Outfits a counter to ‘sexualisation’

German gymnasts are taking a stand against sexualisation in the sport by wearing full-length leotards at the Tokyo Olympics.

Yesterday, Team Germany’s gymnasts Elisabeth Seitz, Kim Bui, Pauline Schaefer and Sarah Voss debuted their dazzling pink and black leotards that covered their legs during podium training.

Schaefer shared a photo of the team on Instagram, writing in German: ‘‘How do you like our new outfits?’’, while Bui captioned her post: ‘‘Nice arena, good podium training, beautiful unitards, and a lot of joy.’’

Historically, women and girls have only covered their legs in international competitions for religious reasons.

The three athletes first wore fulllength body-suits that covered both their arms and legs at the European artistic gymnastics championships in April.

Germany’s Gymnastics Federation said in a statement that its athletes wore them in protest the 30 messages, from delegates, that ranged from ‘‘You’re so great’’ to ‘‘You’re so, so great’’ to ‘‘You’re so, soooooo great’’. The New York Times called it a ‘‘bath of obsequiousness’’. Try an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Nero would have blushed.

Bach was back for more and who could fault him? After all, he had stuck to his word in cleaning up the organisation. Yes, the 2022 Winter Games went to Beijing, and, yes, the Russia doping scandal elicited such a brutal slap on the wrist that Vladimir Putin could not form a fist for a full 30 seconds.

But these are surely minor quibbles. When Bach needs to be against the ‘‘sexualisation in gymnastics.’’

‘‘The aim is to present aesthetically – without feeling uncomfortable.’’ Speaking to German public broadcast station ZDF, Voss said: ‘‘We hope gymnasts uncomfortable strong, he is strong. Namely when telling the Japanese people that the IOC’s coffers hold priority over their safety. Oh yes, plus all that ‘‘ray of light in the gloom’’ claptrap.

‘‘Cancellation was never an option for us,’’ Bach said on Tuesday, basically telling the Japanese that, despite their fears about an ongoing pandemic, despite the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association warning that hospitals in the capital ‘‘have almost no spare capacity’’, that their concerns were not even considered.

Never. Not once.

In the same speech, Bach expressed his dismay that some in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example . . . We women all want to feel good in our skin.’’

Team Germany’s uniform protest follows multiple controversies in the sport, including the conviction of US doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 125 years in prison for sexually abusing girls and young women.

In Germany, a trainer has been accused of harassing and overly disciplining her athletes.