Japanese Olympic athletes with special clothing against infrared photos
Mizuno has developed sportswear with special infrared protection. Japanese female athletes had complained about infrared photos circulating on the internet.
(Image: I'm friday/Shutterstock.com)
At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, many Japanese athletes will be wearing clothing that is supposed to absorb infrared light better than before. This is to avoid voyeuristic photos that were taken at the previous Olympics in Japan using infrared photography and then circulated on the internet with sexual comments. Japanese female athletes had complained about this to the country's Olympic Committee in 2020.
In response, the Japanese sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno developed clothing designed to offer better protection against infrared photography. Previously, infrared photos of athletes could reveal body lines or underwear, as sportswear is usually made of very thin material. The athletes felt harassed by such photos shared on the internet, which were also inappropriately described, and complained accordingly , according to the Japan Times 2020.
Sportswear made from new fabrics
The new clothing, which was developed by Mizuno together with material experts from Sumitomo Metal Mining and Kyodo Printing, means that even letters are barely visible on the skin, even in infrared photos. While the letter (in the picture: a large 'C') is still easily visible with conventional clothing in infrared photography, it is practically unrecognizable with the new fabric, as Mizuno shows.
(Image: Mizuno)
If the large letter is barely visible with conventional photography, even without underwear, it is clearly visible with infrared photography. Even with normal underwear, the letter can still be seen, but hardly at all when using the new clothing material. This should significantly reduce the number of victims of inappropriate photos among female athletes.
New clothing "more comfortable than expected"
Mizuno has had the fact that the new material is also suitable for sportswear confirmed by an Olympic athlete. Athlete Mei Kodama, part of the 4x100-meter relay team in Tokyo 2021, tested the new outfit with the new material and declared it to be "more comfortable than expected", writes the French newspaper Le Monde.
Several layers of the new, infrared-absorbing fabric would help better against voyeuristic photos. With temperatures expected to be high in July and August at the Olympic Games in Paris, female athletes will have to make compromises with their clothing, especially the track and field athletes in the stadium. It should be easier for the Japanese volleyball and table tennis teams, who will also be wearing the new material, as these sports take place in sports halls.
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