With less than three months until the start of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil g the official Rio 2016 Olympic Team GB suits have been launched by uniform provider Simon Jersey.
Super heavyweight boxer Joe Joyce and gymnast Nile Wilson are launching the new suits to highlight the diverse range of body shapes. Thirty-year-old Joe weighs in at 17 stone and stands at 6ft 5ins – more than a foot taller than 20-year-old Nile, who is just 5ft 4in and nine-and-a-half stone.
Accrington-based Simon Jersey has designed suits for 350 athletes – Team GB’s largest ever away team – in a process which has lasted 23 months. The team outfits will see 22,500 buttons used along with 4,854 metres – 3.01 miles – of material.
But the outfits have to cater for a wide range of people ranging from 14-60 in age – with the smallest jacket measuring 26 inches and the largest at 52 inches. Simon Jersey staff travelled 3,100 miles on ‘sizing sessions’ to trial the suit on officials and athletes from nine disciplines.
The suits are made up of trousers, jackets and shoes, with a waistcoat, tie, cufflinks and pocket square for the men and a wrap top and handbag for women. Inside, there are 10 messages of support for the athletes sewn into the lining from school children who entered a competition to have their words on the Team GB outfit.
A spokesman for Simon Jersey said: “We’re incredibly proud to be working with Team GB. The athletes are amazingly diverse in terms of body shapes, with each sport requiring strength in different areas of the body.
“However, designing uniforms that look great on people of all shapes and sizes is what we do every day, so creating the suits for Team GB has definitely been more of an honour than a challenge.
“The feedback from athletes who’ve seen the suits has been fantastic and we can’t wait to see them all wearing it at their formal events”
Related Posts
