Why do Olympic swimmers wear winter coats?

The discipline that has captured the most attention during the first week of the Paris Olympics has undoubtedly been swimming. Primarily because of the athletes. Nicolò Martinenghi defeated Adam Peaty in the 100 meters breaststroke. Léon Marchand won gold medals in the 200 meters butterfly and the 200 meters breaststroke within a couple of hours. Katie Ledecky continued her dominance in the 1500 meters freestyle, winning the gold medal with a time that now allows her to hold all 20 of the best times ever in the discipline. Then there were the criticisms of a slow pool, doping accusations against Chinese swimmers brought forward by the New York Times, and the fears of swimmers competing in open water events about the level of pollution in the Seine. And then there was an aesthetic aspect: the swimming events were always preceded by a parade, and in this parade, there were some absolute protagonists: the winter jackets.

The most beautiful jackets were signed by TYR Sport, the technical sponsor of the U.S. national team. Most American athletes approached the pool for their events wearing the representative suit, while others chose to wear a white winter jacket that extended to the knees over it. The details are black, while the lettering is navy blue. The look is completed by a zip closure covered by a strip of snap buttons. There is also a second version, more similar to a fall puffer jacket, entirely black with white details. These two examples, along with the arena's model for the Swiss team, Le Coq Sportif for the French national team and those made by Anta for the Chinese national team, are probably the major style element linked to the swimming events. A certainly curious choice, capable of arousing interest due to the contrast created by the idea of wearing a winter garment over the quintessential summer item: the swimsuit. However, there is a technical explanation.

The time that passes between the call in the tunnel before a race and the moment they enter the water is very delicate for swimmers. In this phase, they must try as much as possible to keep their muscles warm after the warm-up, a task impossible to accomplish inside arenas where air conditioning is pumped without the use of technical materials. As mentioned, most athletes generally wear the suit provided by the technical sponsor, but in some cases, athletes do not want to take risks, and this is where the winter jackets come into play: the ideal tool for keeping muscles warm. Some have gone further, like Regan Smith, who usually approaches the pool wearing the aforementioned winter jacket along with striking pink gloves and UGG of the same color. However, this is not a strategy but a purely aesthetic choice, as she herself confirmed: «The pink gloves are my little special touch, as are the boots. My favorite color is pink, and in swimming, you can't express yourself much. You can't do anything fun with your hair, you can't wear makeup. So I like to incorporate little fun and cute things.»