politics of What They’ll Wear
In the past, athletes not affiliated with a national team, whether because their country could not field one or because of political turmoil, have worn "neutral" uniforms designed by a sponsor in a monochrome color
and featuring the Olympic rings — at least in formal situations like the opening and closing ceremonies.
ZA Sport, the official Russian outfitter for the Games, unveiled Russia’s uniforms last month,
and they were relatively subdued: a lot of tan with red, white and blue stripes, plus some bright red or blue knits, and scarves with a quasi-Constructivist design.
announced its decision, it specified that Russians who do make it through to the Games
would not be allowed to do so under their own flag — or their official outfits.
For the 2012 Games in London, for example, Nike designed a white multipocketed M65 jacket with a black swoosh
and multicolor rings on the shoulder and a geometric-pattern scarf in Olympic shades for independent athletes from the recently dissolved Netherlands Antilles, and from South Sudan.
(If a whole team of independent Russian hockey players were to pass the vetting process,
Nike would provide the jerseys, as the sport’s official Olympic outfitter.)
8, 2017
The decision by the International Olympic Committee to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for widespread doping,
but to allow vetted individual athletes to compete on a case-by-case basis as "Olympic athletes from Russia" has seemingly raised as many questions as it has answered.
In the past, athletes not affiliated with a national team, whether because their country could not field one or because of political turmoil, have worn "neutral" uniforms designed by a sponsor in a monochrome color
and featuring the Olympic rings — at least in formal situations like the opening and closing ceremonies.
ZA Sport, the official Russian outfitter for the Games, unveiled Russia’s uniforms last month,
and they were relatively subdued: a lot of tan with red, white and blue stripes, plus some bright red or blue knits, and scarves with a quasi-Constructivist design.
announced its decision, it specified that Russians who do make it through to the Games
would not be allowed to do so under their own flag — or their official outfits.
For the 2012 Games in London, for example, Nike designed a white multipocketed M65 jacket with a black swoosh
and multicolor rings on the shoulder and a geometric-pattern scarf in Olympic shades for independent athletes from the recently dissolved Netherlands Antilles, and from South Sudan.
(If a whole team of independent Russian hockey players were to pass the vetting process,
Nike would provide the jerseys, as the sport’s official Olympic outfitter.)
8, 2017
The decision by the International Olympic Committee to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for widespread doping,
but to allow vetted individual athletes to compete on a case-by-case basis as "Olympic athletes from Russia" has seemingly raised as many questions as it has answered.