(NEXSTAR) — The Olympics are back again, bringing sports we may not otherwise get to watch to primetime.
That includes men’s artistic gymnastics, which included the U.S. team ending a 16-year Olympic medal drought. That not only introduced millions of viewers to the Clark Kent of the pommel horse, but his footie pajamas — or at least that’s what it seemed he was wearing.
In case you missed it, here’s a look at Stephen Nedoroscik of Team USA completing his routine on Monday:
On a closer look, though, you’ll notice the socks and pants aren’t actually connected.
In this photo, you can see that Nedoroscik is instead wearing stirrup pants and socks that are practically the same color. You can spot the difference even more in the second photo, which shows Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan wearing green stirrup pants, white socks, and a tucked-in singlet.
So why do male gymnasts wear such garb while the female gymnasts don’t?
“It’s not because we think it looks good,” Ian Gunther, a four-time NCAA team champion gymnast, explained in a 2022 video.
He goes on to say the pants have two purposes: safety and scoring.
The tighter pants, as opposed to a looser-fitting pair of shorts, for example, make it less likely that the gymnasts will catch their hands on the fabric, he explained.
The pants also contribute to being judged.
“It’s much easier to tell how much your knees are bent in tight clothing than loose clothing,” Gunther said.
The bikini-cut leotards worn by female gymnasts do, of course, already address the issue of loose-fitting clothing and knee visibility. Women also don’t use the apparatuses that require men to wear the pants: parallel bars, high bar, rings, and pommel horse.
