Good Tuesday morning, Uni Watchers! I hope everyone had a good Monday.
As the 2024 Paris Olympics continue, I’m pleased to bring you another article from one of Uni Watch’s Olympic Correspondents, Kyle Francis. Kyle will be giving us an historical retrospective of Olympic track and field uniforms, and their progression from the earliest years of the games, right up through the present.
It’s another fantastic piece, and I’ll turn it over to Kyle right now as he brings you …
by Kyle Francis
Hello everyone! Thank you to Phil and Uni Watch for the opportunity to be an Olympic Correspondent. As a young runner and uniwatcher the Olympics always excited me, and as a teacher and track coach, this was a great summer project!
In the 128 year Olympic History of Track and Field, the sport has seen many changes. Equipment, technology, and uniforms have all developed so that athletes are capable of peak performance. Uniforms were once baggy and made of cotton, and all looked very similar. Now, athletes compete in uniforms made of flexible moisture wicking material that represent their nation. Footwear was akin to a loafer, whereas the modern athlete has a shoe specifically designed for their event.
I have broken down my look back at USATF uniforms into 3 eras:
• Basic White: Athens 1896 – Melbourne 1956
• Experimental: Rome 1960 – Seoul 1988
• NIKE: Barcelona 1992 – Present
There are three iterations of the basic white USATF. The most substantial uniform element of this era is the USA Olympic shield, which boasts 13 Stars and Stripes. The very first Olympic uniform in Athens 1896, had a sash and (some) had an American flag on the left chest. The following Olympics Paris 1900, USATF athletes were wearing the shield on the chest (above left), which would be the standard kit through Paris 1924, which was also the first games athletes donned bibs, now commonplace in all levels of the sport. For Amsterdam 1928 the shield, now with the Olympic Rings, was moved to the left chest and a red/white/blue sash was added to the top. This uniform may be most recognizable from Berlin 1936 where Jesse Owens won 4 Gold Medals (above right). The sashed uniform remained the USATF kit through the Melbourne 1956 games. Through this era uniforms became more fitted, shorts got shorter, and athletes began wearing track spikes. Although these spikes were built to be worn on cinder tracks so they look much different than the spikes we know today.
The St. Louis 1904 Olympics deserves an aside. The story of the Marathon is a microcosm for the disarray of the games altogether.
I couldn’t find any photos of the shielded uniform from 1904. My thought is that athletes represented their athletic club. Of the 648 athletes at the games, 530 were American, and the US won over 80% of the medals. At the time, many athletes were members of Athletic Clubs in big cities where they trained. New York Athletic Club, Chicago Athletic Association, SW Turnverein of St. Louis, and Milwaukee Athletic Club all were represented at the 1904 games.
The nation’s colors of red, white, and blue were the defining element of this era. USATF went with a unique design for each Olympics and used the nation’s colors in unique ways. For the Rome 1960 Olympics, USATF made the first major change in their uniform history. Blue over white with a big red USA on the chest, including punctuation (above left). The top and bottom both had red/white/blue stripes. Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968 mens’ kits were very similar, but the stripes and punctuation were removed from the top. In 1968 the women’s team wore a very clean white over navy kit, which featured USA arched over the Olympic rings on the chest.
Munich 1972 was a simple look white over navy, stripes only on the shorts, and USA in red (above right). A few interesting quirks from ‘72: Kate Schmidt wore a unique kit and bandana for the Javelin and Dave Wottle won gold in the 800m wearing a hat very cool!
Montreal 1976 featured red over blue, USA in a very 70’s style and also on the back of the singlet too, which is very unique.
Following the boycotted Moscow 1980 Olympics, Kappa became the official outfitter of USATF. Athleta has a great article with many photos telling the story behind the partnership and the design process, great read!
For LA 1984 Kappa designed an all red kit, with a thin white trim, and white USA block letters (above left). The sides feature a vertical white/red/white stripe and blue circles. At first glance, I thought there were white stars in the circles, but it is the Kappa logo! For Seoul 1988 USATF returned to all red Kappa, but the design was different: a new shield on the chest and big white trim (above right). Florence Griffith Joyner wore the iconic hood and belt with this uniform. At the 1987 World Championships, she debuted the hood in a different Kappa kit.
In 2014 Nike extended sponsorship of Team USA through 2040. So far they have designed for 9 Olympics, including Paris 2024. With Nike as their sponsor, USA Track and Field (USATF) debuts a new uniform for the Olympics, and wears the same design for all international competition in the 3 years following. The Nike kits have been uniform through genders and disciplines. If you are interested in the process of outfitting USATF, what the options are, and what every athlete receives, here is a great perspective from their equipment manager! Nike introduced a variation of styles and fits for athletes to choose from depending on their event and preferences. A pet peeve of mine that developed during this era is with womens’ two piece crop tops, the bibs cover the country name.
Barcelona 1992 – Nike’s first kit for USATF implements the colors and styles of the flag. White over navy. Red USA with stripes on top, and similar look on shorts. Speed suit and split shorts options were available.
Atlanta 1996 (above) – An iconic kit, as Michael Johnson, in his gold spikes, became the only man to win the 200m and 400m in the same Olympics! The kit is mainly navy with white side panels which feature gold ovals. USA in red oval with gold accents on the chest. Womens option features white sleeves. There is an inverted option as well, which was not worn very much. White front, very similar otherwise. It looks like it may even be two pieces!
Sydney 2000 – All navy again, this time with light blue accents. Vertical shield with wings on chest, which features the USA. Bottoms are navy on front, light blue stripe on the side, red on the back. Spandex has a dotted pattern and simple white USA down the right leg. Sleeved option is not much different.
Athens 2004 – White top, navy USA on front, flag on right chest. This is the first time the flag was featured on the uniform. Red side panels that go from the shoulder and down the side of the shorts. Spandex, one piece, and sleeved options. Womens tops were slightly different, with navy on the shoulders.
Beijing 2008 – Back to a prominently navy jersey. The top features light blue and silver accents on shoulders. Red USA block letters on the front, nice touch with the star in the A. Flag is on the right chest again. The back of the uniforms features the Olympic Torch in the Nike Aerographics design also seen on the Team USA Basketball uniform and other college uniforms at the time. The men’s 4x400m team got special red tops for the final, in which they won gold and broke the Olympic Record.
London 2012 – If you watched Track and Field during this Olympics, you may remember Nike’s Neon Green ambush. The USA kit was simpler than many of the Nike Era thus far. All red kit, with large white side panels. USA in navy on the front. The flag is now on the left chest.
Rio 2016 (above) – Nike has another Olympic marketing push with their neon green and pink spikes. In my opinion, this was the first Olympics Nike had a standard kit design, which mostly interchanged colors for each country. The shoulders panels stood out from the rest of the top, which featured a ring effect. USA went back to blue, with the top mainly navy and the shoulders a lighter blue. The bottoms were again plain, except for very small red dots down the side of the leg. Marathon tops were again white, this time with light blue shoulder panels and USA in navy. Galen Rupp’s top had holes, presumably designed purposefully by Nike. Maybe an ode to his coach Alberto Salazar, who had a seemingly DIY approach to his holed singlet for the LA 1984 Marathon.
Tokyo 2020 – The team USA athletes had more uniform options than ever for Tokyo 2020, and USATF even included a special uniform for relays! USA Sprinter Gabby Thomas speaks to the options as she says “we also have the option to wear any uniform we want. We could wear the men’s uniform if we wanted.” In general, the uniform was red over blue (above right), however the tops had horizontal blue stripes that had more of an effect on some tops than others. Nike created special uniforms for the relays (above left) , which had a much different red/white/blue effect.
In Tokyo we see just about every combination of uniform pieces in Track and Field!
For those interested: Women’s one piece zippered speed suit, men’s one piece zippered speed suit, two piece compressions (2 versions), loose top untucked over half tights, loose top tucked into half tights, loose top tucked into split shorts, T-Shirt and full tights, loose top and baggy shorts.
Paris 2024 (above) – At the “Nike on Air” experience in Paris, the USATF sponsor revealed National Kits for several countries and sports. The photos in the article get very in depth about each sport and what went into the design. For Track and Field, the biggest news was that Nike has designed finals kits for six of their federations (United States, China, Germany, Uganda, Canada and Kenya). These special kits embrace the “emotion of motion” and will be worn only in a finals race.
The uniforms USATF unveiled for Paris 2024 have met mixed reviews among athletes and online. According to the article, the USATF athletes will have almost 50 unique uniform options, “including the newly viral leotard, for both men and women” at this year’s games. The striped style of the uniform can be seen with many Nike kits from the USATF Olympic Trials. As always, it will be exciting to see these new uniforms in action for the first time!
Marathon – In several Olympics since LA 1984, athletes competing in the Marathon were outfitted in a lighter colored kit. It was gray in 1984, but most of the Nike kits have been a white version of the same design for that year. My guess is that it is the coolest (temperature) option for athletes competing in this grueling race for over two hours. Here they are for 1984, 2008, 2016, 2020. Interested to see if this year’s athletes receive a special uniform!
Readers? What say you?
Enjoy the game. Hopefully the Metropolitans are able to repeat last night’s performance. If you convince Paul to come back and give periodic updates on Biscuits and Waffles, that would be great! #LGM
GTGFTS
22 July 1975
Dave Kingman just singled off Jack Billingham, but would be doubled up with Del Unser in the next at bat.
Jerry Koosman’s steal in the 3rd inning would be his only stolen base in 19 years, firmly planting him 1405 steals behind Rickey Henderson on the all time list. 32,759 came out to watch the literal once in a lifetime feat.
Final score would be 3-1 Mets played in 2:06.
Koos must have taken advantage of Johnny Bench playing left field!
No idea why Sparky did that, but Bench did play 19 games in the outfield that season.
One thing I’d like to see if there is verification for: there was a miniseries on NBC a few years ago (starring a post-MASH David Odgen Steirs) called The First Olympics: Athens 1896. The American uniforms for the track athletes had the U.S. shield on the front, but the diagonal stripes on the athletes was different. For Bob Garrett, who won the discus, he wore the orange and black of Princeton, for example.
I wonder if this was indeed the case, where the 1896 track tops reflected an athlete’s alma mater or track club.
That Atlanta 96 uniform looks like it’s from 2002. Very ahead of its time, design-wise. It will always be my favorite USA uniform for ANY sport.
Guess the Game from the Uniform: Ohio State V Oregon, October 5, 1968. OSU 21, Oregon 6. The only year the Ducks wore those helmets?
The 1968 women’s track uniforms had a unique NOB design, the only time I’ve ever seen this in track. I’ll post a photo from the Olympic Museum later this morning on Twitter.
Good stuff, Kyle! Nice recap. As a self-described uniform classicist, I find myself liking uniforms from 2016 on more than I expected I would. The stripey fabric pattern adds some visual interest to uniforms that have otherwise been pretty innocuous over the years.
Great piece on the track and field uniforms Phil. Boy those blue adidas shorts Bruce Jenner has on in the 1976 games brings back some memories. My father had to have those shorts to workout in, after hitting every sports shop in Maryland, Virgina, DC, with no luck. Ron Waller put him in touch a former Chargers player who had a sporting goods store in San Diego who shipped him a couple of pairs. Thank God my father didn’t wear a red tank top with the shorts.
Thanks, Jimmy — but this one was all Kyle. Give your kudos to him!
Sorry about that! great research Kyle, learned a lot today in this piece.
Hi Phil, I guess this question could be for Paul as well, when you were choosing a Mets game to go watch does it depend on who the opponents are? For example, if you do not like the opponents’ uniforms would you pick another game?
Opponent doesn’t matter to me (I can ask PL tonight) but obviously I would hope whomever they play will wear their “best” (a subjective term) road uni. I’d expect Minnesota to be in their gray pins, although I suppose they could break out the navy softball tops. I’d prefer they be in all gray.
I’ve seen the Mets wear every possible uniform combo over the years (including black tops on a 95° day), camo, CC’s, blue softball tops, and of course the gorgeous home white pins. I hope that’s what they wear tonight — Sean Manaea is on the bump, and I believe he likes to wear the pins, but we’ll see.
I know it’s his site and means well etc but I would ask for no more separate posts about Paul’s future eBay listings. If it were in fact a ton of uni things I would have been more ok with it as a reader (I think it was like 7 listings). But for someone who wouldn’t contribute to the July 4th post to support Phil’s request (I justified this as a “Paul needs mental space from UW, cool”) to then sell stuff in a post a few weeks later rubbed me the wrong way as a fan of the site. maybe I’m the only one and too sensitive but that’s how i perceived it . Enjoy the game, lgm!!
kappa who would have thought, thank you for the article :)