• Australia's Titmus, Chalmers, Larkin hit form as Olympics loom
    AFP

    Australia's Titmus, Chalmers, Larkin hit form as Olympics loom

    Ariarne Titmus admitted it was a relief to be racing again as she ramped up preparations for the Tokyo Olympics by storming to the women's 200m freestyle title at the Australian championships Thursday.

  • ‘Cancel the Olympics’: fashion outcry as Canada brings back jean jackets for Tokyo
    The Guardian

    ‘Cancel the Olympics’: fashion outcry as Canada brings back jean jackets for Tokyo

    Denim outfits welcomed with mix of outrage and delightDesigners say uniforms reflect Tokyo’s street art and fashion Team Canada’s denim outfits for the Tokyo 2020 Games have turned some heads Photograph: Finn O’Hara/Finn O’Hara/ Team Canada For sports fans, there are many reasons to be thankful that the Tokyo Olympics look like they will take place – a year late – despite concerns about coronavirus: the chance to see supreme athletes compete at the highest level, an opportunity to deliver your definitive opinion on the Montenegro water polo team and marvel at the proxy superpower struggle at the top of the medal table. But the biggest treat of all could happen on the final night of the Games when the Canadian team walk out for the closing ceremony. The athletes will be clad in graffiti-splashed denim jackets that would have been very current at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona or on Degrassi Junior High at its peak, but haven’t quite passed muster among 21st-century critics on social media. I am screaming. This is Canada's closing ceremony fit.Cancel the Olympics. https://t.co/Q6xEybEIEM https://t.co/wf5E8yDPvL pic.twitter.com/KZ0iWUGFGQ— Downtown Brandi Frown 😾 (@ItsTheBrandi) April 14, 2021 “I am screaming. This is Canada’s closing ceremony fit. Cancel the Olympics,” noted one user on Twitter before conceding the denim explosion was “badass”. Another user noted: “Jean Jackets. I wish I was joking.” This is the gang that comes after you if you say you tried watching Schitt’s Creek but couldn’t get into it pic.twitter.com/SCHpf0QOwE— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) April 14, 2021 New York Times culture writer Dave Itzkoff, meanwhile, was reminded of another Canadian phenomenon. “This is the gang that comes after you if you say you tried watching Schitt’s Creek but couldn’t get into it,” he tweeted. Polo Ralph Lauren unveils the official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Closing Ceremony uniforms, proudly made in AmericaFeaturing our @TeamUSA athletes: Skateboarders Heimana Reynolds and @JordynBarratt, and BMX Gold Medalist @ConnorFields11https://t.co/OxXILN3IIW pic.twitter.com/Hd3kaC40qS— Ralph Lauren (@RalphLauren) April 14, 2021 The Canadian uniforms were released in August last year but they have been picked up in all their glory this week as Team USA released its rather more conservative Ralph Lauren effort. The design team behind the uniforms, Hudson Bay, explained the thinking around the jean jackets during the original release in August. “Tokyo is also known for its street art and fashion. We paid tribute to this in the must-have piece of the Collection – the forever cool jean jacket,” they said. “The graffiti graphic and unexpected patch placements capture a youthful and celebratory feel.” Canada has gone freestyle with its Olympic outfits before. At the 1972 Munich Olympics they walked out in wide brim hats and polka dots. They subsequently failed to win any gold medals at the following two Games. Canada was the victim of another country’s fashion when it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1992, when the Russian team turning up in costumes that appeared to be borrowed from 1930s private eyes. And this year’s hosts, Japan, were the perpetrators in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics when they wore rainbow capes in tribute to the city’s “carefree nature and the city’s deep blue sky”.

  • Reuters Videos

    Russia’s flagless uniforms ‘lucky star’ for Tokyo Games

    The Russian Olympic team unveiled new uniformsbearing the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee instead of the country’s flagDesigned by ZASPORT, the new uniforms feature three flamesin the colors of the national flag with Olympic rings below them(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DESIGNER ANASTASIA ZADORINA, SAYING: "For me, it is a great honor to produce the uniforms for our Russian team and to be its representative. I wish our athletes luck and victory. And of course, we are supporting them."Russian athletes are barred from competing under their flag until 2022following an anti-doping ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESIDENT, STANISLAV POZDNYAKOV, SAYING: "We exchanged opinions with our colleagues. The collection did not disappoint the fans or the athletes. On the contrary, it will become our lucky star for the Tokyo games.”