Current:Home > ScamsWhy do Olympic swimmers wear big parkas before racing? Warmth and personal pizzazz-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Why do Olympic swimmers wear big parkas before racing? Warmth and personal pizzazz
View Date:2024-12-23 16:02:34
NANTERRE, France — Two-time Olympic swimmer Regan Smith walked out on the pool deck before her 200-meter butterfly semifinal Wednesday night looking like she was ready to brave the elements of a wintery day in her home state, Minnesota.
Hooded puffy white Team USA parka. Thick bright pink mittens. Long pants and fluffy lined ankle boots.
Anyone who’s spent time at an indoor pool is familiar with the literal climate: It’s often quite warm, can be stuffy and sometimes humid. And that’s generally what it’s felt like at Paris La Défense Arena during the Paris Olympics.
So why do Smith and many other Olympic swimmers look like they’re about to conquer the arctic tundra before they race? It’s a combination of warmth and adding some personal pizzazz.
“The pink gloves are my own special little flare — and the boots,” Smith said after qualifying second for the 200 fly final. “My favorite color is pink, and in swimming, you can’t really express yourself that much. You can’t do anything fun with your hair, you can’t really wear makeup. So I like incorporating fun little cute things.”
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
When swimmers get to their respective lanes, the layers disappear into a bin for them to collect afterward. Underneath all those clothes, they’re race-ready with their skin-tight (and very thin) tech suits, along with caps and goggles.
Smith’s pre-race clothes help keep her muscles warm and ready to compete, as well. But she acknowledged, for her, it’s more about the aesthetic.
For two-time Olympian Kate Douglass, wearing the big parka is definitely to help prevent her muscles from getting chilled between warming up and competing.
“The second I get in a pool, I'm freezing, so that’s why I wear a parka,” Douglass said after qualifying first for Thursday’s 200-meter breaststroke final. “Immediately when I get out of the pool, I put the parka on because I just get really cold.”
The puffy Team USA parkas, the slightly lighter but still hooded black jackets or a simple T-shirt are all options for swimmers. And all official gear with swimming brand TYR as the national team sponsor. And some of the apparel can later be reworn as actual winter weather clothes.
While some swimmers like to be thoroughly bundled up, others opt for a jacket or t-shirt and shorts — or no pants at all.
Sprinter Jack Alexy donned the lighter puffy black jacket and long pants before the men’s 100-meter freestyle final, while fellow 100 finalist Chris Guiliano likes to keep it a little lighter, gauging how to balance not being too hot or too cold before competing.
“I don't really like to sweat before my races, you know?” Guiliano said during his first Olympics. “So I'll throw on shorts and maybe a sweatshirt.”
But sometimes, it’s simply all about the style.
“I just think it looks pretty sick,” first-time Olympian Alex Shackell said about her parka.
veryGood! (838)
Related
- Apologetic rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine gets 45 days in prison for probation violations
- Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Slam “Unequivocally False” Claim He Slept With Actor Duane Martin
- Pacers' Jalen Smith taken to hospital after suffering head injury
- US Coast Guard searches for crew member who fell from cruise ship near Puerto Rico
- Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
- Senators to VA: Stop needless foreclosures on thousands of veterans
- Pennsylvania’s Senate approves millions for universities and schools, but rejects House priorities
- After a 'random act of violence,' Louisiana Tech stabbing victim Annie Richardson dies
- Wildfires burn on both coasts. Is climate change to blame?
- Trump’s lawyers want a mistrial in his New York civil fraud case. They claim the judge is biased
Ranking
- 13 Skincare Gifts Under $50 That Are Actually Worth It
- Experts decode 'cozy' dress code for Beyoncé film premiere: 'I do not foresee simplicity'
- Caitlyn Jenner Recalls Convincing Robert Kardashian to Divorce Kris Jenner Over Private Dinner
- US Navy warship shoots down drone from Yemen over the Red Sea
- Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago Gives Birth, Welcomes Twins With Jesse Sullivan
- Pacers' Jalen Smith taken to hospital after suffering head injury
- The odyssey of asylum-seekers and the failure of EU regulations
- UAW labor deal with Detroit's Big 3 automakers sees pushback from some workers
Recommendation
-
Horoscopes Today, November 13, 2024
-
Australia proposes law to allow prison time for high-risk migrants who breach visa conditions
-
Christian democrats, liberals announce 2-party coalition to run Luxembourg
-
Advocates scramble to aid homeless migrant families after Massachusetts caps emergency shelter slots
-
A pregnant woman sues for the right to an abortion in challenge to Kentucky’s near-total ban
-
How The Crown's Khalid Abdalla and Elizabeth Debicki Honored Dodi and Diana's Complex Bond
-
Rwandan doctor Sosthene Munyemana on trial in France, accused of organizing torture, killings in 1994 genocide
-
Horoscopes Today, November 15, 2023