Is This the End of the Leotard?

At the 2021 European Gymnastics Championships in Basel, Switzerland, last week, three members of the German women’s team debuted more than sky-high tricks: First Sarah Voss in the qualifying competition, and then Elisabeth Seitz and Kim Bui in the all-around final (where they placed fifth and seventh respectively) performed their routines not in leotards, but in stunning unitards. Like its legless cousin, a gymnastics unitard is a spandex get-up, bedazzled with a metric ton of Swarovski crystals—but, unlike the traditional leotard, a unitard extends to the athlete’s ankles. Read More