Female Olympic athletes are equipped with personalized sports bras to improve performance

First published on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 09.28 EDT

While hopeful people in Tokyo debate the marginal benefits of Vaporfly running shoes, British female athletes have been hiding another secret weapon in their chests.

In the pursuit of marginal performance improvement, British female athletes are equipped with specially designed sports bras to enhance, shape and support their path to victory.

"Everything we do in elite sports is to try to make small improvements," said Dr. Anita Biswas, a senior exercise physician and co-head of female athlete health at the British Institute of Sport (EIS).

"Having a comfortable athlete, whether through their equipment or clothes, will have a major impact on their ability to focus on tasks. We often think about overcoats, we don't think about underwear," she said.

Wearing a bra that doesn't fit properly can cause a variety of problems for women, from breast pain and loose tissue to skin abrasions, but it can also affect their athletic performance. A recent study by Joanna Wakefield-Scurr and her colleagues at the University of Portsmouth found that running in a poorly supportive bra can shorten a woman's stride by as much as 4 centimeters—in a marathon, this may add a mile.

It also makes exercise more difficult and increases their upper body muscle activity, which may mean that they will feel tired faster. Wakefield-Scurr said: "If your breasts are well supported, your breathing will be more natural, especially during sports activities, your exercise will be more efficient."

In 2019, she partnered with EIS as part of a broader campaign to improve the health and performance of athletic women. A preliminary survey of 70 elite athletes showed that 75% had never worn a sports bra, while 26% said breast pain affected their performance.

Biswas said: “Most athletes wear equipment provided by [sponsors or event organizers], although underwear is not part of this obligation because they can get a crop top and all other clothes with a logo for free. Usually they only wear the one that comes with it.

"Some athletes didn't think about it at all, while others thought it was a bit uncomfortable, so they put a bra underneath-but they don't necessarily think they should use something completely different."

Among the athletes surveyed, 70% said they would like to further help improve their breast health, so EIS worked with underwear manufacturing company Clover to design and fit sports bras for more than 100 British athletes from 15 different sports . They also produce custom bras for several athletes with specific breast problems. These included a female rower who had to tie her heavy breasts to her body because she could not find a bra to fix them in the correct position, and a Paralympic archer who had to tie her breasts to her body. Rifle, she may be disqualified (see case study). "From a bra design perspective, there are some very simple victories," Biswas said.

Other female athletes can choose a packaged sports bra for high-intensity sports such as running, which contains a separate cup to support each breast; or a compression bra for low-impact sports such as rowing, which fits the breasts tightly to limit their movement .

British team rower Vicky Thornley said: "There are many innovations in general sports equipment, but this innovation has not really penetrated into women's sports bras until now. I think they are starting to look at women in sports in this way, not just It’s really encouraging just to treat us as little men."

Earlier this month, before the Olympics started on July 23, the athletes received their new bras.

Biswas said: "If I said that bras would make all the difference, I would exaggerate; it would be all the other things that athletes have done in the past four or eight years. However, as long as you feel comfortable, you don’t have to think about their breasts moving. It will undoubtedly have a little impact."

In the search for an Olympic gold medal, even a little influence is important.

Lorraine hopes to win a medal at the Paralympic Games in September. She has already put on a custom bra. She hopes to improve her performance by keeping the breasts unobstructed and preventing the tiny movements of the heartbeat from being transferred to the rifle.

"Unlike their dynamic movement that tries to minimize [breast] bounce, I just need to be really still because when I shoot, we are talking about millimeter accuracy," she said. "My breasts are also big, so my bra is to make me flat."

To achieve this, Clover’s designers used mesh panels and strategic positions of darts to redistribute Lorraine’s breast tissue, pushing it down, and then forward so that when she shoots, the gun will not interact with her. Any contact with his body. This is important because if her rifle hits her chest, she may be deducted points. "The gun can touch my hand because I hold it, and I can use my arms to support my torso, but the gun cannot touch any part of my body," she said.

The optical sensor on Lorraine's gun indicated that her accuracy has improved thanks to the new bra. She also feels more comfortable wearing it when shooting. "It's not only support and how it makes me flat, I just feel better," she said.

Olympic silver medalist Vicky wore a compression sports bra, like many British team athletes wear in Tokyo

Clover’s technical designer Megan Blakemore said: “The first thing we looked at was fabrics. Obviously, they will participate in the competition in Tokyo’s very hot weather, so we chose a super soft, cool and fine-regulated fabric. We can Let the edges be completely clean to achieve aerodynamics."

The bra also has cut-out areas on the back. Women usually feel the hottest in these areas and provide zoned support in the areas where they are most needed.

Vicky is trying on her new bra at a training camp in Italy. She said: "It is very good at high temperatures, because this material has a moisture-wicking effect, so I think it will definitely have a positive effect on performance because we will be playing high-temperature competitions in Tokyo," she said.

Before the EIS project, Vicky said that she had not really considered the type of bra she was wearing. "I often only buy bras with beautiful colors or patterns instead of considering their functions. But sports bras are actually an important part of women's suits, and only now have they really started to be talked about and become a priority in our performance.

"I hope we have more secret weapons than sports bras, but it will never hurt."

Field athletes such as hockey player Sarah Robertson usually have to wear a heart rate monitor, GPS tracker or other smart device, which is usually contained in a separate seat belt and worn under the athlete's shirt.

"In terms of women’s comfort, it seems obvious that they shouldn’t wear an extra thing to carry GPS systems and bras, but like many things in sports, the idea usually starts with men exercising and then adapting. It's not about training female athletes from scratch," said Anita Biswas of the British Institute of Sport.

Another challenge Sarah faced was the relatively large cup size and small strap size, which made it difficult for her to find a suitable ready-made design. "Even though the bras I bought are technically fitted and provide a certain level of support, they are not designed to withstand the high-intensity impact of running and hockey," she said.

Clover created a custom closed bra that contains a pocket for her tracking device and pushes her breast tissue forward to provide her arms with a greater range of motion and reduce abrasions.

Sarah said: “For me, this is to get a bra that is very comfortable when I perform on the British track, where the racer back is very narrow, and given the wet conditions in Japan, I don’t want to wear one more for GPS. equipment.

"If you step on any court and worry about your equipment or equipment, then you have regressed, so I think that from the perspective of making me comfortable to wear, it will improve my performance."

This article was revised on June 19, 2021, removing specific references to the GB and ParalympicsGB teams; the project is working with athletes in training and a series of competitions, not just Olympic and Paralympic athletes.