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 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 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.