Nike’s Olympic Track Kits Are… A Bit Much

As much as I hate to admit it, one of my favorite things about joining a new team or getting selected for an international competition is none other than “new kit day.” Getting some fresh, fast-looking threads just amplifies your excitement for the upcoming race day.

And as the saying goes, “Look good, go fast.” 

And this all rings true, that is, unless you’ve fallen victim to Nike’s latest fashion faux-pas.

Nike has revealed the (very revealing) athletics kits for its sponsored nations, including Team USA, to wear at the Olympics.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it here; this is the definition of a fashion disaster. Fans and athletes alike have criticized Nike like a storm since the release of these kits.

Don’t get me wrong; I understand that there has likely been loads of research and development that has gone into creating these. However, sometimes, it’s not just science you need to consider.

The main criticism Nike is receiving is for the shockingly high-cut bikini line on the women’s one-piece speed suit. Comments on social media quickly began ripping into the brand.

“There’s no way a female runner had any say in that design,” one person speculated. 

“I hope USATF is paying for the bikini waxes.” 

Another commenter stated, “If the labia are hanging out on a still mannequin, what do we expect to happen to a moving person?”

Even elite athletes and Olympic hopefuls, who may be subject to wearing these, chimed in on social media.

Former Olympian and social media influencer Colleen Quigley said, “I mean I still wanna make the team but…. 😢.” 

Pro trail runner Grayson Murphy, colloquially known by her Instagram as Racin’ Grayson, wasn’t a huge fan, “That gusset is giving me anxiety. 😅”

Long jump star Tara Davis-Woodhall, a favorite to make this year’s Olympic team, bluntly said, “wait my hoo haa is gonna be out.” 

Retired world champion Laren Fleshman had a bit more to say about the kits beyond a quippy remark on Instagram, “I’m sorry, but show me one WNBA or NWSL team who would enthusiastically support this kit. This is for Olympic Track and Field.”

“Professional athletes should be able to compete without dedicating brain space to constant pube vigilance or the mental gymnastics of having every vulnerable piece of your body on display. Women’s kits should be in service to performance, mentally and physically. If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it,” she continued.

“This is not an elite athletic kit for track and field. This is a costume born of patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or needed to get eyes on women’s sports. … Stop making it harder for half the population @nike @teamusa @usatf.”

The criticisms go beyond the revealing design, with Nike also being slammed for lack of creativity in the artistic design of the kit.

“Nike have had the worst kits for years. The generic one for the circuit is always boring. Puma, Adidas, and NB outdo them every year,” one user on X said.

A number of others have also pointed out that the controversial speed suit is nearly identical to the Team GB kit that has been used for years.

And countless others have not hesitated to say it how it is.

“Honest to God the ugliest kits I’ve ever seen in my life.”

The Olympics Will Be Filled With Nike Kit…Here’s Why

Don’t be surprised if you see a copied and pasted version of these Nike kits around the track at the Olympics this summer, just in different colors.

Nike is providing team kits to a number of countries in track and field and in other sports at this year’s Olympic Games. Alongside Team USA, you can expect to see the likes of Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Kenya, Uganda, and many more sporting Nike.

So why exactly is Nike providing thousands of athletes with kits for Paris 2024?

It’s all part of their biggest-ever marketing strategy.

Nike has been suffering down a lengthy stretch of lackluster sales and plan to use the Olympics to help grow sales.

As trends have been changing, brands like On Running, Hoka, and Lululemon have all been taking market share from Nike.

Matt Nurse, vice president of Nike’s sports innovation lab, spoke to Reuters in an interview, saying, “There’s definitely more competition… it’s good to take the pulse on what consumers are thinking and responding to – I just think competition always makes us better.”

Three weeks ago, Nike said that its revenue in the first half of the 2025 financial year would decrease and, as a result, it would cut back on orders of established shoes to focus on new, innovative products.

Nike’s annual revenue was $51.2 billion as of May 31, 2023, much larger than Adidas, Lululemon, and its other competitors. Analysts at HSBC expect the company’s annual sales growth to lag those brands in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

“This Olympics will be our biggest … it will be our largest media spend,” Heidi O’Neill, president of consumer, product, and brand at Nike, said, “This will be the most investment and the biggest moment for Nike in years,” she added.

Nike hopes that with their sponsored athletes breaking records and winning medals at the Olympics will help push consumer demand through the roof. O’Neill said that consumers continue to respond “very positively” to the Olympics as an event and that it is still seen as “the epitome of sport.”