In order to be the best, you need to look the best.
For the United States women’s gymnastics team, looking your best doesn’t come cheap. Those swanky leotards Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian don are a whopping $1,200 each.
And don’t expect the women to only have one leotard. According to The Times, each gymnast has eight competition leotards and 12 practice leotards. While the practice leotards are likely far more simple, the competition ones are heavily encrusted with Swarovski crystals.
For the Rio Olympics, the competition leotards have roughly 5,000 crystals on them. Hence the hefty pricetag.
“Obviously, sparkles are not an element in the scoring,” Samantha Peszek, a member of the 2008 Olympics team, said. “But it’s part of the ‘look good, feel good, do good’ aspect. It’s a very important part of the sport. It may sound trivial, but what you wear really matters. For some girls, it’s why they got into the sport.”
Aside from making the women feel good, the crystals help “highlight and distinguish the girl.”
That confidence must have somewhat worked: Team USA brought home the gold for the second consecutive Olympics on Tuesday. It’s the first time a U.S. team has accomplished the feat.
